“He Stormed Up Like a Scene Out of a Movie”: Jesse Watters Finally Reveals the Hollywood Star Who Cursed Him Out

In the always unpredictable intersection of politics, entertainment, and celebrity culture, a new revelation has sparked curiosity, laughter, and a fair bit of head-scratching. Fox News primetime host Jesse Watters, never one to shy away from a colorful anecdote, has finally named the Hollywood actor who once hurled a vulgar insult at him in an airport lounge. The culprit? None other than Shia LaBeouf, the mercurial former Disney child star turned controversial leading man.

Watters dropped the bombshell during an on-air conversation with playwright and filmmaker David Mamet, who was promoting his new film Henry Johnson—a project that happens to star LaBeouf. With his trademark mix of dramatic flair and casual humor, Watters recounted the now infamous encounter that unfolded back in 2019.

The Airport Incident

According to Watters, the altercation occurred in a Delta Sky Lounge several years ago. He recalled how LaBeouf approached him with little warning, his demeanor intense and unfiltered.

“Well, Shia LaBeouf told me to go ‘F myself’ at a Delta lounge at the airport a couple years ago,” Watters said on Tuesday’s broadcast. “Right there, no hesitation, just walked up and dropped it.”

Watters chuckled as he relayed the insult, but also noted the awkwardness of the moment, especially given that his children were nearby. He added, half-jokingly: “So tell him I said hi. Will you do that for me?”

The Fox News host previously hinted at this confrontation on Laura Ingraham’s Ingraham Angle, telling viewers that LaBeouf had called him “trash, right in front of my kids.” But this week marked the first time he explicitly named the actor, ending years of speculation about the unnamed “Hollywood star” who had accosted him.

Shia LaBeouf’s Tumultuous Journey

The revelation comes at a complicated time for LaBeouf, who has long oscillated between critical acclaim, personal turmoil, and public controversy. Once beloved as the energetic young lead of Disney Channel’s Even Stevens and later as the face of the blockbuster Transformers franchise, LaBeouf’s career has been punctuated by arrests, lawsuits, and notorious outbursts.

In 2020, his ex-girlfriend, musician FKA Twigs, filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual battery, assault, and emotional distress during their one-year relationship. That legal battle drew intense media scrutiny and threatened to permanently derail his career. However, just months before trial, Twigs dropped the lawsuit in July 2025. The settlement terms remain private, but the former couple issued a joint statement wishing each other “personal happiness, professional success, and peace in the future.”

Since then, LaBeouf has attempted a slow reinvention. At 39, he has publicly converted to Catholicism, become a father with actress Mia Goth, and spoken candidly about seeking redemption and stability. The airport confrontation with Watters—now resurfaced—serves as a reminder of his more volatile chapter.

From “Trash” to Tabloids

The story Watters told lines up with LaBeouf’s reputation during that period. In 2019, the actor was often making headlines for off-screen antics as much as for his films. Public altercations, bizarre performance-art stunts, and battles with substance abuse colored his image.

According to Watters, the insult wasn’t just casual celebrity shade—it was loud, crude, and directly in front of his kids. “He stormed up like a scene out of a movie,” one witness recalled. “Eyes blazing, voice shaking, no buildup. It was like he’d been rehearsing it.”

For Watters, the jab became a personal story he’d occasionally allude to but never fully tell—until now. “It’s one thing to dislike someone’s politics,” Watters remarked, “but it’s another to throw insults at a dad in front of his kids.”

The Mamet Connection

The timing of Watters’ revelation wasn’t random. David Mamet, the Pulitzer-winning playwright known for Glengarry Glen Ross and Wag the Dog, has long admired LaBeouf’s acting talent. His latest project, Henry Johnson, stars LaBeouf in what critics are calling one of his most raw, stripped-down roles.

When Mamet appeared on Watters’ program to discuss the film, the host seized the opportunity to finally reveal his personal history with its leading man. The exchange added a surreal layer of backstage drama to an otherwise routine promotional interview.

Online Reactions

Within minutes of airing, clips of Watters’ revelation spread across X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok. Some viewers found the story hilarious, joking that LaBeouf’s insult was “method acting for a role that never got filmed.” Others criticized Watters for dredging up a years-old encounter.

“Shia LaBeouf cursed at Jesse Watters in 2019 and we’re just hearing about it now?” one user tweeted. “Feels like we’ve been robbed of quality memes for six years.”

Another posted: “Can’t believe the most relatable thing LaBeouf’s ever done was roast Jesse Watters.”

Yet many sympathized with Watters, pointing out that celebrities should exercise restraint around children. “Whatever you think of Watters’ politics, calling someone ‘trash’ in front of their kids is low,” a viewer wrote.

A Tale of Two Reputations

The incident also underscores the clash between two very different public personas. Watters, 46, has carved out a niche as one of Fox News’ most prominent conservative voices, hosting Jesse Watters Primetime and co-hosting The Five. He’s known for mixing sharp political commentary with humor, sometimes courting controversy but rarely revealing much about his private life.

LaBeouf, on the other hand, has built a career as Hollywood’s unpredictable wild card. Praised for his acting talent but plagued by scandals, he embodies the archetype of the tortured artist in the social-media era. His outburst at Watters may have been just another flare-up in a long string of public provocations—but it takes on new resonance now, as both men’s careers have evolved in different directions.

Larger Themes: Celebrity, Civility, and Culture

While the story may seem like a quirky tabloid tidbit, it touches on deeper themes of civility in public life. In an age of hyper-partisan politics, online feuds, and celebrity meltdowns, the Watters-LaBeouf clash illustrates how personal and political animosities can spill into everyday spaces—airports, restaurants, and beyond.

It also raises questions about redemption. LaBeouf has spent recent years trying to turn his life around, while Watters used the anecdote less as a personal attack and more as an amusing aside. Both men, in their own ways, have become symbols of resilience: one in the bruising world of cable news, the other in the equally unforgiving arena of Hollywood.

A Scene Out of a Script

Ultimately, the revelation has less to do with the insult itself and more with what it represents: the messy overlap between celebrity culture, political media, and the theater of modern life. Whether you side with Watters, LaBeouf, or neither, the story is undeniably cinematic—a chance encounter in a Delta lounge that turned into a headline years later.

As Watters put it with a smirk: “He told me to go F myself. But if you see him, tell him I said hi.”

It’s the kind of surreal, only-in-America anecdote that reminds us the line between news and entertainment is thinner than ever. And for both Watters and LaBeouf, the saga proves one thing: sometimes the unscripted moments are the ones that stick.