Shia LaBeouf Pleads Guilty to Battery Charges Over Mardi Gras ‘Tussle,’ Gets Two Years Probation

By Cheyenne Roundtree

Cheyenne Roundtree

Shia LaBeouf pleaded guilty to three counts of simple battery on Wednesday, stemming from a late-night bar fight the actor started during Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans. The 39-year-old will avoid any jail time. Instead, he’ll serve two years of probation for the misdemeanor offenses. In a statement provided to Rolling Stone, his attorney Sarah Chervinsky, described the incident as “nothing more than a minor Mardi Gras bar tussle.” LaBeouf came to court “wanting to take accountability for his part in what happened, and he has done so,” Chervinsky added. “Now he’s looking forward to focusing on family, work, and new creative projects.” Over Mardi Gras weekend in February, several videos posted to social media showed a seemingly intoxicated LaBeouf partying on Bourbon Street. He was arrested during one of his nights out, reportedly “causing a disturbance” and becoming increasingly “aggressive” while outside a bar near the French Quarter. A shirtless LaBeouf struck two people during a scuffle, allegedly shouting homophobic slurs at the people he was fighting with. He was seen on video shoving someone to the pavement and whacking a man in the face, “causing his nose to possibly dislocate,” the Associated Press reported. Prior to his sentencing, LaBeouf was ordered to seek treatment and submit to weekly drug testing following the rowdy incident. His erratic behavior had already sparked concern on the set of his upcoming movie, The Rooster Prince, production sources previously told Rolling Stone. “He was completely wild,” said one production member who worked on the Oklahoma film set last November. “I don’t think he’s stable. I don’t know that he’s been stable for a while.” LaBeouf is scheduled to star in another film, God of the Rodeo, backed in part by producer Giannina Facio Scott and her husband, director Ridley Scott, which is expected to film in the area this month and July, according to The Oklahoma Film + Music Office. LaBeouf has been previously vocal about his purported sobriety, disclosing in 2020 that he was in therapy and a 12-step program after FKA Twigs accused him of physical, emotional, and mental abuse during their relationship. As recently as last March, he purported to be sober and credited actors like Mel Gibson and Sean Penn for rescuing him.