Despite police proclaiming publicly that Shia LaDouche was "clearly" drunk during his DUI arrest last weekend, the actor's Transformers 2 director insists his star was sober at the time of the car crash.

In a new interview, Michael Bay says:

“You’re gonna see — that’s gonna go away. That’s fresh news… He was not drunk. He was drinking hours and hours before."

Dude, you're not helping his cause by ADMITTING that he was drinking.

Were you with him? Did you see how much he consumed????

Adds Bay, "I spoke to him yesterday in the hospital. His two fingers are pretty mashed, but we’re figuring out a way to shoot around it, kind of write it in the story.”

Despite LaDouche's most recent arrest, his second in less than 12 months, Bay insists that Shia is still a good person. He says, "The kid really has his head together and you know, he’s only 22. He’s doing a great job on this movie. He’s really matured since the last one and I love working with him.”

Of course you're gonna say that. You gotta put a pretty spin on things.

But, it would have been a lot braver and more responsible to condemn LaDouche's drinking and driving.

Michael Bay is a douche too! Duh.

[Image via WENN.]