For the past several months, Tom Arnold has been working on a project for Viceland called The Hunt for the Trump Tapes. The series will premiere September 18th on Viceland. It follows Arnold’s search for damaging tapes of Donald Trump, particularly a tape of him using the N-word, which is alleged to exist from his time filming The Celebrity Apprentice. The series may also reference other tapes, public or not, such as the Access Hollywood tape leaked during the 2016 presidential election or the alleged “pee tape” said to exist from Trump’s time in Moscow.

It was likely in connection with The Hunt for the Trump Tapes that Arnold approached Mark Burnett at an Emmy’s after party. According to Arnold, Burnett went crazy and attacked him.

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

Arnold’s friend, Bryan Fogel, may have been filming the event with his phone. Burnett’s wife apparently slapped the phone out of his hand for some reason, and she later tweeted that the altercation resulted in a bruise on the back of her hand.

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 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

Burnett and his wife left the scene, while Arnold waited to speak with the LAPD. Several celebrities witnessed the encounter and may have given statements to the police as well. Patton Oswalt seemed supportive of Arnold after the incident, and Arnold tweeted that Kevin Bacon is a reliable witness to the “brawl”.

I’m with @TomArnold, everyone. He’s okay. We gotta protect this brutal angel. pic.twitter.com/9grT4QTVZK — Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) September 17, 2018 FYI: Kevin Bacon is a solid reliable brawl witness. Sosie Bacon is a wingman. — Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) September 17, 2018

There have been no public statements from Mark Burnett yet, and his wife only tweeted once about the bruise, not responding to any criticism suggesting the bruise appears to be much older as many on Twitter have speculated. Arnold even suggested that the bruise was a week old.

Oh Roma. Thou shall not lie. Just a reminder.

Also, 1 week. You know what that means means amirite? 😉#GreenAndYellow #NiceTry pic.twitter.com/CXWKTDCCTS — 🌊💙 Jen 💙🌊 (@Jen_C_) 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

After the kerfuffle, Arnold reportedly told others that some Trump Tapes from Celebrity Apprentice have been provided to Ronan Farrow. This revelation could be what provoked Burnett, or perhaps Arnold was just being his typical annoying self. However, with multiple witnesses and possibly even footage of the attack, more will likely come to light over the next few weeks.

Billy Eichner was also on the scene.