After Arrest, Shia LaBeouf Gets a Travel Reprieve

Shia LaBeouf will be in Rome for his father's baptism after all. Days after one New Orleans judge refused to let the 39-year-old actor leave the country while he's out on bond in a Mardi Gras battery case, a different judge in the same courthouse signed off on the trip, which runs for about a week and was described in filings as being for religious reasons, per the Guardian. Judge Simone Levine had initially denied the request on Feb. 26, citing the lack of a travel itinerary and simultaneously ordering LaBeouf into substance abuse treatment. On March 4, his lawyer resubmitted the request—with an itinerary reportedly included this time—to Magistrate Peter Hamilton, who approved it.

The move comes amid questions over whether LaBeouf is being treated differently, after what the Guardian notes was a swifter-than-usual release from jail. He was made to put up $105,000 in bonds over allegations of homophobic slurs and a bar fight. During a recent hearing, LaBeouf's attorney pushed back on the requirement for her client to attend an alcohol and drug treatment program, noting, per the AP: "Frankly, being drunk on Mardi Gras is not a crime." Meanwhile, a source who claims they know LaBeouf recently told Page Six that "this guy has got to find a way to get sober or die; eventually this is all going to a tragic ending."