Who said pre-Emmy Awards parties were boring and pointless?
Okay, fine, no one has ever said much of anything when it comes to pre-Emmy Awards parties in general.
But Tom Arnold and Mark Burnett did what they could to change that on Sunday night.
According to multiple outlets, along with the participants themselves, Arnold got into a physical altercation with the reality show producer and his wife, Roma Downey, at a gathering in Los Angeles.
Both sides have their own stories pertaining to what transpired, but Arnold was the first to Tweet about it just after midnight, writing:
“Mark Burnett just went apes–t & choked me at this huge Emmy party then he ran away with his torn Pink shirt & missing gold chain. I’m waiting for LAPD.”
About an hour later, however, Downey shared her own Twitter post and her own version of events.
“Got this bruise tonight when Tom Arnold tried to ambush my husband Mark and me at a charity event. Is your TV show worth it Tom?Please stop,” the actress wrote.
Downey is referring here to “The Hunt for the Trump Tapes,” a series on Viceland that premieres on Tuesday night and which centers on Arnold’s search for various tapes that would embarrass or shame President Donald Trump.
He has alleged in the past that tapes exist of Trump saying the N-Word during his time as Apprentice host — and that Burnett, as creator of that program, has helped bury them.
In response to Downey’s above accusation, Arnold Tweeted the following early this morning:
“Bullshit. You lie your crazy husband attacked me you psycho. I’m filing a police report & suing you for defamation.”
He reiterated this same threat on social media this afternoon:
“Sitting in West LAPD filing charges against your best bud Apprentice Outtakes Mark Burnett who lost his mind, attacked & chocked [sic] me last nite at Katzenberg’s Night Before The Emmy’s Party.
“Mark Burnett is scared:) #TrumpTapes.”
Many people out there think Arnold is only taking these steps to stir up publicity for his show.
A witness tells TMZ, for example, that Arnold attacked Burnett as soon as he saw the producer at the party.
Burnett then pushed Arnold back, after which Arnold ripped Burnett’s crucifix off his neck, breaking the item in the process.
The confrontation lasted about 30 seconds and everyone involved remained at the party afterward.
Earlier in the day, Arnold told Salon.com that he wanted to approach Burnett at the Emmys ceremony in a confrontational manner; he also called the reality show creator a “pussy.”
Arnold’s attorney, Marty Singer, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter today that the incident occurred.
He claimed Burnett “attacked” his client, but said little else of relevance.
Alyson Hannigan, who was also in attendance, Tweeted that the fight broke out in front of her. But she can’t say for sure who started it.
“I thought it was a joke until security jumped in!” she wrote, adding that Survivor host Jeff Probst tried to jump in and break it up.
Phew. At least Probst wasn’t hurt in the scuffle.
Because, let’s face it: No one cares about Burnett or Arnold. But if Jeff Probst got injured in any way?!?
We’d have a real problem on our hands.
