Shia LaBeouf is speaking out after his arrest for an alleged altercation in New Orleans. LaBeouf, 39, took to X on Wednesday, February 18, writing the message, "Free me." News broke on Tuesday, February 17, that LaBeouf was involved in a physical fight that caused paramedics to be called to the scene. Us Weekly confirmed LaBeouf is facing two counts of simple battery, with a pretrial hearing set for March 19. LaBeouf has been involved in various legal issues since 2014. Shortly after his 2020 exit from Olivia Wilde's film Don't Worry Darling, the actor was accused of "relentless abuse" by ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs. Look Back at Shia LaBeouf's Ups and Downs: Arrests, Mia Goth Splits, More In her December 2020 lawsuit, Twigs, 38, alleged she experienced sexual battery, assault and emotional distress during her relationship with LaBeouf. (The former couple were together from 2018 to 2019.) LaBeouf claimed in a statement to The New York Times that "many of these allegations are not true," but he accepted "accountability" for his actions and revealed that he was in a 12-step program and therapy. "I'm not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel. I have no excuses for my alcoholism or aggression, only rationalizations. I have been abusive to myself and everyone around me for years," he told NYT at the time. "I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I'm ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt. There is nothing else I can really say." LaBeouf later claimed in a 2022 interview with Bishop Robert Barron that preparing to play a Catholic saint in the movie Padre Pio made him refocus his efforts on addressing his mental health. "But I was also in this deep desire to hold on," he said about how he found his faith while researching the role. "The reach-out had happened. I was already there, I had nowhere to go. This was the last stop on the train. There was nowhere else to go - in every sense." He continued: "I know now that God was using my ego to draw me to Him. Drawing me away from worldly desires. It was all happening simultaneously. But there would have been no impetus for me to get in my car, drive up [to the monastery] if I didn't think, 'Oh, I'm gonna save my career.'" Shia LaBeouf's Dating History: Megan Fox, Mia Goth and More LaBeouf directly addressed "the woman who accused" him, saying, "I wanted to go on Twitter and write all these things. I wanted to justify this and explain all this. Now I actually see that - the woman saved my life. She is, for me, a saint in my life. She saved my life. That perspective switch feels miraculous." At the time, LaBeouf recalled how "nobody" wanted to speak to him amid his public scandals - "including my mother." "At this point I'm nuclear. ... The manager's not calling. The agent's not calling. I'm not connected to the business anymore," he claimed. "I had a gun on the table. I was outta here. I didn't want to be alive anymore when all this happened. Shame like I had never experienced before - the kind of shame that you forget how to breathe. You don't know where to go. You can't go outside and get, like, a taco." Us broke the news in July 2025 that Twigs dropped her lawsuit against LaBeouf. Following his Mardi Gras arrest on Tuesday, multiple outlets reported that LaBeouf and actress Mia Goth called it quits last year. The pair welcomed their first child in 2022. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.