Tom Arnold and Roma Downey are each making accusations of physical attacks that also involved Downey’s husband, The Apprentice producer Mark Burnett, at the Evening Before the Emmys party on Sunday night.
“Mark Burnett just went apeshit & choked me at this huge Emmy party then he ran away with his torn Pink shirt & missing gold chain. I’m waiting for LAPD,” Arnold tweeted.
Marty Singer, Arnold’s lawyer, confirmed the incident occurred to The Hollywood Reporter and said that Burnett “attacked” Arnold.
Monday morning, Los Angeles police told The Hollywood Reporter they were aware of an alleged incident and later in the day, Arnold filed an assault charge against Burnett.
Mark Burnett just went apeshit & choked me at this huge Emmy party then he ran away with his torn Pink shirt & missing gold chain. I’m waiting for LAPD
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) September 17, 2018
Downey tweeted that Arnold “tried to ambush” her and Burnett alongside a photo of a bruised hand, which is presumably hers: “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?”
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 pic.twitter.com/lXvuKjIMI2
— Roma Downey (@RealRomaDowney) September 17, 2018
Arnold later replied to Downey’s tweet: “Bullshit. You lie your crazy husband attacked me you psycho. I’m filing police report & suing you for defamation.”
Bullshit. You lie your crazy husband attacked me you psycho. I’m filing police report & suing you for defamation. https://t.co/9yXAEXM6na
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) September 17, 2018
Patton Oswalt later tweeted a photo of himself with Arnold, saying “he’s okay”:
I’m with @TomArnold, everyone. He’s okay. We gotta protect this brutal angel. pic.twitter.com/9grT4QTVZK
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) September 17, 2018
Arnold continued tweeting, first suggesting that Icarus director Bryan Fogel has a tape of the incident and that Downey knocked Fogel’s phone out of his hand.
And he responded to Downey’s tweet, writing in part, “saving my country is worth it” and repeating what some Twitter users argued that the bruise on her hand isn’t new. “Brutal bruise,” Arnold wrote. “Should’ve gone to a dr last wk when you hurt it.” Arnold later tweeted that Kevin and Sosie Bacon were witnesses to the fight.
And actress Alyson Hannigan separately claimed she too saw the fight as she walked into a party after Arnold. Hannigan added, “Jeff Probst tried to break it up.”
Roma knocked Bryan Fogel’s phone out of his hand after Mark Burnett chocked me. Bryan came with me. He won the Oscar this year for his amazing documentary Icarus. He has tape. https://t.co/nPJyDAarsE
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) September 17, 2018
Mark Burnett doesn’t seem too thrilled about my new tv show. #TheHuntForTheTrumpTapes Starts Tuesday 10:30p @VICELAND & we do a Mark Burnett/Apprentice episode the first night. Yes Roma, saving my country is worth it. Brutal bruise. Should’ve gone to a dr last wk when you hurt it
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) September 17, 2018
FYI: Kevin Bacon is a solid reliable brawl witness. Sosie Bacon is a wingman.
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) September 17, 2018
Walked n2 party behind Tom Arnold and saw him & Mark Burnett get into a fight!Thought it was a joke until security jumped in! #WhyIstayhome
— alyson hannigan (@alydenisof) September 17, 2018
Jeff Probst tried to break it up…CRAZY!!!
— alyson hannigan (@alydenisof) September 17, 2018
Arnold is set to debut his upcoming show, Viceland’s The Hunt for the Trump Tapes, on Tuesday. The show will depict Arnold’s attempts to find tapes that Arnold says show Donald Trump expressing bigoted views on the set of Apprentice. Some speculated that the scuffle could have been a stunt.
In recent months, Arnold has been railing against Burnett — executive producer of The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice, on which Arnold was a competitor — over a purported N-word recording of Trump. He also insisted that the so-called “golden shower” tape exists during a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The Hunt for the Trump Tapes has gained headlines in recent days after former White House staffer and Apprentice star Omarosa Manigault Newman claimed in her book Unhinged that Trump used the N-word multiple times on the set of the NBC reality series. Manigault Newman has also released a recording purporting to show two 2016 Trump presidential campaign staffers discussing the alleged tapes.
“He says the N-word, he calls Eric [Trump] the r-word,” Arnold, who was formerly Trump’s friend and has known him for decades, told Kimmel of the tapes, which Arnold claims to have seen. “There’s two people who have never called me a liar about the N-word tape: Donald Trump and Mark Burnett, because they know it’s true,” Arnold added.
Meanwhile, at a recent promotional appearance for his new show, Arnold said, “Mark Burnett says he’s a Christian, and he lets that man do all that bullshit, and he let a sexual harasser work on his show.”
Arnold also has said he won’t stop digging until the president quits — and that he “doesn’t give a shit” about the 40 percent of Americans still standing by him.
“I’m going to do this until he resigns,” said Arnold. “He is a crazy person. He is putting this country on the precipice of war right now. For some reason, I am in a position to do something, and it is working. And I am going to do this until that guy resigns and the world will be safer. It’s going to happen.”
Burnett has yet to publicly respond to Arnold.
Katie Kilkenny contributed to this report.
Sept. 17, 7:58 a.m. This story has been updated with additional tweets from Arnold and Alyson Hannigan
12:35 p.m. Updated with charge filed against Burnett.
