Shia LaBeouf has been entrenched in another wave of legal issues lately, which stem from a recent arrest. On February 17, LaBeouf (39) was taken into custody in New Orleans after getting into a fight with other individuals amid a days-long bar crawl for Mardi Gras. The actor has since discussed the altercation, though questions remain in regard to some of the specifics. As of late, LaBeouf’s also been aiming to clear another legal hurdle related to a different matter, and he and his team just received their desired update on that front.
A practitioner of the Catholic faith, LaBeouf, who’s currently out on bond, has been seeking permission to travel from Louisiana to Rome in order to witness his father’s baptism. LaBeouf initially made the request when he appeared in New Orleans Criminal District Court on February 26, and Judge Simone Levine denied the request for the trip, which was reportedly planned to happen between March 1st to the 8th. Per The Guardian, Levine struck down the appeal in great part due to the lack of a formal itinerary at the time.
However, Sarah Chervinsky – LaBeouf’s lawyer – reportedly made a separate request at the courthouse on March 4. Chervinsky spoke to magistrate Peter Hamilton about allowing her client to leave for a week in Italy, starting on the Wednesday of this week. Per sources, this particular request also included an itinerary. Ultimately, Hamilton opted to approve the trip, with that information being laid out in legal documents.
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Per legal fillings, Chervinsky confirmed that she possessed the information regarding where the Pieces of a Woman actor would be staying while overseas and offered to submit it to the courts “upon request.” Specific details on LaBeouf’s trip are mostly unclear, though sources claim an itinerary was submitted with the request sent to Hamilton. Initially, as noted in the original filing, the excursion was said to be “for religious purposes, including his father’s baptism.”
The back-and-forth regarding Shia LaBeouf’s now-approved request to travel to Italy came shortly after he was charged with two counts of simple battery due to his altercation in NOLA. It’s since been reported that, at the time, LaBeouf made homophobic comments towards the men he eventually came to blows with. The actor was subsequently hospitalized for injuries. A few days later, another arrest warrant was issued against LaBeouf in relation to another person involved with the altercation.
Before that other warrant came down, LaBeouf, during his hearing with Judge Levine, was ordered to pay over $100,00 in bond. The actor later stated his belief that those costs were covered by fellow celebrities that he’s friendly with. Levine also ordered LaBeouf to check into rehab, though the Honey Boy star argued during his viral interview with Andrew Callaghan that rehab didn’t hold the “answers” to his issues. LaBeouf reasoned that he didn’t have a drinking problem but a “small-man complex.”
LaBeouf’s conversation with Callaghan also garnered criticism from one of his ex-collaborators, Man Down writer Adam G. Simon. The scribe accused LaBeouf of being a “master” when it came to “manipulating public opinion.” During the conversation, the leading man touched on various topics, like the lawsuit his ex-girlfriend, FKA Twigs, filed against him as well as the state of his relationship with wife Mia Goth. LaBeouf and Goth have reportedly broken up but are working together to co-parent their 3-year-old daughter, Isabel.
As Shia LaBeouf embarks on his trip to Italy, it remains to be seen what will become of the legal situation sparked by his arrest. When discussing the matter, LaBeouf also put the onus on himself, saying he was “wrong for touching anyone ever” and that that was “the end of [his] statement” on the situation.