Actor Shia LaBeouf officially pleaded guilty to three counts of simple battery, months after he went viral for his involvement in a Mardi Gras altercation in New Orleans.
The former Disney Channel child actor and “Honey Boy” star appeared in court on Wednesday and entered his guilty pleas, “wanting to take accountability” for his role in the incident, his attorney Sarah Chervinsky said in a statement shared with The Times. The “Megalopolis” actor, 39, was arrested in New Orleans on Feb. 17. At the time, the New Orleans Police Department confirmed its officers charged LaBeouf with two counts of simple battery for allegedly assaulting two men near a bar in the French Quarter. TMZ published bystander video of the incident and footage of LaBeouf walking through the French Quarter hours before the brawl.
The actor was released from jail shortly after his arrest and posted $100,000 in bond. More than a week after his initial arrest, the New Orleans Police Department issued a warrant for the actor’s second arrest in connection with the same incident, and he racked up an additional simple battery charge. Prior to the second arrest, a New Orleans judge ordered LaBeouf to begin substance abuse treatment and undergo weekly drug testing.
He made his thoughts on that order very clear in a March interview with journalist and YouTuber Andrew Callaghan: “I’m just not into it, bro. I don’t think my answers are there.”
In the aftermath of the Mardi Gras incident, one of LaBeouf’s alleged victims accused the actor of threatening his life and shouting homophobic slurs. LaBeouf, whose history of violent behavior has led to previous arrests and other legal troubles, told Callaghan that leading up to the incident he was drunk and “felt infringed upon.” Elsewhere in the conversation, he said, “big gay people are scary to me,” and said he was wary that “three gay dudes are next to me, touching my leg.” He subsequently apologized and owned up to his homophobic comment.
“I wasn’t in my right mind so it’s on me,” he said elsewhere in the interview. “I said words not OK. I’m wrong for what I did.”
He added: “I am wrong for touching anyone, ever and that’s the end of my statement on this whole s—.”
In her statement, LaBeouf attorney Chervinsky said investigation by local authorities “proved exactly what Shia LaBeouf said from the beginning — that this was nothing more than a minor Mardi Gras bar tussle.” She underlined that there was “no evidence” the altercation was “about bias or prejudice.”
LaBeouf, she said, is “looking forward to focusing on family, work, and new creative projects.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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