What Happened to Shia LaBeouf? Inside the Actor's Controversies, Including His Latest Mardi Gras Arrest
- - What Happened to Shia LaBeouf? Inside the Actor's Controversies, Including His Latest Mardi Gras Arrest
Alyssa ModosFebruary 18, 2026 at 1:57 AM
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Shia LaBeouf
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Before starring in films like Transformers and Honey Boy, Shia LaBeouf rose to fame as a child star on the Disney Channel
In December 2020, FKA twigs filed a lawsuit against LaBeouf, accusing the actor of sexual battery, assault and emotional distress
In February 2026, he was arrested in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and faces two counts of simple battery
Shia LaBeouf is facing legal trouble once again.
In February 2026, the actor was arrested in New Orleans over Mardi Gras following an alleged altercation. He is facing two counts of simple battery, law enforcement sources told PEOPLE.
This isn't the first controversy for LaBeouf over the last decade. In December 2020, his former girlfriend, FKA twigs, filed a lawsuit against LaBeouf, accusing the actor of sexual battery, assault and emotional distress.
During an August 2022 appearance on Jon Bernthal’s Real Ones podcast, LaBeouf addressed his mistreatment of twigs without naming her directly.
"I hurt that woman,” he said. “And in the process of doing that, I hurt many other people, and many other people before that woman ... I was a pleasure-seeking, selfish, self-centered, dishonest, inconsiderate, fearful human being."
Where is Shia LaBeouf now? Here’s everything to know about the controversial actor and his life today.
He rose to fame on the Disney Channel
Shia LaBeouf
Chris Polk/FilmMagic
LaBeouf is an actor, filmmaker and performance artist. His role on Disney Channel’s Even Stevens made him a household name when he was just 14, and in 2003, he won a Daytime Emmy for his role on the show.
After his three-year stint on the family sitcom, LaBeouf pivoted from television to movies, starring in blockbuster hits including Holes, I, Robot, Disturbia, Transformers, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Eagle Eye.
The actor made headlines in 2013 when he publicly feuded with his Orphans costar Alec Baldwin and the Broadway play’s director, Daniel Sullivan. LaBeouf eventually dropped out of the production and later made a series of public apologies.
For the next seven years, the actor continued starring in films — including Peanut Butter Falcon, The Tax Collector and Pieces of a Woman — despite a number of controversies. In 2019, he made his screenwriting debut with the autobiographical film Honey Boy.
FKA twigs sued LaBeouf in 2020
Shia LaBeouf and FKA Twigs
Melodie Jeng//GC Images
In December 2020, following their tumultuous one-year relationship, FKA twigs (née Tahliah Debrett Barnett) filed a lawsuit against LaBeouf, accusing the actor of sexual battery, assault and emotional distress.
After meeting on the set of his movie Honey Boy in 2018, twigs and LaBeouf dated until 2019. In the lawsuit, the musician stated the actor subjected her to “relentless abuse” during the year-long period, including knowingly giving her a sexually transmitted disease, choking her and forcing her to sleep naked while he kept a loaded firearm by their bed.
In the filing, twigs stated that, after debating whether anyone would believe her, she decided to follow through with suing LaBeouf “to be able to raise awareness on the tactics that abusers use to control you and take away your agency.” Stylist Karolyn Pho, another of LaBeouf’s former girlfriends, attested to her own experiences with his alleged abuse in an interview with The New York Times.
In an email to the outlet following the filing, LaBeouf wrote, “I’m not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel. I have no excuses for my alcoholism or aggression, only rationalizations. I have been abusive to myself and everyone around me for years. I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I’m ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt.”
After being presented with a detailed account of twigs’ and Pho’s claims against him, LaBeouf alleged that “many of these allegations are not true” in an additional email to The New York Times. Despite his claim, the actor added that he owed the women “the opportunity to air their statements publicly and accept accountability for those things I have done.”
Four and a half years after filing her lawsuit against LaBeouf, twigs requested a dismissal of the case in July 2025.
In a joint statement provided to PEOPLE from their respective attorneys, Bryan Freedman and Shawn Holley, twigs and LaBeouf said, "Committed to forging a constructive path forward, we have agreed to settle our case out of court. While the details of the settlement will remain private, we wish each other personal happiness, professional success and peace in the future."
He has been arrested a number of times
Shia LaBeouf
Dave Benett/WireImage
Over the years, the actor has had a number of troubles with the law. In June 2014, LaBeouf was arrested at Studio 54 in New York City after interrupting a performance of the Broadway show Cabaret and getting into an alleged altercation with a homeless person. LaBeouf later pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, per The New York Times.
He later apologized for the incident on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, saying he went through an “existential crisis” that resulted in “some hiccups, some judgement errors.”
In the 2015 book Prison Ramen — which also includes arrest-themed essays from celebrities like Taryn Manning, Slash and Danny Trejo — LaBeouf contributed an essay called “Error Breeds Sense.” In the essay, he detailed another arrest after refusing to leave a Walgreen’s in Chicago, which resulted in “the best sleep ever” “for some reason” when he spent the night in jail.
In July 2017, LaBeouf was arrested in Georgia on charges of public intoxication, disorderly conduct and obstruction after he went on a tirade after he was refused a cigarette by a woman. He then went on a racist and expletive-laced tirade directed at the arresting police officers.
