With many arrests spanning over two decades, Shia LaBeouf is no stranger to getting in trouble with the law.
In June 2020, LaBeouf got into an altercation which allegedly led the actor to steal a man’s hat. Although he wasn’t arrested at the time, he was later charged with two misdemeanors, petty theft and battery, Page Six confirmed.
Amid news that the “Honey Boy” actor’s ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs has filed a lawsuit against him with accusations of sexual battery, assault and infliction of emotional distress, we’re taking a look back on the actor’s past arrests and legal troubles.
1996
Believe it or not, LaBeouf’s first time in jail was when he was just 9 years old. Prior to his Disney Channel stardom, he stole a pair of Nike Cortez sneakers from a shop in Pacoima, Calif., and was held for six hours. He told the world about the incident in a short essay titled “Error Breeds Sense,” which was published in the 2015 book “Prison Ramen.”
1998
His second arrest came just two years later in Sunland-Tujunga, Calif., also for stealing. “I was arrested for stealing a Gameboy Pokémon from Kmart,” he wrote, “That time, too, I was in a substation for about six hours.”
Two years after the Pokémon theft, LaBeouf shot to fame on the Disney Channel show “Even Stevens.”
2007
His next arrest happened almost 10 years later in Van Nuys, Calif. He “got into it” with his neighbor and spent two days in jail for the crime. “While I was there, I at least understood that being in jail is not the move. It sucks ass,” he wrote.
Later that year, in November 2007, LaBeouf was arrested at a Chicago Walgreens in the middle of the night. The police came after he allegedly refused to leave the store and he then spent the night in a holding cell.
In 2008, he told his side of the story on “Late Night with David Letterman.” The then-21-year-old was celebrating his birthday in Chicago when he went to buy cigarettes at Walgreens. On his way there he realized he was getting a zit on his forehead and headed straight for the cosmetics aisle, where he says a security guard started giggling at him.
After buying the pimple cream and heading back to his hotel, he realized that he’d forgotten to buy his cigarettes and needed to go back to the shop. Worried the guard had already seen him, LaBeouf changed his clothes. “My logic was off, to say the least. Again I’m on ‘the sauce.'” Back in the store the second time, LaBeouf says the security guard made a comment about his new outfit, so he responded, “Yeah, nice outfit to you too,” adding, “So now we’re getting pretty smart with each other.”
He bought a package of gummy bears, again forgetting the cigarettes.
On his third trip into the store, they had another brief but heated interaction before another security guard “tackled” him and put plastic cuffs on him. “He was completely in the right. I was a moron,” LaBeouf explained.
2008
In the summer of 2008, the “Transformers” star, who was 22 years old at the time, was arrested for drunk driving in Los Angeles. According to People, LaBeouf was making a left turn when he got into a car accident and his car rolled over. Luckily no one was seriously injured in the accident, but LaBeouf was booked for a misdemeanor DUI.
2011
For a few years it seemed like LaBeouf’s troubled days were behind him, until 2011 when he was detained for a bar fight. According to The Hollywood Reporter, LaBeouf was at Mad Bull’s Tavern in Sherman Oaks, Calif., when he got into an altercation with another patron at 1 a.m. The man reportedly punched LaBeouf in the face. LAPD came and broke things up, placing both of them in handcuffs. No one pressed charges and both were released on-site.
2014
In 2014, in what was probably LaBeouf’s most famous arrest, he had a drunken meltdown while watching the Broadway musical “Cabaret.” During the show, which starred Alan Cumming and Michelle Williams, LaBeouf was smoking cigarettes inside the theater and shouting obscenities. He even allegedly slapped Cumming’s butt as he walked by him during the performance. Cops arrested him during intermission and took him to a police station nearby. According to the criminal complaint, he shouted at officers, “This is f–king bullshit! Do you know my life? Do you know who I am?” He even spit on one of the officers, causing them to muzzle him with a face mask, sources said at the time.
After the incident, the actor, who was 28 at the time, completed rehab as part of his plea deal. The judge said if he stayed out of trouble for six months, the case would be “dismissed and sealed.”
LaBeouf addressed the meltdown on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in December, explaining that he’d just gotten back from a trip to Ireland where he drank a lot of whiskey. He continued his whiskey tour when he landed back in New York and had several drinks at a bar before seeing the show.
“I’m going to stay away from Broadway for a little bit,” LaBeouf joked.
Cumming also weighed in on the drama, telling Conan O’Brien, “He was just wasted and he was wasted from the second he walked into the thing. There was an atmosphere when I went to go down on stage and start the show. Everyone was freaking out because there was somebody who seemed to be a crazy person, shouting and stuff … As I walked past him he like whacked me and was smoking.”
However, the actor forgave LaBeouf for the incident, “We’ve all done things where we’ve been out of it and messed up … I thought he made a good recovery.”
2015
Watch out for The Dirty Sixth. In 2015, LaBeouf was attending Austin City Limits when he was arrested for public intoxication outside a bar on Sixth Street in Texas. At the time, a witness told TMZ that he “was either extremely drunk or high on drugs” and running down the street, jaywalking in front of cops. He was subdued, handcuffed and taken to Travis County Jail. He was later released.
2017
In January, LaBeouf was arrested yet again after an incident at his anti-Trump art installation in Queens. A video from the “He Will Not Divide Us” protest, which began on Inauguration Day, shows the actor getting arrested after an incident earlier in the day. LaBeouf allegedly grabbed a man’s scarf, “causing a scratch to the man’s face,” before pushing him to the ground.
The “Transformers” star was released the next morning, but the arrest didn’t damper his spirits as he tossed out a “rock on” sign as he got into a cab. He was charged with misdemeanor assault and harassment, but the charges were later dropped. A law enforcement source said there wasn’t enough evidence to sustain a criminal case.
In July 2017, Shia LaBeouf was arrested in Georgia for public drunkenness, disorderly conduct and obstruction after a stranger reportedly refused to give him a cigarette. The 31-year-old actor is said to have run to a nearby hotel, where police took him into custody.
Police said in a statement, “He became disorderly, using profanities and vulgar language in front of the women and children present. He was told to leave the area and refused, becoming aggressive toward the officer.”
He was released after posting $7,000 bond.
He later apologized for the ordeal, detailing his long battle with addiction, writing, “I am actively taking steps toward securing my sobriety and hope I can be forgiven for my mistakes.”
He even thanked the officer who busted him during an award speech for his film “Honey Boy,” claiming he “saved his life.”
