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Shia LaBeouf Admits He's Drinking Every Day, Months After Mardi Gras Bar Brawl Arrest
New court documents reveal the actor told authorities he drinks daily while completing probation for a battery case stemming from a New Orleans Mardi Gras altercation — even as he insists he doesn't have "a drinking problem."
Shia LaBeouf is being candid about his relationship with alcohol — and it's raising eyebrows. According to newly surfaced court paperwork reported by TMZ, the actor self-reported to authorities that he drinks alcohol daily, months after he pleaded guilty to battery charges tied to a chaotic Mardi Gras night in New Orleans.
The documents, filed as part of LaBeouf's ongoing probation compliance, show he denied needing mental health treatment and has otherwise stayed compliant with his check-ins. Per the filing, he's expected to complete both anger management and substance abuse treatment programs by next month, and to skip his next scheduled hearing, on September 23, due to a film shoot.
How we got here
The saga began on February 17, when LaBeouf was arrested in New Orleans' French Quarter on charges connected to a string of altercations outside bars, according to Good Morning America. A second arrest followed on February 28 after he turned himself in on an additional battery count. NBC News reported that an Orleans Parish judge ultimately handed LaBeouf a six-month suspended sentence and two years' probation after he pleaded guilty to three counts of simple battery, with mandatory alcohol treatment as a condition.
"I THINK I HAVE A SMALL MAN COMPLEX... IT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH ANGER AND EGO MORE THAN MY DRINKING."
In the aftermath of the arrest, LaBeouf addressed the incident directly in a YouTube interview, admitting his conduct was something he needed to "deal with," while also revealing he hadn't been sober in roughly nine months at that point. Notably, he pushed back on the idea of returning to formal rehab, arguing his issues were rooted more in ego and anger than substance use — a stance that now sits in tension with his own court-documented admission of daily drinking.
The contradiction is striking given LaBeouf's public sobriety journey: back in 2022, he had claimed more than 600 days sober. The actor's attorney has also pushed back on aspects of the case, questioning whether the six-figure bail set for LaBeouf would have been imposed on a non-celebrity defendant. LaBeouf, best known for the "Transformers" franchise and more recent indie turns, has not publicly commented further on the new court filings as of this report.