Juan A. Lozano
Actor Shia LaBeouf has been arrested after being accused of hitting two men during Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, police said.
LaBeouf was charged with two counts of simple battery, New Orleans police said in a statement.
Officers were called to a business near the French Quarter at about 12.45am on Tuesday (US time) after LaBeouf was allegedly “causing a disturbance and becoming increasingly aggressive” inside, police said. Police did not say what type of business it was.
An employee tried to remove LaBeouf and once outside, the actor allegedly hit a man “multiple times with closed fists,” police said.
Witnesses told police that LaBeouf left the area but later returned and continued to act aggressively.
“Multiple individuals attempted to restrain him, releasing him in hopes he would leave,” police said.
The man who was first allegedly hit by LaBeouf told police the actor hit him again. Another man told officers that LaBeouf also allegedly punched him in the nose.
“He was held down until officers arrived,” police said.
LaBeouf was taken to a hospital for treatment of unknown injuries and after being released, was arrested and taken into custody by police.
Court and jail records did not list a lawyer who could speak on behalf of LaBeouf. Emails to LaBeouf’s publicists were not immediately returned.
LaBeouf has had several run-ins with the law during his career, including an early 2017 New York arrest for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct that was captured on a livestream video. He was sent to court-mandated rehabilitation.
Later that year, he was arrested in Georgia for public drunkenness and accused of disorderly conduct and obstruction, when he was on location filming The Peanut Butter Falcon, and sentenced to probation. In 2020, he was charged with misdemeanour battery and petty theft in Los Angeles.
That year, the English singer and actor FKA Twigs, whose legal name is Tahliah Barnett, also filed a lawsuit alleging LaBeouf was physically and emotionally abusive towards her during their relationship. They settled the lawsuit in July.
Barnett claimed LaBeouf put her in a constant state of fear and humiliation, once slammed her into a car, tried to strangle her and knowingly gave her a sexually transmitted disease.
LaBeouf apologised in a statement after the lawsuit was filed. He also denied the accusations in the lawsuit in a 2021 filing, saying any injuries done or damages incurred by Barnett were not his doing.
The 39-year-old first gained acclaim as a child for his role on the Disney Channel series Even Stevens, and continued working steadily into adulthood. He is perhaps best known for his roles in 2007’s Transformers and in 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.
LaBeouf shares a daughter, born in 2022, with actor Mia Goth.
AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr contributed to this report.
AP