One of the alleged victims of Shia LaBeouf’s Mardi Gras assault has spoken out, claiming that the actor fired homophobic abuse before attacking him.
LaBeouf was arrested on ‘Fat Tuesday’, the final day of Mardi Gras celebrations before Ash Wednesday, with the actor being charged with two counts of simple battery.
A comment from local police claimed that the actor was ejected from a bar and, in the process of being kicked out, attacked someone and hit them with ‘closed fists’. He is also alleged to have attacked a second person, being held down by members of the public until police arrived and he was arrested.
Viral footage has also emerged showing him threatening patrons outside a bar, with bar staff stating that he had been ‘terrorising’ New Orleans in a multi-day binge. Further videos published by TMZ and the Daily Mail have shown him head-butting someone as well as being held in the back of an emergency vehicle.
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One of the two people he is alleged to have assaulted has now spoken to The Hollywood Reporter, revealing what happened in the bizarre viral incident.
‘Jeffrey Dammit’ is supposedly a ‘longtime local fixture’ and master of ceremonies for various events in New Orleans. He stated that LaBeouf knocked into him before turning around and screaming at Jeffrey, reportedly saying: “Don’t you f*cking push me. I’ll kill you.”
Despite having not touched LaBeouf he then said he tried to defuse the situation, however the actor reportedly got even more heated.
This reportedly led to him calling Jeffrey a homophobic slur, with the local saying that LaBeouf had told him he’d ‘kick his ass’ before calling him a ‘f*ggot’.
The actor later came back to the same bar, yelling at a bartender before being escorted outside where he supposedly paced back and forth saying: “You’re all a bunch of f*cking f*ggots. I’ll kick your ass.”
Jeffrey stated that LaBeouf proceeded to attack two separate bartenders, breaking one of their noses in the process.
Videos have since shown LaBeouf being restrained and continuing to shout, with one even showing someone raining blows on the actors head and telling him to ‘chill the f*ck out’.
Jeffrey said of the incident: “He kept trying to get up and fight people… He wouldn’t stop screaming slurs.
“That’s why I say this wasn’t just a bar fight. This was about hate.
“Anytime somebody insists on calling me a ‘f*ggot’ and threatening to hurt me because of it — that’s not something you ever get used to.
“I’ve worked in bars for years. I’ve seen fights. But when someone is screaming that word over and over while trying to attack people, that’s different.”
The hate crime victim also pointed to an unusual detail about LaBeouf’s arrest. The actor has since been released, showing up drinking at Mardi Gras celebrations later the same day drinking, dancing, and holding up his release papers for cameras.
According to Jeffrey though, those arrested during Mardi Gras are not generally released until Ash Wesdnesday to avoid them being able to return straight to partying.
He said: “In decades of coming to Mardi Gras, I’ve always understood that if you go to jail during Mardi Gras, you’re not getting out until after Ash Wednesday.
“The only thing I’m surprised about is that anybody else would have been in jail.”
Jeffrey, who is himself an actor, added that it sends a ‘terrible message’ about accountability before saying: “I would not feel safe running into him on a set.
“If he could make a call and get out of jail before anybody else, what’s stopping him from making a call about my career?”
LaBeouf has spoken openly about his alcoholism, blaming past abuse of FKA twigs on it, however, has previously claimed to have been sober for years.
LADbible Group have previously contacted representatives for Shia LaBeouf for comment.
Topics: Shia LaBeouf, Celebrity, Crime, US News, TV and Film
Michael Slavin