Shia LaBeouf breaks silence after Mardi Gras arrest in connection with alleged brawl with 2 men
Shia LaBeouf breaks silence after Mardi Gras arrest in connection with alleged brawl with 2 men
Shania RussellWed, February 18, 2026 at 4:39 PM UTC
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Shia LaBeouf in London on July 8, 2025
Dave Benett/WireImage
Shia LaBeouf has just two words to share after his arrest in New Orleans on Tuesday.
"Free me," the 39-year-old Transformers star wrote in an X post on Wednesday morning. The brief update comes one day after the actor was arrested at Mardi Gras on allegations of getting into a physical altercation with two men outside a Royal Street business.
Officers were called to the scene just after midnight, after LaBeouf was ejected from the establishment for alleged aggressive behavior that was causing a disturbance, authorities told Entertainment Weekly. Per the police, one of the men reported that they were once outside LaBeouf struck them several times with his closed fists. The other claimed that the actor punched him in the nose.
In their statement to EW, police said several onlookers stepped in to hold LaBeouf down until officers arrived on the scene, at which point the actor was transported to a hospital and subsequently arrested after being discharged.
LaBeouf is facing two charges of simple battery. He was released from jail in New Orleans on Tuesday, and his pretrial hearing is scheduled for March 19. The actor returned to celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans hours after his release, multiple outlets reported.
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Representatives for LaBeouf and the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
Shia LaBeouf in Hollywood in November 2019
Rich Fury/Getty
A day before his arrest, a Hollywood Reporter story said employees at several New Orleans businesses claimed that LaBeouf had been frequenting various drinking establishments in the city's Uptown neighborhood, as he seemed to be on a bar crawl that began on Thursday. One bouncer claimed LaBeouf was "inebriated" and "somewhat belligerent," though other employees reported that they'd had no incidents or disruption while he was there.
LaBeouf, who has discussed embracing sobriety in recent years, has a history of alcohol-related arrests. The star was court-ordered to attend rehab following a 2017 arrest in Georgia on charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct. Before that, he was arrested in October 2015 on charges of public intoxication and in 2014 on charges of disorderly conduct after interrupting a performance of Cabaret.
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Last year LaBeouf settled a sexual assault and battery lawsuit that his former girlfriend FKA Twigs filed against him after he denied the allegations. Before Twigs dropped the charges, LaBeouf blamed his struggles with PTSD and alcoholism for his allegedly abusive behavior towards the singer. He stated that being forced to reckon with his actions "saved my f‑‑‑ing life."
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