The actor later pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct, was found guilty of obstruction and was found not guilty of public intoxication. He was sentenced to a year of probation and ordered to seek therapy.
“What went on in Georgia was mortifying,” he told Esquire in March 2018, calling it a mixture of “white privilege and desperation and disaster.”
In October 2020, the actor was charged with one count of misdemeanor battery and one count of misdemeanor theft for allegedly using force and violence against a man named Tyler Murphy in June of that year. He was later ordered into a diversion program, including anger management and a 12-step program, per the Los Angeles Times.
Most recently in February 2026, the actor was arrested in New Orleans over Mardi Gras and is facing two counts of simple battery.
He has struggled with alcoholism
Shia LaBeouf
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty
After a long history with alcohol-related arrests, LaBeouf revealed that he had been sober for more than a year and a half in August 2022.
During the fallout of his controversial exit from Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling, a letter from LaBeouf to Wilde was published by Variety in response to her August 2022 cover story detailing her choice to shoot the movie with Harry Styles instead.
Refuting her claim that she fired him from the film because his process was too “combative,” LaBeouf wrote, "I write to you now with 627 days of sobriety and a moral compass that never existed before my great humbling that was the last year and a quarter of my life.”
“My failings with Twigs are fundamental and real, but they are not the narrative that has been presented,” the actor continued. “There is a time and a place to deal with such things, and I am trying to navigate a nuanced situation with respect for her and the truth, hence my silence. But this situation with your film and my ‘firing’ will never have a court date with which to deal with the facts.”
Prior to his February 2026 arrest, LaBeouf had been partaking in a week-long bar crawl in New Orleans, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
He is married to Mia Goth and they share a daughter
Mia Goth and Shia LaBeouf
Karwai Tang/WireImage
LaBeouf is married to his on-and-off partner, Mia Goth.
The pair met on the set of Nymphomaniac: Vol. II in 2013, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple in October 2014 at a London screening of LaBeouf's film Fury. He and Goth married in Las Vegas in October 2016.
The ceremony, which was presided over by an Elvis Presley impersonator, was live-streamed, causing confusion as to whether it was LaBeouf's latest performance art piece or a real wedding. Later, local officials confirmed that the nuptials were not legally binding. Despite the confirmation, LaBeouf insisted that he and Goth were indeed married during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show later that month.
Two years later, in September 2018, one of the actor’s representatives confirmed to PEOPLE that he and Goth decided to split.
"Shia and Mia have filed for divorce. The separation is amicable and all details pertaining to the divorce proceedings will remain private," the rep said.
In March 2020, LaBeouf and Goth appeared to have reunited when they were spotted wearing their wedding rings during a walk together.
They welcomed their daughter, Isabel, in 2022. The actor opened up about becoming a dad during his appearance on Bernthal’s podcast.
“It feels like some kind of weird reset button,” he said. “It’s almost like having the ultimate parole officer. I need somebody to keep me accountable.”
He was accused of wreaking "emotional terror" on acting students in a 2025 documentary
Shia LaBeouf
Steve Granitz/WireImage
LaBeouf landed back in hot water when the documentary Slauson Rec premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025.
Directed by Leo Lewis O’Neil, Slauson Rec chronicles the rise and fall of the actor's former Los Angeles theater workshop, the Slauson Recreational Center Theater collective, which he founded in 2018. Despite the seemingly wholesome nature of the endeavor, the documentary revealed a raw look at the troubling treatment LaBeouf inflicted on the participants before the collective was abruptly dissolved in 2020.
According to Variety, the subject matter was so intense that nearly 30 audience members left the screening early. In the film, a company member named Zeke revealed that he had booked a part in a Netflix show, causing LaBeouf to "turn" on the actor. Zeke ultimately quit Slauson, which led to LaBeouf instigating a fist fight that left Zeke scraped and bruised, according to the outlet.
The documentary was made with LaBeouf’s blessing and the actor himself was in attendance at the festival premiere.
“I gave Leo this camera and encouraged him to share his vision and his personal experience without edit,” LaBeouf shared in an April 2025 statement to Vanity Fair. “I am aware of the doc and fully support the release of the film. While my teaching methods may be unconventional for some, I am proud of the incredible accomplishments that these kids achieved."
During a May 2025 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, LaBeouf explained why he was supportive of the film.
“When this thing comes out, it isn’t any worse than what’s been said about me previously,” he said. “Maybe it reifies people’s ideas about me. I think, at heart, I’m a good guy. Am I f---ed up? Yes. Is my process ugly and disgusting? Yes. Have I done horrible s--t in the past that I’m going to have to make amends for the rest of my life? Yes. Does this movie change any of that? No. Does it also allow my people to get a foot into this f---ing industry? Yes. So gas pedal down, green light go.”
Where is Shia LaBeouf now?
Shia LaBeouf
Amanda Edwards/Getty
LaBeouf returned to the screen with 2022’s Padre Pio. Two years later, he joined the ensemble cast for Megalopolis. In May 2025, he starred in the sports drama Salvable. He is slated to star in an upcoming film called God of the Rodeo, per Deadline.
In February 2026, he was arrested in New Orleans. He faces two counts of simple battery.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
