Shia LaBeouf allegedly called queer man homophobic slurs before New Orleans arrest | Shia LaBeouf
The victims were arrested after the Transformers star allegedly beat them at a bar in New Orleans on Tuesday morning, while actor Shia LaBeouf allegedly directed homophobic slurs at two men, one who identified as gay and the other who was wearing a dress.
Jeffrey Damnit, who was born with the surname Klein and was named among the victims by New Orleans police, said in an interview on Wednesday that LaBeouf was wearing mascara, eyeshadow and lipstick when he tried to beat him, yelling “You’re a faggot.” He also shared a cellphone video showing LaBeouf being examined by first responders in the back of a vehicle, looking at Damn and saying “Faggot.”
“Keep calling me a faggot,” he can be heard saying in the video.
When asked via text message if he wanted to comment on LaBeouf’s arrest, the other man police named as the victim in the case – Nathan Thomas Reed – replied: “I want it to be known that you called people fagots.” Reed said that includes himself and that he identifies as a gay man.
Also the first police report He claimed that LaBeouf was heard saying, “These fagots put me in jail,” referring to his Catholic faith. That detail was not included in the sworn police statement outlining LaBeouf’s arrest in two separate misdemeanor cases on the morning of New Orleans celebrating the annual Mardi Gras holiday. That affidavit was filed at the courthouse, where a judge ordered the 39-year-old award-winning actor to be released from custody on his own recognizance Tuesday afternoon, pending the outcome of the case.
Representatives for LaBeouf did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the statements by Damnit and Reed, who spent Mardi Gras in drag. A police spokesman declined to comment, saying: “This remains an ongoing investigation which must be determined in court. If additional information becomes available for release we will provide an update accordingly.”
LaBeouf a few hours after his release seen She dances on Bourbon Street, a landmark during New Orleans’ famous festivities, with Mardi Gras beads around her neck and eviction papers in her mouth.
“God bless you guys, Mardi Gras is amazing,” LaBeouf told a reporter. WAFBnews station from nearby Baton Rouge. The award-winning actor said the best part of Mardi Gras is the interesting people he meets.
At around 4.30am local time on Ash Wednesday he cryptically wrote to X: “Release me.”
Damn itHe is a Los Angeles resident and frequent visitor to New Orleans. actionsHe said he hoped Tuesday’s arrest would prompt Screen Actors Guild president Sean Astin to investigate whether it was safe for LaBeouf to work with other members of the union.
“This would happen in any other day job,” Damnit said.
New Orleans Pride Center president Kyle DeVries also said LaBeouf’s battery allegations and homophobic comments come at a particularly precarious time for the LGBTQ+ community his organization serves.
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups: I am pleased And Human Rights Campaign In recent years, an increase in attacks based on gender identity as well as sexual orientation has been documented in the United States. This climate has resulted in part from Republican-controlled states eliminating or restricting the rights and protections of members of the LGBTQ+ community. But another, as DeVries points out, has been the casual normalization of hurtful insults.
“If someone with celebrity status attacks communities that are already under attack, that could give others license to do the same,” DeVries said, adding that LaBeouf would like to see “his peers in Hollywood hold him accountable for all substantiated allegations.”
“The people who hold the levers of power and decide whether she gets hired for a role or whether her next project gets funded need to demand social change before that happens,” he continued.
Police allege LaBeouf became increasingly aggressive at an establishment known as R Bar in the Marigny section of New Orleans, adjacent to the city’s famous French Quarter. Hell, he said he was at the R Bar too, and it appeared to him that LaBeouf was extremely drunk.
Hell, he allowed the Guardian to view multiple videos of LaBeouf getting in a bartender’s face; these included a clip showing the actor shouting animatedly.
Court documents state that LaBeouf tried to punch a bar manager who tried to fire him. LaBeouf then allegedly punched Damnit, who was assisting the bar manager after he was picked up, in the upper body.
LaBeouf then returned and punched Reed in the nose, but Reed said he didn’t want to fight, police said in court documents. In a report reviewed by the Guardian, police alleged LaBeouf repeatedly called Lanet and Reed “faggots.”
“These fagots put me in jail; I’m a Catholic,” said LaBeouf, who was in the news for receiving his confirmation ceremony in late 2023.
Hell, she said LaBeouf also told Damnit multiple times that he could kill her. Finally the audience He held LaBeouf down until police and paramedics arrived. He was taken to a hospital, discharged, and subsequently sentenced to two counts of simple battery.
The arrest sparked significant commentary among Mardi Gras revelers. These included Damnit, who posted several videos about LaBeouf; In one of them, she simultaneously called the actor “a tool” and expressed her wish that he “gets the help he needs.”
Damn said on Wednesday that he thought “you wouldn’t be allowed to party at Bourbon” after LaBeouf’s alleged behavior. And Damnit said he was disappointed to see LaBeouf “spent less time in jail than I slept that night.”
A friend of Damnit’s, criminal defense lawyer Michael Kennedy, was with him on Wednesday and said it was concerning that neither the arrest affidavit submitted to the court nor the police statement to the media made any mention of the homophobic slurs. This was even the case when Damnit videotaped an example.
Kennedy, who is gay, said LaBeouf’s release from custody was extraordinarily swift, especially at a time when little or no official business was being done in New Orleans.
“This sends the wrong message that someone famous could come to our celebration and terrorize other attendees,” Kennedy said, adding that it did not produce any meaningful consequences. “This is unacceptable.”
LaBeouf’s address in arrest documents is listed as a home in New Orleans’ West Riverside neighborhood that sold in December with a property tax value of about $840,000. famous news source Page Six LaBeouf reportedly moved to New Orleans to be closer to his family after splitting from his wife, actress and model Mia Goth.
Reports of LaBeouf’s unruly behavior in New Orleans ahead of Mardi Gras celebrations had surfaced for days. Hollywood Reporter.
Five months before his move, he settled a lawsuit against British singer FKA twigs, who accused him of sexual battery, assault and infliction of emotional distress during a past relationship. LaBeouf has denied wrongdoing.
He has previously discussed his struggles with sobriety, which included court-mandated rehab following his 2017 arrest in Savannah, Georgia.
LaBeouf’s next hearing in New Orleans criminal court is tentatively scheduled for March 19.
Damnit argued that no matter how the case is resolved, LaBeouf has disparaged the acting profession.
“I have a lot less credit than Shia LaBeouf,” Damnit said. “But it’s a shame to me that a Hollywood actor would come forward and embarrass the entire entertainment industry.”
