Twitter was doing what it does best in the early hours of this morning as recriminations flew in real time following a scuffle between Tom Arnold and MGM Chairman and The Apprentice producer Mark Burnett.
There is bad blood between the two because of Arnold’s new show, The Hunt for the Trump Tapes, which investigates, among other issues, whether Burnett has suppressed Apprentice-era outtakes of Trump using the N-word, according to the show’s website.
The show premieres today on Viceland.
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The two were walking into Sunday’s Evening Before Emmy party, a fundraiser for the Motion Picture Television Fund, after having arrived at the same time, when the fight kicked off, according to Variety, which reported it was “unclear who made the first move.”
Variety said, “One attendee who was within earshot of the scuffle said Arnold could be heard challenging Burnett regarding the outtakes of Apprentice.”
Needless to say, events were more dramatically recounted on Twitter.
Minutes later, Burnett’s wife, Roma Downey, best known for her starring role in the ’90s show Touched by an Angel, fired back with her own tweet.
Arnold replied:
Arnold also said he had “tape” of the incident:
Arnold has alleged that there are outtakes from The Apprentice that show Trump using sexist and racist language, including the N-word. Arnold claims that Burnett, who created the reality-TV show, won’t release the tapes because he’s protecting Trump.
Trump denied the existence of the alleged “N-word tape” last month when former Apprentice star turned Trump aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman published her memoir, Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House.
In the book, she discusses her efforts to learn more about the rumored recording.
Trump has denied the existence of any tapes of its kind.
Burnett and MGM, which owns the Apprentice franchise, have said the studio does not in any case have the legal right to release outtakes and unused footage from the show.
Arnold’s fans were quick to rush to his defense following the row: