Shia LaBeouf, ‘not famous’ but still in headlines

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NEW YORK (AP) — Who can forget the time he put a paper
bag on his head that read "I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE"? Or when he was
forced to apologize for plagiarizing parts of his short film? He then
promised to retire from public life.
Now, he’s been escorted from a
Broadway theater in handcuffs for allegedly yelling obscenities during a
performance of "Cabaret." The guy who insisted he’s not famous was
heard screaming, "Do you know who I am"?
Witnessing Shia LaBeouf’s
recent off-screen and offstage antics is getting to be like watching a
slow-moving train wreck. Has he become the male equivalent of Amanda
Bynes?
"Shia LaBeouf is certainly not alone in displaying unusual
behavior and even immaturity," said Jason Maloni, senior vice president
at Levick, a strategic communications company that guides clients
through challenging media situations. "This is just the latest incident
that put him crossways with an actor’s most important constituent — his
fan base as well as his fellow professionals."
Maloni added: "Bad
behavior in a public setting followed by an arrest doesn’t make for a
very effective visual. Frankly, he’s been perp-walked out of Broadway,
quite literally. So he’s in some distress."
LaBeouf was watching
Alan Cumming and Michele Williams in a "Cabaret" revival on Thursday
night when his latest problems began. The inside of the theater, which
used to be a notorious, coke-fueled disco in the 1970s, has been
reworked to look like a decadent Berlin cabaret from the 1930s, with
tiny nightclub tables and a working bar.
LaBeouf, who had paid for
his ticket, was seen offering a strawberry to a woman and lighting a
cigarette. He was also observed slapping Cumming’s rear as the performer
walked through the seats to get onstage. Cumming didn’t react.
According
to the criminal complaint, a security guard saw LaBeouf stand up in the
middle of Act 1 and "yell loudly at the actors onstage." When LaBeouf
was asked to leave, he refused, according to the complaint. "Do you know
who the f— I am? Do you know who I am?" the actor is said to have
bellowed.
He was charged with five counts of disorderly conduct,
criminal trespass and harassment. His next court date is July 24. After
his court appearance Friday, the 28-year-old actor, wearing a ripped
blue T-shirt, walked several blocks to a hotel on West 54th Street. He
declined to comment. His publicist did not return a request for comment,
either.
The outburst happened only a few blocks from where
LaBeouf had planned to make his Broadway debut last year in a revival of
Lyle Kessler’s play "Orphans," with Alec Baldwin. He pulled out over
creative disagreements and then immediately posted private messages from
the show’s actors and creative team.
Now he’s accused of
disrupting fellow stage actors while they’re performing. Perhaps worse,
he’s become an endless punchline. Cumming tweeted that the stage manager
at "Cabaret" told the actors at the top of Act 2: "This is your places
call and Shia LaBeouf has left the building in handcuffs."
LaBeouf’s
latest tantrum occurs just as the film franchise that made him a star
gives birth to its fourth iteration — without him. He had been the star
of the first three "Transformers" films, but a fresh start was decided
best for "Age of Extinction."
LaBeouf, whose other big films
include "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Wall
Street: Money Never Sleeps," has endeared himself as an artsy guy who
can do action movies. He’s also prone to refreshing bouts of honesty, as
when he admitted that his "Indiana Jones" film was bad. "I feel like I
dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished," he said
after it came out.
But his fan base may dissipate after more
bizarre stunts that resemble the kinds of things once associated with
fellow Disney alumna Bynes, who has been accused of throwing a bong out
of a Manhattan window, starting a fire in a driveway, reckless driving
and posting a number of disturbing tweets attacking celebrities like
Rihanna and Christine Teigen.
Maloni, who has counselled artists
and athletes in trouble, said he would advise LaBeouf to do the same as
any of his clients: He needs a quiet period. "He needs to stop turning
up on Page Six and instead he needs to turn up on the pages of the film
and theater critics of the world."
There is always hope, Maloni
said. "The wonderful benefit that a performer has is you have a
tremendous ability to rebuild your reputation. One has to only look at
Robert Downey Jr. … I think Shia can do the same thing."
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Associated Press writer Rachelle Blidner contributed to this report.

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