Shia LaBeouf has experienced a number of ups and downs in his 31 years of life. It’s near impossible to even characterize him. Child actor, indie film star, blockbuster celebrity, (dubious) performance artist, raging maniac—these are all apt descriptions for Mr. LaBeouf. And whether he’s acting out on purpose as a (barely-passable) form of art, or he’s seriously losing it, he knows how to keep our attention.
Just recently, Shia stepped back into the spotlight for a profile in Esquire, where he apologized for some of his past behavior, spoke about an upcoming film where he will play his father, and revealed that Kanye West stole all of his clothes. That last one might seem out of left field, but a deep dive into how Kanye’s wardrobe seems to continue to mirror Shia’s looks makes the claim believable. Also, Shia definitely did give the rapper his hat from Indiana Jones. Clearly, his influence expands beyond those “irrelevant” Transformers movies.
But whether Shia is being lauded for being a style icon, appearing in artsy, NSFW music videos, having sex in art-house films, or staging some intriguing art performances where he claims not to be famous anymore, it’s undeniable that the man has a dark side. From drunken rants to multiple arrests to incoherent interviews, Shia is known for questionable behavior.
It’s no surprise then, that his career on and off screen has been filled with controversy. He has offended many and shucked responsibility for his actions more than once, and while he is apologetic about his past, the jury is still out on whether or not Shia has really turned a new leaf. Until his next “episode,” here are all of Shia LaBeouf’s most controversial moments.
1. He took it way too far when filming 'Lawless.'
View this video on YouTube
Date: 2011
Lawless tells the story of brother bootleggers hiding their illegal venture in backwoods Virginia in 1931. During filming, Shia reportedly got a little too in touch with his character, allegedly spending the entire time drinking moonshine, quarreling with his co-star Tom Hardy, and even “terrifying” Mia Wasikowska with his aggression on-set. Needless to say, his commitment to the role was not appreciated, nor did it seem to pay off. The film only scored a 67% percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
2. He was accused of plagiarizing, then of plagiarizing his apology.
View this video on YouTube
Date: Dec. 2013
When Shia posted his short film— Howard Cantor— online, he likely expected the masses to revel in his genius. However, many noticed the similarities between Shia’s work and indie comic author Dan Clowes' 2007 comic Justin M. Damiano. Clowes noticed that Shia had stolen his story as well, telling BuzzFeed, "I saw that he took the script and even many of the visuals from a very personal story I did six or seven years ago and passed it off as his own work. I actually can’t imagine what was going through his mind."
Shia eventually apologized—using an apology stolen from a Yahoo! Answers post. If that wasn’t bad enough, Shia called the whole thing performance art. He’s truly come up with the best excuse for bad behavior ever.
3. He wore a paper bag on his head to the red carpet.
4. He was arrested during a performance of “Cabaret."
View this video on YouTube
Date: June 26, 2014
Shia is no stranger to jail, having been arrested the first time when he was nine years old for stealing a pair of Nike Cortez. But a Broadway show seems like an unlikely local for criminal activity, even when it comes to Shia.
Back in 2014, though, the actor was escorted out of “Cabaret” for not only being roaringly drunk but also lighting a cigarette in the theater and grabbing the star of the show Alan Cummings’ ass but because he was so “seduced” by the performer’s leather pants. The sexual harassment and drunken antics weren’t appreciated, Shia was arrested during intermission. His retelling of the night is…something.
5. His video art piece devolved into a bizarre rant.
View this video on YouTube
Date: May 2015
The actor filmed half an hour of video intros to student art pieces for Central Saint Martins, an art school in London. While the project, titled “#INTRODUCTIONS” and filmed in front of a green screen, seemed unassuming enough, things took a turn during the video when one clip, framed as a “motivational talk,” featured Shia aggressively screaming “DO IT” while flexing.The joke was on Shia when one industrious videographer cut the footage to look like Shia was delivering a threatening TED Talk.
6. He punched a fan in the face in the name of art.
View this video on YouTube
Date: Feb. 19, 2016
Things really got interesting when Shia decided performance art was his calling. In one stunt, he spent 24 hours holed up in an elevator for a piece called “#ELEVATE”, which was live-streamed across the Internet. His work may have been bizarre, but at least it was benign—that is, until one of his fans (another aspiring performance artist) asked Shia to punch him in the face in the name of art. Like the great artist he is, Shia complied. While the actual punch was not captured on video, the fan did call Shia a “pussy” for not wanting to punch him, and that slight seemed to motivate his artistic impulses. Who says art isn’t the same as a playground argument?
7. He called out Soulja Boy in a freestyle.
View this video on YouTube
Date: Dec. 2, 2016
In 2016, Shia decided to add “rapper” to his resume, spitting a verse that called out Soulja Boy and Lil Yatchy: "Him and Soulja on that shout out shit/This is not, this a murder, this is tragedy man/He’s like Lil Romeo meets Raggedy Ann." While most of the world missed the diss, Soulja Boy took the slight to heart. He posted a video on Instagram telling Shia never to come to Atlanta: "You a bitch ass n***a, you can't never come to Atlanta. You can't never come to the streets in the hood. You can never live my life, n***a. You need to stick to acting, real shit n***a." He continued, "Fuck Shia LaBeouf, n***a. Keep my name out your mouth, n***a. You don't want no beef. On my mama, you better stick to acting n***a cause this shit get real."
Twitter went wild over the beef, making fun of Soulja Boy for saying he owned Atlanta. Shia himself released another freestyle in response, likely with the intention to stir up even more controversy—and probably in the name of “art.”
8. He punched a Nazi.
View this video on YouTube
Date: Jan. 26, 2017
Even Shia’s staunchest critics had to be on his side with this particular outburst. For a recent project at the Museum of the Moving Image, Shia presented “HE WILL NOT DIVIDE US,” a four-year interactive protest against Donald Trump’s presidency featuring people speaking into a camera for a livestream. The virtual demonstration took a dark turn when a man got behind the camera with Shia to say “Hitler did nothing wrong!” Shia responded appropriately (see the full argument for why if you’re not on board with his response), punching the white supremacist in the face. While Shia was hauled out by the NYPD, a bystander reportedly said, “Shia took a hit for us…. There were all these Nazis here…he came out…and tried to protect us.” We’d like to see Shia use his powers for good more often.
9. He got in a fight at a bowling alley.
View this video on YouTube
Date: April 6, 2017
Is no place safe from Shia’s wrath? From Walgreens to Broadway, the man doesn’t discriminate when it comes to wreaking havoc. In 2017, he had an outburst at a bowling alley in California when the bartender refused to serve a drunken Shia French fries. Unlike some of his other bad behavior, this episode was caught on video. In the video, Shia even calls the bartender “racist” and storms out. According to TMZ, however, he had to return with his tail between his legs—because he was still wearing bowling shoes.
10. He was arrested in Georgia after a reportedly racist tirade.
View this video on YouTube
Date: Oct. 19, 2017
While filming The Peanut Butter Falcon in Georgia, Shia drunkenly got into an altercation with the police, reportedly going off on an expletive-filled racist rant to the cops when they wouldn’t let him have a cigarette. While Shia is no stranger to getting arrested, this latest controversy seems to have sent him over the edge and caused him to finally take responsibility for his actions. At least, that’s what he seems to be promising in his Esquire profile: “I’m a buffoon. My public outbursts are failures. They’re not strategic. They’re a struggling motherfucker showing his ass in front of the world.”
Hopefully Shia is working past these controversies and towards becoming a better person, actor, and artist.
