Shia LaBeouf Blames Mardi Gras Fight on Fear of “Big Gay People” and Being Touched

Shia LaBeouf may have just made his Mardi Gras fiasco a whole lot worse. Just to recap, according to the Los Angeles Times, LaBeouf was arrested on two counts of simple battery earlier this month in New Orleans during the city's legendary Mardi Gras celebration after he reportedly assaulted two men. On Thursday, February 26, a Louisiana judge ordered LaBeouf to undergo substance abuse and weekly drug treatment while out on bail. Sadly for the actor, on Saturday, February 28, he was arrested for an additional battery charge connected to the fight, as another alleged victim emerged. 

With all that being said, the Transformers star recently sat down for an interview with journalist and YouTube star Andrew Callaghan. While speaking on his Mardi Gras arrest, he made a few comments that many listeners are likely to find inflammatory and probably won’t make the job of LaBeouf’s attorney any easier. 

In Connection with the Mardi Gras Chaos, Shia LaBeouf says, “Big Gay People Are Scary to Me”

Since Callaghan had LaBeouf in front of him, he naturally went ahead and asked the star to speak on the Mardi Gras incident. That’s when the conversation took an interesting turn, as LaBeouf made a few incendiary comments. Speaking on what set off his anger that night, which he admits to not having been that angry in a while, LaBeouf shared, “I’ll be honest with you, Big gay people are scary to me.”

Callaghan immediately urged the star to clarify his comments, and LaBeouf followed with “When I’m like standing by myself and three gays are next to me, touching my leg, I get scared. I’m sorry. If that’s homophobic, then I’m that. Yeah.”  

The YouTube personality then went on to ask LaBeouf if “that happens a lot,” and the actor said, “No, it just happened one time.” Callaghan pressed the actor to confirm if he was speaking on recent events, and LaBeouf confirmed, “Well, that’s why I, umm, got arrested.”

Before quickly moving off the subject, LaBeouf did clarify, “I am wrong for touching anyone. Ever. And that’s the end of my statement on this whole sh*t.” Check out a clip of the interview below. As you'll be able to see for yourself, people left some interestnig comments underneath the post.

“I don’t think I have a drinking problem.”

Shia LaBeouf opens up about his arrest during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, claiming he was standing by himself when three gay men started touching his leg which made him get scared.

(???? Andrew Callaghan/YouTube)pic.twitter.com/Nx0YtNdIuG

— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) February 28, 2026

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