The tension between US actor and comedian Tom Arnold and producer Mark Burnett has boiled over into a fight at the Evening Before Emmy party.
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According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Burnett and Arnold arrived at the fundraising event held at the Lawn at Century Park in Los Angeles on Sunday night and as both men were walking in, a scuffle ensued.
The source said it involved shoving but it was unclear who made the first move. Arnold claimed Burnett tried to choke him.
Arnold has been publicly bashing Burnett for months over Arnold's insistence that the producer is protecting President Donald Trump by refusing to release outtakes from The Apprentice in which Trump allegedly uses racial slurs and makes other disturbing comments.
Arnold was a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice, which Burnett executive produced and Trump hosted. Arnold is hosting a reality series for Viceland dubbed The Hunt for the Trump Tapes, which premieres on Tuesday.
According to a source, the scuffle was quickly broken up by security at the Evening Before event which is a fundraiser for the Motion Picture Television Fund. Both men were allowed to enter the party after settling down.
Arnold is threatening to report the incident to Los Angeles police. Roma Downey, who is married to Burnett, said via Twitter she received a bruise on her hand when Arnold "tried to ambush Mark and me."
Arnold responded with a threat to sue Downey for defamation.
One attendee who was within earshot of the scuffle at the event said Arnold could be heard challenging Burnett regarding the outtakes of Apprentice.
Arnold tweeted later that documentary filmmaker Bryan Fogel, who won the feature documentary Oscar this year for Icarus, was with him during the scuffle and "has tape."
Burnett, who is chairman of MGM Television, and Downey could not immediately be reached for comment late on Sunday night.
Burnett and MGM, which owns the Apprentice franchise, have asserted that the studio does not have the legal right to release outtakes and unused footage from the show.
Australian Associated Press