Actor Tom Arnold and host Megyn Kelly got into a heated debate on live TV Tuesday morning.
Arnold, who was on “Megyn Kelly Today” to talk about his new Viceland series “The Hunt For The Trump Tapes”, addressed his recent scuffle with producer Mark Burnett and his wife, actress Roma Downey, in his search for tapes of Donald Trump using the “N-word” during production of “The Apprentice”.
Earlier this month, Arnold confronted Burnett at a pre-Emmys party over the tape – which he believes “The Apprentice” producer has the power to release – when, according to an eyewitness, Burnett grabbed Arnold’s throat. The argument was broken up by “Survivor” host Jeff Probst. Arnold filed a police report following the incident while Downey took to Twitter to claim she was “bruised” during the “ambush” on her husband.
RELATED: Tom Arnold Accuses Mark Burnett Of Attacking Him, Roma Downey Responds With Bruise Photo
“I file a police report and I had to go to the hospital because I had a paralyzed vocal cord and I had to get a cat scan because my neck’s messed up,” he explains.
During his interview with Kelly, Arnold addressed the incident, telling her Burnett is “a guy that pretends nothing is going on, he’s Donald Trump’s best friend he talks to him three times a week. He’s covering for him, he’s complicit because he knows what’s on there.”
Kelly mentioned Downey’s Sept. 17 tweet which reads, “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.”
“Roma Downey’s like, ‘Julie Chen, hold my beer,'”Arnold says as Kelly begins to push back. “I love Julie Chen but she’s like, ‘I am going to be with my CEO husband when he assaults someone and I am gonna say that person assaulted me. I am going to lie.’ That’s what [Downey] did. She is saying I assaulted her.”
RELATED: Tom Arnold Tells Jimmy Kimmel The Trump ‘N-Word’ Tape Is Real And He’s Seen It
As Kelly instructs her guest not to “disparage” Chen, he replies, “No, I love Julie Chen. [Downey] said I assaulted her, she said I assaulted her publicly,” he replied. “That’s disparaging me.”
“I didn’t touch her, I didn’t see her. That bruise is five days old,” Arnold insists, to which Kelly replies, “It’s all fun and games. But let’s be honest, if you did assault her as she claims, it’s no laughing matter.”
Arnold agrees, before bringing up Kelly’s argument in favour of controversial Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh who has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women. “If she said I assaulted her, it’s no damn laughing matter. Am I right? Because you keep defending Kavanaugh and those guys. Maybe you defend me for one second!” he exclaims.
“No, I won’t,” Kelly snaps back, turning the conversation towards the Supreme Court nominee. “And I am not defending Kavanaugh. I am asking for a fair hearing.”
As Arnold interrupts her, Kelly fights back before cutting off the interview: “No, no, no, no, no! People are looking to condemn Kavanaugh without even hearing the evidence. I will set the record straight. It’s my show. What I want is a fair hearing for Kavanaugh and for his accusers.”
On several occasions, Kelly has spoken out in support of Kavanaugh, accusing one of his alleged victims of harbouring resentment and “having an axe to grind” and does not believe in a non-partisan investigation by the FBI, repeatedly saying both the accused and accuser have the right to a “fair hearing.”
Meanwhile, Arnold’s “The Hunt For The Trump Tapes” will make its debut on Viceland on Tuesday night.
