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The scuffle between “The Apprentice” producer Mark Burnett and actor/comedian Tom Arnold at the Evening Before the Emmys party in September won’t be prosecuted, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office says.
“I can confirm that (Wednesday) our office did decline to file criminal charges in that matter due to insufficient evidence,” city attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan said in an email to USA TODAY. “No further details are available at this time.”
The city prosecutor was briefly dragged into the ongoing conflict between Burnett and Arnold after Arnold filed a police report after the Sept. 16 party alleging Burnett assaulted him.
Burnett declined to comment to USA TODAY.
Arnold tweeted a statement, also emailed to USA TODAY, declaring he would not drop the matter.
“I intend to proceed with a claim against Mark Burnett for assault and battery. There were several witnesses who corroborated what he did to me that evening. The Police Department informed me that witnesses were reluctant to come forward against Mark Burnett because he is a powerful man, but that won’t stop me from making sure that Mr. Burnett is held accountable for his conduct.”
Arnold intends to pursue a claim in civil court, according to his representative, Lauren Mele.
Accounts differed as to who started this alleged brawl. Arnold and Burnett’s wife, actress Roma Downey, posted dueling tweets accusing the other of provoking the set-to.
“Mark Burnett just went (expletive) & 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.
Downey claimed she was bruised when she tried to intervene and posted a picture of it.
“Got this bruise tonight when Tom Arnold tried to ambush my husband Mark and me at a charity event,” Downey responded. “Is your TV show worth it Tom? Please stop,” she added.
What is this about? Promotional zeal might be in play.
Burnett is the producer who gave America “The Apprentice” starring Donald Trump, who used his enhanced celebrity from the show to run for and help him win the presidency.
Arnold, not a fan of Trump, claims, with no evidence, that Burnett possesses outtakes from the show in which Trump allegedly uses racist and offensive terms for women.
Tom Arnold discusses “The Hunt For The Trump Tapes” at the Television Critics Association Press Tour on July 26, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for A+E Networks)
Burnett, a Hollywood Democrat and self-described Hillary Clinton supporter, has repeatedly denied this. There are no such tapes, he has said, and in any case, he sold the show to entertainment conglomerate MGM.
Burnett is now president of MGM’s TV division but says neither he nor MGM could open up archives or release any tapes – if they existed – because the archives are contractually confidential.
Meanwhile, Arnold’s new TV show, “The Hunt for the Trump Tapes,” which was to premiere on Viceland days after the party, is all about Arnold’s “search” for the tapes.
The city attorney’s office has now decided there’s not enough evidence to justify expending tax dollars to untangle this Hollywood feud.
Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/10/25/mark-burnett-tom-arnold-alleged-assault-september-not-prosecuted/1763354002/
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