A complete timeline of Shia LaBeouf's most controversial moments from the past 13 years

• Shia LaBeouf has found himself mired in controversy frequently throughout his tumultuous career, which began as a child actor.
• Since then, LaBeouf has been arrested on several occasions on various charges, has been accused of plagiarism, and has been embroiled in public disputes with rappers.
• The actor has also been involved in other eyebrow-raising controversies, including punching a white nationalist and punching a fan in the name of art.
• His most recent controversy, however, is his most serious: His ex-girlfriend, singer FKA Twigs, filed a lawsuit against him, citing sexual battery, assault, and emotional abuse throughout their relationship. LaBeouf denied these accusations.
• Insider has rounded up the actor's most controversial moments of his career.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Audiences were first introduced to Shia LaBeouf in the early 2000s when he starred as the mischievous Louis Stevens in Disney's family show "Even Stevens."

But as LaBeouf turned from child actor to Hollywood superstar, his career and personal life took some controversial turns. 

Most recently, his ex-girlfriend, singer FKA Twigs, filed a lawsuit against him citing sexual battery, assault, and emotional abuse throughout their relationship, causing other exes to speak out. LaBeouf denied "many" of the accusations.

Here is a roundup of LaBeouf's most controversial moments throughout his decades-long career.

In 2007, Shia LaBeouf was arrested at a Walgreens pharmacy in Chicago

In 2007, LaBeouf was arrested at 2:30 a.m. in a Chicago Walgreens after he refused to leave the store following several requests by a security guard, who said that the actor, who was 21 at the time, appeared to be drunk. 

He was charged with criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor, though the charge was later dropped by the store.

Police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak told the Associated Press reports that after he was arrested, the officers noted that LaBeouf was "very courteous and polite." 

LaBeouf later said during an interview with David Letterman that the evening was part of his "nuts" 21st birthday celebrations and he ended up in the Walgreens because he was attempting to buy cigarettes.

"I got really wasted in Chicago and ended celebrating in Walgreens," he said.

LaBeouf wore a paper bag to the premiere of his 2014 film 'Nymphomaniac, Volume I'

LaBeouf famously turned up to the Berlin premiere of Lars von Trier's controversial film, "Nymphomaniac, Volume I," in February 2014, wearing a black tuxedo and a brown paper bag over his face.

The phrase "I am not famous anymore" was written across the front of the bag in large letters.

The Hollywood Reporter said that prior to the premiere, LaBeouf had been using the same catchphrase repeatedly on his Twitter account for several weeks. And earlier in the day during a press conference for the film, LaBeouf abruptly walked out after responding to just one question.

LaBeouf was arrested during a performance of 'Cabaret' in 2014

One of the actor's several arrests came in 2014 at New York City's infamous Studio 54, where he was arrested after disrupting a performance of Sam Mendes' rendition of "Cabaret."

As reported by Variety, LaBeouf was smoking inside the theater and stood up during the first act of the show and shouted at the actors, including stars Michelle Williams and Alan Cumming.

Police were notified and LaBeouf was subsequently handcuffed and escorted out of the theater during the intermission.

LaBeouf addressed the incident while appearing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in 2014, stating that he had just been to Ireland and had drunk a lot of whiskey. He noted that he had continued drinking after landing back in the US. LaBeouf said that he kept drinking at the show.

He also boasted about slapping Cumming' backside because he was "the sexiest man" he'd ever seen.

"I grabbed a whole cheek because I wanted a party right here in my pants," LaBeouf said before telling Kimmel that he was "disappointed" Cumming managed to "wiggle out of [his] Hercules grip."

LaBeouf then confirmed that police arrested him during the intermission and took him to the police station, where he spat on a police officer's shoe. LaBeouf was then escorted to a room where he was kept by himself for 25 hours, but was given a McDonald's egg sandwich.

LaBeouf later said, "I'm going to stay away from Broadway for a little bit."

Cumming later spoke about the incident while appearing on Conan O'Brien's late-night show later that year. 

