Shia LaBeouf poses during the “Slauson Rec” photocall at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 18, 2025, in Cannes, France. (Monica Schipper / Getty Images)
By Bryan Chai February 18, 2026 at 3:00am
An actor who headlined the bombastic “Transformers” films has gotten in trouble for being a little too willing to let his fists do the talking.
Star actor Shia LaBeouf was arrested and charged after a Mardi Gras celebration went awry, according to Fox News.
The 39-year-old LaBeouf was in New Orleans over the weekend, as evidenced by his social media posts, when things took a violent turn.
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) February 15, 2026
According to Fox News, LaBeouf was allegedly “causing a disturbance and becoming increasing aggressive at a Royal Street business.”
Police say that when a staffer tried to get LeBeouf to leave the business, the actor punched the staffer “several times” with closed fists.
LaBeouf would leave, only to return acting “even more aggressive.”
At this point, multiple people tried to subdue the enraged LaBeouf. Eventually, the group let LaBeouf up, in the hopes that he would peaceably leave.
Instead, the actor allegedly struck the same staffer again, before turning his ire to another male victim and punching him in the nose.
“LaBeouf was again held down until police arrived,” police said. “He was taken to a hospital for treatment of unknown injuries. Upon release, he was arrested and charged with two counts of simple battery.”
Interestingly enough, while LaBeouf is the one who was charged with two counts of simple battery, viral video of the confrontation began circulating courtesy of TMZ.
And those videos appeared to show LaBeouf getting the far worse end of whatever physical altercation may have occurred.
You can view part of the confrontation for yourself below (LaBeouf is the shirtless individual):
WARNING: The following video contains footage that some viewers may find disturbing.
EXCLUSIVE: Shia LaBeouf gets beat up in a Mardi Gras fight. https://t.co/Yd56zO4Gcc pic.twitter.com/j2TC8okzOR
— TMZ (@TMZ) February 17, 2026
As TMZ reported, this isn’t LaBeouf’s first brush with controversy.
The star actor has a well-documented history of addiction, mental issues, and legal problems.
In 2017, for instance, LeBeouf was entered into court-mandated rehab after he was arrested for public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
(LaBeouf has had an up-and-down battle with sobriety.)
LaBeouf was also previously arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor theft stemming from an incident in 2020.
While he avoided jail time in that incident, he was ordered to attend private therapy to work on his anger management issues.
Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics.
Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics. He graduated with a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. He is an avid fan of sports, video games, politics and debate.
Birthplace
Hawaii
Education
Class of 2010 University of Arizona. BEAR DOWN.
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English, Korean
Topics of Expertise
Sports, Entertainment, Science/Tech
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