Shia's Latest Fisticuffs Reportedly Have Friends Worried

Wonderwall, Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 10:09am (PDT)

By Kat Giantis

• Here's hoping that getting punched in the head has knocked some sense into Shia LaBeouf. In the wake of having his noodle walloped, on video, by a portly, shirtless gentleman on the sidewalk outside a bar in Vancouver, B.C., the trouble-prone actor is facing a potential intervention from his friends.

  The Chicago Sun-Times claims Shia's pals are "hoping to persuade" him to start anger management counseling so he can get a handle of his seemingly lightning-fast fuse.

  A crew member on the star's currently filming flick "The Company You Keep" says last weekend's scuffle began when the beefy, punch-throwing bar patron took several potshots at LaBeouf and his manhood, "which is something Shia should have just ignored. But unfortunately, he let the guy get under his thin skin, and he followed him out into the street, where the man knocked him down before Shia's friends broke things up and helped cool it down."

  Continues the insider, "These things can happen when Shia's been drinking. He can turn nasty so fast. ... He's like Sean Penn. One moment he can be totally charming, and then he'll lose it and go off on someone, especially when it's a nut in a bar who is looking for a fight."

  According to the source, Shia has recently tossed tantrums around his inner circle, apparently "even" while sober. And, like so many bad things in the world, part of the blame for LaBeouf's behavior is laid at the feet of "Transformers" schlockmeister Michael Bay.

  "I think it stems largely from him seeing how Michael Bay treats everyone like s--- ," posits the source. "Shia's totally copied his demeanor in so many situations. He even comes up with the same insults as Michael when he's putting someone down."

  LaBeouf, who also got into a tussle in February outside a bar in Sherman Oaks, Calif., and had a heated exchange with Marilyn Manson at a Los Angeles bar in August, would be wise to take the advice of his buddy, who was heard on the brawl video urging him, "Better lay low right now."