Shia LaBeouf gets suspended sentence and probation after pleading guilty to Mardi Gras bar fight
The actor pleaded guilty to three counts of simple battery on Wednesday for a February altercation in New Orleans, receiving a six-month suspended sentence and two years of probation.
The guilty plea
Shia LaBeouf pleaded guilty on Wednesday to three counts of simple battery, stemming from a fight during Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans on 17 February. The 39-year-old actor received a six-month suspended sentence and two years of probation from Judge Juana Marine-Lombard. He was also ordered to stay away from the three victims and the bar where the incident occurred, attend an alcohol treatment program, and complete anger management and sensitivity training.
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.
The February incident
Police arrested LaBeouf shortly after midnight outside a bar in the French Quarter, where he was reportedly causing a disturbance and becoming increasingly aggressive. Video footage showed a shirtless LaBeouf shoving one person to the ground and striking another in the face. A New Orleans police report stated the punch "caused his nose to possibly dislocate." Witnesses said he repeatedly shouted homophobic slurs during the altercation and continued doing so during his arrest. After posting a $100,000 bond and receiving medical treatment, LaBeouf returned to continue celebrating Mardi Gras.
He just went crazy.
The defense's position
LaBeouf's attorney, Sarah Chervinsky, characterized the event as "nothing more than a minor Mardi Gras bar tussle" and stated there was "no evidence it was about bias or prejudice." She noted that the state only charged low-level misdemeanors. LaBeouf himself later addressed the incident in an interview with journalist Andrew Callaghan, attributing his behavior to anger and ego rather than alcohol.
I don't think I have a drinking problem. I think I have a different problem, and I'm gonna address it... I think I have a small man complex. Some kind of Napoleonic, I don't know what it is. I think it's something that has to do with anger and ego more than my drinking.
A pattern of legal troubles
This is not LaBeouf's first court-ordered rehabilitation. He was previously required to attend rehab following a 2017 arrest in Georgia for public intoxication and disorderly conduct during the filming of "Peanut Butter Falcon." He also faced a lawsuit from singer FKA Twigs alleging sexual battery, assault, and infliction of emotional distress, which was settled in July 2025. Production sources on his upcoming film "The Rooster Prince" described his behavior on set last November as "completely wild," adding, "I don't think he's stable. I don't know that he's been stable for a while."
Upcoming projects
Despite the legal issues, LaBeouf is scheduled to star in another film, "God of the Rodeo," backed in part by producer Giannina Facio Scott and director Ridley Scott. Filming is expected to take place in Oklahoma this month and July, according to The Oklahoma Film + Music Office. His attorney said he is now looking forward to focusing on his family, work, and new creative projects.
