Culture

What We Know About Shia LaBeouf's 'Cabaret' Arrest

Shia LaBeouf was arrested last night at a performance of Broadway's Cabaret. While it's still unclear if LaBeouf—known for his bizarre, performance art-y antics—was doing something to prove that life is just a cabaret, old chum, here's what we know so far about the incident. 

By Esther Zuckerman
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Shia LaBeouf was arrested last night at a performance of Broadway's Cabaret. While it's still unclear if LaBeouf—known for his bizarre, performance art-y antics—was doing something to prove that life is just a cabaret, old chum, here's what we know so far about the incident.

He was smoking inside the theater...Both the New York Post and the New York Daily News, probably the best and worst sources for this sort of gossip, reported that LaBeouf was smoking inside Studio 54, which has been decked out to look like a nightclub, with tables instead of orchestra seats. Perhaps LaBeouf really thought he was at the Kit Kat Club. According to the News he had been drinking before getting to the theater.

He was also getting a handsy...The Daily News' team reported that LaBeouf "grabbed the butts of several actors," including star Alan Cumming. The play involves a measure of audience interaction. The Post added that he "was slapping people on the behind and in the back of the head."

He fed a woman a strawberry...According to CBS 2, witnesses said "they also saw LaBeouf stumbling inside the theater, in the bar, and feeding a woman a strawberry from her own plate." One witness assumed he was "working on a role, because it was that extreme."

Things only seemed to escalate after the cops came...According to the Post he "fell flat on his face" trying to walk away from cops after becoming "incoherent" and "very agitated." When he got to the station house he screamed obscenities, called a police officer a "fag," and and started spitting, prompting cops to "put a face mask on him."

NYPD spokesman George Tsouovakas told Reuters: "He was being rather difficult and combative, verbally ... to the point where security guards asked him to please leave the premises and he refused. Police were called and he was detained and arrested."

The show must go on...According to BroadwayWorld.com Danny Burstein, Tony-nominated member of the cast, posted on Facebook: " Ladies and gentlemen, this is your places call for Act II. Also, to let you know, Shia LaBeouf has just been escorted from the building in handcuffs. Yep, that just happened." (We could not find that post on Burstein's account, though he did recently post: "Namaste.") Cumming tweeted this morning: 

Now, lest you have forgotten, LaBeouf has had some Broadway related troubles in the past, dropping out of last year's production of Orphans, which starred that other tabloid fixation, Alec Baldwin.

Update: LaBeouf has been released from police custody, and is due back in court July 24. The AP's Rachelle Blidner also reported this nice-guy-Shia detail: "On Friday, as the pack of reporters trailed him to the hotel, a reporter fell out of her shoe. LaBeouf stopped to help her get back into it." 

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.