Shia LaBeouf, 39, pleads guilty to battery after New Orleans bar brawl

Shia LaBeouf entered a guilty plea on three misdemeanor counts of battery on Wednesday in New Orleans after he was arrested over a raucous bar brawl in February. The 39-year-old actor was handed a suspended sentence and probation, according to court records obtained by the Times-Picayune. Magistrate Judge Juana Lombard gave LaBeouf a six-month suspended sentence, along with two years of probation. The Daily Mail has reached out to LaBeouf’s representatives for comment. The Transformers actor had been arrested in the early morning hours of February 17 for battery and was initially released on his own recognizance. However, he was subsequently required to post a $100,000 bond after the judge was apprised of allegations that LaBeouf had used the term ‘f****ts’ during the brawl. His second charge carried an additional $5,000 bond, and he was later hit with a third battery charge. In a statement to the Daily Mail, LaBeouf’s lawyer sought to downplay the severity of the charges and sentence. ‘The police and DA investigation proved exactly what Shia LaBeouf said from the beginning – that this was nothing more than a minor Mardi Gras bar tussle,’ said attorney Sarah Chervinsky.

‘There is no evidence it was about bias or prejudice, which is why the state only charged these low-level misdemeanors,’ she continued. ‘Mr. LaBeouf came to court today wanting to take accountability for his part in what happened, and he has done so. Now he’s looking forward to focusing on family, work, and new creative projects.’ District Attorney Jason Williams – who filed charges against LaBeouf in late May – also issued a statement shortly after the actor pleaded guilty to the battery charges.

‘We are not interested in elevating anyone’s profile because of who they are,’ Williams said, according to the Times-Picayune. ‘Our responsibility is the same in every case: to follow the facts, apply the law and seek accountability where it is warranted. ‘The agreement creates meaningful legal consequences and enforceable conditions moving forward,’ Williams added. ‘If those conditions are violated, there are real penalties attached.’ According to the publication, Williams’s statement noted that LaBeouf had consented to multiple conditions as part of a plea deal, and the district attorney’s office also noted that it had not charged him with a hate crime.

LaBeouf had been able to remain out of jail on the proviso that he undergo regular drug and alcohol testing and also check into rehab following his drunken bar brawl. In the subsequent months, he successfully obtained permission to fly to Rome in order to attend the baptism of his father, Jeffrey LaBeouf. During the trip, LaBeouf caused a stir when he was filmed in the lobby of his hotel while wearing nothing but black boxer briefs.

LaBeouf had an unlit cigarette between his lips and appeared agitated as he begged other guests for a light. ‘Come on bro, give me a f***ing match. You got a match?’ he could be heard saying. In his first interview after the incident, granted in February, the former child star said he was nervous about the gay men who approached him on Fat Tuesday. ‘Big gay people are scary to me,’ LaBeouf shared to Andrew Callaghan on Channel 5. ‘When I’m standing by myself and three gay dudes are next to me, touching my leg, I get scared. I’m sorry. If that’s homophobic, then I’m that.’

Expanding on his state of mind, he said: ‘I was drunk, and then I felt infringed upon in terms of my proximity. But I wasn’t in my right mind, and so it’s on me.’ Regarding claims that he used a gay slur, the Holes actor admitted: ‘I said words not OK to say. I don’t want to hurt nobody’s feelings…. I’m wrong for what I did.’ Eyewitnesses accused LaBeouf of getting increasingly aggressive during the incident, which took place at R Bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

In the bystanders’ version of events, staff attempted to escort him out of the venue, and he punched a man with closed fists multiple times. According to the authorities, LaBeouf later came back to the watering hole and struck the same man, in addition to punching another man in the nose. The actor was allegedly physically restrained by fellow customers at R Bar while they waited for police, according to witnesses who spoke to law enforcement.

LaBeouf told Callaghan he relocated to New Orleans, where he has deep family roots, following the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025. LaBeouf detailed some family history elsewhere in the interview. He explained that his paternal grandmother was a lesbian who married a man who served as her ‘beard,’ a partner meant to publicly disguise someone’s homosexuality. His last name was originally spelled LeBoeuf, but the spelling was changed by his grandmother in an effort to distance herself from her family, who had disowned her.

Speaking on the subject of homosexuality, he clarified: ‘I’m good with gay. Be gay over there though. Don’t be gay in my lap.’ In the wide-ranging interview, the movie star briefly discussed the demise of his marriage to actress Mia Goth. The exes share daughter Isabel, who turned four in March. ‘It’s not new heartbreak. I don’t want to talk too much about it. It’s not my story alone to tell, but my side is I failed my marriage, so I had to own up to that. So that’s why I moved out here,’ he said.