"I think he was really messed up," Cumming recalled. "He was just wasted, and he was wasted from the second he walked into the thing. When I went down to go on stage to start the show, everyone was freaking out because there was someone who seemed to be a crazy person shouting and stuff."

LaBeouf pled guilty to disorderly conduct in connection to the incident.

In 2015, LaBeouf's video project '#INTRODUCTIONS' went viral

LaBeouf made headlines again in 2015 after his video collaboration with art students from London's Central Saint Martins went viral.

The video shows LaBeouf performing a series of impassioned yet seemingly random monologues in front of a green screen.

In the video titled "#INTRODUCTIONS," LaBeouf performs for 30 minutes in a variety of costumes and positions, including one monologue where he is wearing a black motorcycle helmet.

According to Dazed, LaBeouf was performing under the direction of the fine art students who used each of the short monologues as the introduction to their final year project.

The video quickly became source material for memes online. 

#INTRODUCTIONS (2015) from on Vimeo.

In 2015, LaBeouf starred in Sia's 'Elastic Heart' music video, which some criticized for having pedophilic undertones

LaBeouf and Sia collaborated on the latter's music video for her song "Elastic Heart" in 2015.

The video starred LaBeouf and Maddie Ziegler, who was 12 years old at the time, as two near-naked dancers.

The video drew strong reaction from some, with several people saying it had pedophilic undertones, although others defended the video.

Sia addressed the controversy herself in a series of tweets, writing: "I anticipated some 'pedophelia!!!' Cries for this video [sic]. All I can say is Maddie and Shia are two of the only actors I felt could play these two warring 'sia' self states."

Sia did apologize, however, to anyone who was "triggered" by the video.

The singer wrote: "My intention was to create some emotional content, not to upset anybody."

In 2016, LaBeouf slaps a student in the face in 'the name of art'

In one of his performance art pieces, LaBeouf spent 24 hours in an elevator for a live-streamed art piece called "#ELEVATE." The elevator was located in Oxford Union, a debating society at Oxford University.

During the performance, a student at the university helped the performance take a violent turn. According to the audio of the performance, obtained by Pop Trigger, a student tells LaBeouf he is a performance artist and asks LaBeouf to help him "with completion of [his] next piece by punching [him] in the face, for the sake of art."

"Oh man, you want me to punch you in the face?" LaBeouf replied. "I don't want to punch you very hard."

The student then said to LaBeouf, "Do it. Don't be a p---y," before LaBeouf compromised and agreed to slap him in the face. A slapping sound can be heard before the elevator doors open, and LaBeouf tells the student it was nice to meet him.

The full live-stream is still available to watch on YouTube, if you feel like watching LaBeouf in an elevator for 24 hours.

Also in 2016, LaBeouf dissed Soulja Boy in a rap, and the rapper lashed out at LaBeouf

LaBeouf decided to give rapping a go in 2016, and curiously dissed both Soulja Boy and Lil Yachty in a verse.

"Him and Soulja on that shout out sh--/This is not, this a murder, this is tragedy man/He's like Lil Romeo meets Raggedy Ann," he spit.

As reported by Complex, Soulja Boy did not respond kindly to LaBeouf's bars.

In an Instagram video, Soulja Boy called the actor a bunch of obscenities before adding, "You can't never come to Atlanta. You can't never come to the streets in the hood."

"You don't want no beef. On my mama, you better stick to acting n---a cause this sh-- get real," Soulja added.

In response to this, LaBeouf released another freestyle, and promised to visit Atlanta "when [his] schedule is flexible."

LaBeouf was arrested and charged with assault at an anti-Trump protest in 2017

In 2017, LaBeouf created the campaign "HE WILL NOT DIVIDE US" in reference to then-recently-elected President Donald Trump.

The exhibition featured a camera placed on the wall of New York City's Museum of the Moving Image, with people encouraged to stand in front of it and speak to it.

