Tom Arnold and Mark Burnett get in a physical altercation ahead of 'The Hunt for the Trump Tapes' premiere
Tom Arnold’s The Hunt for the Trump Tapes has landed him in a physical fight with The Apprentice creator and Donald Trump star maker Mark Burnett, as well as Burnett’s wife, Touched by an Angel’s Roma Downey.
With the show — which sees Arnold trying to track down the rumored, potentially damaging recordings of the president — debuting on Viceland Tuesday, tensions were apparently high between the two men, leading to Burnett going “apes***” and trying to choke Arnold at a pre-Emmy party on Sunday. Well, that’s Arnold’s side of things.
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 had a different version of events. She said that Arnold “tried to ambush my husband Mark and me at a charity event.” It led her to ask: “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
Neither side is backing down. Arnold said he would be reporting the fight to police — and contemplating legal action.
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
Soon after, he tweeted — at the president himself — that he was at the West Los Angeles Police Department filing charges against Burnett, “who lost his mind.”
A spokesperson for the LAPD confirmed to Yahoo Entertainment on Monday that Arnold “did make a battery report at West LA Station this morning.”
Sitting in West LAPD filing charges against your best bud Apprentice Outtakes Mark Burnett who lost his mind, attacted & chocked me last nite at Katzenberg’s Night Before The Emmy’s Party. Last fight I got into there was with Harvey Weinstein. Mark Burnett is scared:) #TrumpTapes
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) September 17, 2018
Arnold also wrote that Kevin Bacon watched the whole thing go down, alongside his daughter, Sosie — because, of course, the subject of the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game was at the party.
FYI: Kevin Bacon is a solid reliable brawl witness. Sosie Bacon is a wingman.
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) September 17, 2018
Arnold also went on to assert that film director Bryan Fogel witnessed it all — and had his phone knocked out of his hand by Downey during the fracas.
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
Meanwhile, Downey is thanking her fans for their prayers.
Got a text from @evangelistmatt earlier encouraging prayer for @RealRomaDowney @MarkBurnettTV
Absolutely will pray for them. Grateful for their love for God, desire to help so many others, and their influence/impact in Hollywood and beyond. pic.twitter.com/P94rjSQGfe
— Malachi O'Brien (@malachiobrien) September 17, 2018
So the obvious question is … why? It’s long been said that while making The Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice, the then star of the show — and our current president — used racial slurs and other derogatory comments that were captured on tape. Omarosa Manigault Newman is the most recent to say it (it’s covered in her book), but she wasn’t the first. Penn Jillette has said the tape exists because he was in the room with Trump when Trump said racist and sexist things on the show in 2012. Apprentice producer Bill Pruitt has claimed that previous seasons of the reality show had even more damaging behavior. Burnett sold the show — and rights to the footage — to MGM and said they’d never open the archives because the tapes are contractually confidential. Burnett later said during the Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour in August 2018 that there are no tapes of Trump making racist or sexist comments and Trump recently tweeted the same.
.@MarkBurnettTV called to say that there are NO TAPES of the Apprentice where I used such a terrible and disgusting word as attributed by Wacky and Deranged Omarosa. I don’t have that word in my vocabulary, and never have. She made it up. Look at her MANY recent quotes saying….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2018
This brings us to Arnold’s show. In 2016, after the election, Arnold claimed in an interview on a Seattle radio program that he had had Apprentice outtakes featuring Trump saying “every dirty, every offensive, racist thing ever.” He claimed “hundreds” of people had seen the footage because years earlier it was sent out by producers of the show as a gag Christmas video. However, he said that the footage hadn’t been released because the people were worried they’d be sued because of a confidentiality agreement. At the TCA press tour in July 2018, Arnold said he’s “on a mission” to uncover the tapes “until that guy resigns and the world is a little safer, and it is going to happen.”
And Arnold’s been trying to get Burnett on the record for his show. In fact, the premiere — on Tuesday — is the “Mark Burnett/Apprentice” episode, Arnold tweeted.
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
In the wake of the fight, Arnold also tweeted a video of a phone call he made to Burnett — to try to set up a meeting — while making the show.
“Mark Burnett, Tom Arnold is there anyway that we could get together and talk?”
“Uh, not right now. What’s up?”
“About my show, and uh, Trump.”
“What show?”
“The Hunt for the Trump Tapes, have you not heard about it?”
“No.”
“Yes?” "No" "Yes?" "No!" #TrumpTapes #ApprenticeTapes pic.twitter.com/OEYEX9Guuo— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) September 13, 2018
So that’s where we are — in a holding pattern until the show airs Tuesday night.
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