New Orleans has long been a city of escape for Hollywood stars hoping to step out of the limelight.
Actors John Goodman and Jennifer Coolidge quietly cocooned in their respective Garden District mansions for years — the “White Lotus” star even hosts an annual Halloween party that draws locals and stars to the city for spooky season. Jude Law and his family reportedly rented a place Uptown while his London area home was renovated. Aside from popping up at a few events, Law kept a pretty low profile.
Comedian Amy Schumer briefly lived in the heart of it all in a French Quarter cottage where she enjoyed listening to drunk people party and crashing wedding second lines that marched near her front door. And before Taylor Swift brought the Eras Tour to the Superdome, she visited the Crescent City to celebrate her birthday, largely going without notice.
In a city known for its excess, A-listers have found peace in the party and have successfully led relatively quiet lives away from headlines and paparazzi.
Enter: Shia LaBeouf
The “Transformers” and “Holes” actor certainly made a grand entrance during Carnival leading up to his arrest on Fat Tuesday following a fight at R Bar. And in the week since Mardi Gras, LaBeouf hasn’t shied away from cameras or the general public.
LaBeouf, who is Louisiana Cajun, is no stranger to New Orleans. He’s spent time here in the past and was photographed in Slidell in 2025. His recent presence in the Crescent City, however, has resulted in viral videos, national headlines and an online stir in New Orleans over whether he should be left alone or show more respect for the city that appears to be his new home.
Here’s a timeline of LaBeouf’s recent adventures in New Orleans.
A days-long bar crawl
LaBeouf first made headlines this year while soaking in the Mardi Gras revelry as a spectator at the Bacchus parade Feb. 15. With beads draped around his neck, the actor went shirtless and posed for photos with fans.
The Hollywood Reporter wrote that LaBeouf showed up at Ms. Mae’s during the parade — still shirtless — in a state that an employee described as “inebriated” and “somewhat belligerent.” He did put on his shirt when asked, but reportedly struggled to comprehend the bar’s strict cash only rule. He was ultimately asked to leave the beloved dive after attempting to clock in as a celebrity bartender, according to employee interviews with The Hollywood Reporter.
But even before his free-the-nipple foray along the Bacchus route, word of unusual encounters with the actor proliferated around the city. A Dos Jefes patron accused LaBeouf of being obnoxiously loud at the jazz bar on Thursday, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and a French Quarter bartender told The Times-Picayune that she on Friday asked LaBeouf and a woman to leave a French Quarter bar after a brief argument over Irish car bombs.
R Bar brawl
The consequences of LaBeouf’s apparent day’s-long bar crawl across New Orleans (hey, we’ve all been there) came to a head early on Fat Tuesday. It was just before 1 a.m. at R Bar, where one witness said LaBeouf had seemingly been holed up since at least 5 p.m.
It’s still not exactly clear what sent LaBeouf into his now infamous fit of rage, but an employee and other patrons attempted to force LaBeouf out of the bar after he became increasingly “irate and aggressive,” according to a New Orleans Police Department arrest report.
It was a chaotic scene for the next roughly 30 minutes, according to police reports and witness interviews, as several patrons and staff members tried to get LaBeouf to leave, all while the actor threw punches and shoved those involved.
Video footage shared with The Times-Picayune shows LaBeouf removing his shirt — not for the first time this Carnival season — outside the bar and squaring up to fight as several bystanders attempt to defuse the situation, shouting “Don’t swing” and “Don’t do it.” LaBeouf can be seen shoving one person to the ground and punching another in the face before pushing a third.
NOPD officers said in an arrest report that LaBeouf punched two men, dislocating one victim’s nose, and repeatedly shouted a homophobic slur during the fight and his arrest, at one point saying, “These f****ts put me in jail. I’m a Catholic.”
LaBeouf was booked into the Orleans Parish jail on two counts of simple battery.
Back on Bourbon
The bar brawl didn’t keep LaBeouf down for long. He was released on his own recognizance at around 9:45 a.m. the same day, according to court documents, meaning he did not have to pay bail so long as he shows for future court dates.
Later that night, LaBeouf was out partying on Bourbon Street again. Baton Rouge’s WAFB-TV reporter Liam Combs found the star standing outside Arnaud’s at the corner of Bourbon and Bienville streets, posing for photos and chatting with fans. This time, he had a shirt on.
“God bless you guys,” LaBeouf said in the brief interview. “Mardi Gras is amazing.”
‘Free me’
Hours later on Wednesday morning, LaBeouf took to social media to comment on his arrest publicly for the first time. With just two words posted to X at 4:27 a.m., he kept it brief: “Free me.”
The cryptic post was likely a reference to the “Free Shia” phrase that became a kind of Mardi Gras motto across the city and a trending hashtag on social media immediately following the news of LaBeouf’s arrest. It gained popularity online and elsewhere before the news of LaBeouf’s use of a homophobic slur was released by police.
Jogging and coffee
In what is perhaps a Lenten return to health and wellness after the rowdy Mardi Gras season, LaBeouf has been spotted and photographed jogging and getting coffee Uptown.
He was photographed running in Audubon Park and attempting to visit Catholic churches on Ash Wednesday, but this was mid-afternoon and the churches were already closed, Page Six reported. He was also photographed at Magazine Street Mediterranean restaurant Saj that day and spotted at Italian restaurant Osteria Lupo over the weekend, and has frequented a Magazine Street coffee shop.
Congregation Coffee regular Cory Decareaux, who lives in the neighborhood, said he’s seen the actor six or seven times along Magazine Street over the past week.
“Always on a run,” he said, “or he comes into the coffee shop.”
Controversy over New Orleans restaurant’s post
Saj drew a mixed bag of criticism and praise on Monday when the Magazine Street restaurant posted cheery photos of LaBeouf visiting the restaurant on Instagram, writing, “You really never know who you’ll see at SAJ.”
The post garnered more than 300 likes and several positive comments. But some social media users pointed to the troubling allegations against LaBeouf, including his R Bar fight, past arrests and a lawsuit he settled with British musician and dancer FKA Twigs accusing him of emotional and physical abuse.
“Love yall and your food, but I’d rather someone who doesn’t throw around homophobic slurs or punch bartenders represent New Orleans,” one commenter said.
The restaurant owners took to the comments seemingly in response to the controversy.
“We welcome everyone who comes in to enjoy great food,” they wrote. “Saj is about community and hospitality.”
Did he buy a house Uptown?
Despite the drama, LaBeouf appears to be here to stay. There are signs the actor has purchased a home Uptown and is living in New Orleans, though he has not publicly commented on the move.
When the NOPD arrested LaBeouf on Feb. 17, the star’s residential address was listed as a home in the 5300 block of Laurel Street. The renovated cottage was first built in 1921 and has three bedrooms, three and a half baths and is two blocks off Magazine Street, where LaBeouf has been spotted jogging and frequenting businesses since his arrival.
The house sold for just under $1.1 million on Dec. 15, 2025, to a business registered to attorney Malcolm Meyer, according to the Secretary of State’s office. There is a homestead exemption on the property, meaning the buyer must occupy it as their primary residence.