Chants of "He will not divide us" were frequent, but things again took a more violent turn when one person approached the camera and reportedly said, "Hitler did nothing wrong."

LaBeouf reacted angrily to this and after shouting at the man, he reportedly pushed the man.

The actor was then arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault and harassment.

In 2017, LaBeouf had an outburst at a California bowling alley after a bartender refused to serve him French fries

Later in 2017, LaBeouf was involved in another public incident. At a bowling alley in California, a very drunk LaBeouf asked a bartender for French fries, but the bartender refused to serve him.

In a video shared by TMZ, LaBeouf can be seen shouting and cursing at the bartender, and claims that he was hit on the head with a bottle. LaBeouf then said: "You f---ing racist b---h!"

Security tried to escort LaBeouf out of the bowling alley, but he consistently stopped to call the bartender "racist" a few more times before eventually leaving the premises.

However, TMZ reported that LaBeouf had to return to the bowling alley because he was still wearing the alley's bowling shoes.

In 2017, LaBeouf was arrested in Georgia and went on a racist tirade against a Black police officer

2017 proved to be even more difficult year for LaBeouf as he was arrested again in July, this time on charges for intoxication, disorderly conduct, and obstruction. The actor was in Savannah while filming "The Peanut Butter Falcon."

CNN reports that LaBeouf approached a bystander and a police officer at around 4 a.m. in Georgia and asked for a cigarette. After he was refused one, LaBeouf grew upset and verbally abusive. He was asked to leave the area, but refused and continued to use profanities and verbally abusive language towards the officer.

"When the officer attempted to place LaBeouf under arrest, LaBeouf ran to a nearby hotel," the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement about the incident. " LaBeouf was arrested in the hotel lobby, where his disorderly behavior continued."

LaBeouf was then arrested and bodycam footage, obtained by TMZ, showed LaBeouf continuing to say vulgarities.

"You've got a president who doesn't give a s--- about you. And you're stuck in a police force that doesn't give a f--- and you," he said to the officers. "So you want to arrest what, white people who give a f---?"

The footage then showed the actor at the police station after his arrest. In the video, LaBeouf said to the officers, "You're going to hell, straight to hell, bro," but then singled out one particular cop and said, "You especially, Devin."

A white officer asked LaBeouf why he said Devin specifically, to which LaBeouf replied: "Cause he's a Black man."

LaBeouf later apologized for his racist tirade and behavior in a statement.

He wrote on Twitter, "I am deeply ashamed of my behavior and make no excuse for it. I don't know if these statements are too frequent, or not shared often enough, but I am certain that my actions warrant a very sincere apology to the arresting officers, and I am grateful for their restraint."

His tweet continued: "My outright disrespect for authority is problematic to say the least, and completely destructive to say the worst. It is a new low. A low I hope is a bottom."

In 2018, LaBeouf told Esquire that this whole incident was "mortifying."

The actor added, "White privilege and desperation and disaster... It came from a place of self-centered delusion... It was me trying to absolve myself of guilt for getting arrested."

Then, in 2019, LaBeouf said that his "Peanut Butter Falcon" costar Zach Gottsagen saved him from this "twisted" time in his life.

LaBeouf said that Gottsagen "nursed me back, on a boat, during a scene where we're talking about, like, the painful past... That stuff hurts."

In August 2020, LaBeouf was accused of wearing brown-face in David Ayer's movie 'The Tax Collector'

"Fury" collaborators LaBeouf and David Ayer reteamed in 2020 for "The Tax Collector," a gangster movie, featuring a cast of brown-skinned Latinos. LaBeouf, however, was the film's exception.

In the movie, LaBeouf appears to be acting as a "stereotypical Mexican," according to the LA Times, and inflicts an accent to go with the barrio slang-filled dialogue.

This led to accusations that LaBeouf was essentially doing "brown-face" to play a character outside of his own ethnicity.

However, Ayer quickly tried to shut down these accusations and explained that LaBeouf isn't actually playing a Latino character, he is simply playing a white character.

