Actor Shia LaBeouf, who was arrested this month over an alleged assault outside a bar during Mardi Gras, enters New Orleans Criminal Court, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
A New Orleans judge ordered actor Shia LaBeouf to return to drug and alcohol rehabilitation and set a $100,000 bond on Thursday. That comes after the film star was charged with two counts of battery over an alleged assault outside a bar during Mardi Gras.
LaBeouf appeared in court wearing a fleece jacket and jeans tucked into cowboy boots.
Orleans Parish Criminal Court Judge Simone Levine called him out for allegedly yelling homophobic slurs while hitting multiple people near the French Quarter. The police report said LaBeouf dislocated one victim’s nose. Shia LaBeouf now has to submit to weekly drug tests, including one on the spot in the courthouse. He agreed and his attorney said the test did not show illegal substances in his system. Judge Levine said the episode was a concern for “the safety of this larger community, especially relative to a marginalized community that has gone through so much terror,” referring to the LGBTQ+ community.
“This defendant does not take his alcohol addiction seriously,” Levine said. “This court does not believe he understands the level of seriousness when it comes to these allegations.”
Jude Levine ordered LaBeouf to stay away from the victims and the bar where the fight occurred.
The judge denied a request by Shia LaBeouf to travel to Rome in March for “religious observations, including his father’s baptism.” Levine said during the hearing that she was concerned whether LaBeouf “could handle his alcohol.”
“Frankly,” LaBeouf’s attorney Sarah Chervinsky told the judge, “being drunk on Mardi Gras is not a crime.”
Jeffrey Damnit previously told The Associated Press that LaBeouf repeatedly punched him and used homophobic slurs while threatening his life. Damnit said he believed LaBeouf had targeted him because he wore makeup and eyeliner.
“This guy wants me to be dead because I wear makeup,” Damnit said. “It’s a screwed-up thing.”
The judge released Shia LaBeouf without bond within hours of his arrest on Feb. 17. She said on Thursday that she had not previously had access to a police report that said the actor allegedly used homophobic slurs as he returned to a bar. He also hit people with a closed fist after being asked to leave. Videos of the altercations have surfaced showing LaBeouf striking multiple people.
After LaBeouf was released from custody, the actor was seen in the French Quarter dancing in the streets on Mardi Gras.
LaBeouf posted bond and declined to comment to reporters. He has not yet formally entered a plea to the charges.
“No, I won’t say a word,” he said in a court hallway while returning from taking a drug and alcohol test before the judge’s order. “God bless you, leave me alone.”
Associated Press/Report for America writer Jack Brook contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
