Actor Shia LaBeouf formally charged with three counts of battery after alleged homophobic assault

Transformers star Shia LaBeouf has been formally charged with three counts of simple battery after the viral Mardi Gras fight video from earlier this year.

New Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams filed the charges against the 39-year-old actor earlier this week, local outlets like Nola.com reported. The charges were contained in a document called a bill of information. The Guardian also reported that the charges suggest the DA won’t be pursuing hate-crime charges against the actor, despite claims evidently supported by video.

More information is set to follow, including an arraignment date.

What did Shia LaBeouf allegedly do at Mardi Gras?

On February 17, amidst Mardi Gras celebrations, police arrested Shia LaBeouf after he purportedly punched two men and headbutted a third at R Bar in the Marigny, New Orleans. The incident happened just past midnight.

Bar staff had reportedly asked the actor to leave after becoming increasingly aggressive and verbally assaulting the three men with homophobic slurs, police said in sworn court statements.

Following the arrest, he was taken to the hospital for treatment and then briefly detained by police. He was released soon after on a $105,000 bond, with the judge instructing him to enrol in substance abuse treatment.

Numerous videos captured the incident at the time, including one from one of Shia’s alleged victims, Jeffrey Damnit.

“The fact that the district attorney’s office is moving forward with this case when there is overwhelming evidence that a crime was committed should not be a surprise to anyone – because being a celebrity does not buy you special treatment in New Orleans,” Jeffrey’s lawyer said at the hearing on Thursday.

Shia LaBeouf addressed the arrest

11 days after he was arrested, Shia LaBeouf sat down with Channel 5 to discuss what happened that night. In it, he argued that “big gay people are scary” to him as a “traditional Catholic.” He also alleged that “three gay dudes [were] next to me, touching my leg” before the incident kicked off.

“I [got] scared,” the Transformers star said. “I’m sorry – if that’s homophobic, then I’m that.”

Elsewhere in the interview, he described his own behaviour as “bullsh*t” and said it needs to stop.

He explained: “My behaviour [is] bullshit. I gotta deal with that. Does that mean I gotta go to rehab again? I’m just not into it, bro.

“I don’t think my answers are there. I don’t. I really, genuinely, don’t. If I genuinely did, I’d go. I don’t think I have a different problem.”

He also referenced a “different problem” he’s working through, namely a “small man complex.”

“I’m gonna address it … I think it’s something that has to do with anger and ego moreso than my drinking, but that’s where I’m at now on my journey, and I’m trying to navigate it. I’ll figure it out,” he added.

It’s not yet known how Shia LaBeouf will plead, but his legal representation has been approached for comment.

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Featured image credit: Channel 5/YouTube and DreamWorks Pictures