"Shia is playing a whiteboy who grew up in the hood," Ayer clarified. "This is a Jewish dude playing a white character. Also the only white dude in the movie."

In September 2020, LaBeouf was charged with misdemeanor, battery, and petty theft

LaBeouf was in trouble with police again in 2020 when he was charged with misdemeanor, battery, and petty theft.

LaBeouf became involved in a physical altercation with a man named Tyler Murphy, which ended with LaBeouf stealing Murphy's hat and running away.

Although the incident took place on June 12, the charges were filed on September 24, according to the Associated Press. LaBeouf has not been arrested for this charge as of yet, although the LA Times reported that the complaint requests that an arrest warrant for LaBeouf is issued.

In December 2020, FKA Twigs filed a lawsuit against LaBeouf for sexual battery and assault

In December 2020, the New York Times reported that singer FKA Twigs filed a lawsuit against ex-boyfriend LaBeouf.

FKA Twigs claims that emotional and physical abuse took place during their relationship, which lasted from 2018 to 2019 when they starred together in LaBeouf's autobiographical movie "Honey Boy."

In the lawsuit, FKA Twigs claims that LaBeouf was violent, accusing him of throwing her against a car, choking her, and giving her bruises. The singer also claimed that LaBeouf was emotionally abusive and wouldn't "let her wear clothing to bed."

"What I went through with Shia was the worst thing I've ever been through in the whole of my life," FKA told the newspaper. "I don't think people would ever think that it would happen to me. But I think that's the thing. It can happen to anybody."

The New York Times also presented LaBeouf with accusations from another ex-girlfriend, Karolyn Pho, who alleged that LaBeouf headbutted her and made her bleed.

In an email to the Times, LaBeouf said that "many of these allegations are not true," although he did say that FKA Twigs and other ex-girlfriends deserved "the opportunity to air their statements publicly and accept accountability for those things [he has] done."

"I have been abusive to myself and everyone around me for years," LaBeouf added in a statement. "I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I'm ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt."

In a statement made to Insider, representatives of FKA Twigs, whose birth name is Tahliah Debrett Barnett, said: "Shia [LaBeouf] has abused Ms. Barnett, Ms. Pho and others. We tried to resolve this matter privately on the condition that Mr. LaBeouf agree to receive meaningful and consistent psychological treatment. Since he was unwilling to agree to get appropriate help, Ms. Barnett filed this suit to prevent others from unknowingly suffering similar abuse by him."

Singer Sia added that she has been 'hurt' by LaBeouf, too, calling him a 'pathological liar'

Days after FKA's lawsuit became public knowledge, singer Sia chimed in on the controversy and claimed that she, too, has been "hurt" by LaBeouf.

Sia claimed that LaBeouf "conned" her into a relationship with him after lying about his relationship status.

In a tweet linking to the Times article, Sia wrote: "I too have been hurt emotionally by Shia, a pathological liar, who conned me into an adulterous relationship claiming to be single. I believe he's very sick and have compassion for him AND his victims. Just know, if you love yourself- stay safe, stay away."

Sia then tweeted again, with a link to a Variety story about the news, writing: "Also I love you ⁦@FKAtwigs⁩ This is very courageous and I'm very proud of you."

It is unclear when LaBeouf and Sia were romantically involved, or what the nature of their relationship was, but they did work together on Sia's 2015 music video for "Elastic Heart," which, as aforementioned, was the subject of its own controversy.

Read More:

Sia says Shia LaBeouf is a 'pathological liar' who lied about his relationship status amidst lawsuit alleging abusive relationship

FKA Twigs sues ex Shia LaBeouf, claiming in a lawsuit that he choked her and grabbed her 'to the point of bruising'

14 things you probably didn't know about 'The Undoing'

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673) or visit its website to receive confidential support.

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673) or visit its website to receive confidential support.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufony0tMiaZKWZkpq8trKMpqasrF2YvK%2FA0aitnqqjnq6tecyopJ6mpKh6tbXMnqOippU%3D