Tarek El Moussa is breaking his silence on the physical fight he was involved in over the summer that earned him a battery citation, calling the altercation “a really unfortunate incident.”
As The Ashley previously told you, the HGTV star was facing a misdemeanor charge of battery stemming from the Las Vegas casino brawl in June, but the charge was dismissed last month. This week, Tarek opened up about the altercation to Entertainment Tonight, insisting that he was acting in defense of his elderly father.
“It was just a really unfortunate incident, [I was] put in a really weird situation where I had to defend my dad,” he told the outlet.
The physical altercation occurred inside the casino of the Palazzo Hotel and began after a man allegedly bumped into a chair that Tarek’s father was sitting in while playing roulette. Tarek’s dad was reportedly offended by the man’s actions and turned around to stare at the man before returning to the roulette game. The alleged stare down caused the man to pat Tarek’s father on the shoulder and say something to him, which in turn, spurred Tarek– who was sitting near the roulette table– to intervene.
After Tarek reportedly pushed the man back, both got into “fighting stances” and, according to TMZ, the man proceeded to charge at Tarek’s legs in an attempt to take him down to the ground, only for Tarek to then knee the man to the floor. The Flip Off star then allegedly “mounted” the man’s back and hit him three times in the head before walking away.
While the alleged victim was left with bruising under one eye and a cut on his nose, he refused medical attention at the scene. As for Tarek, he explained to police at the time that he intervened in the situation between his father and the man in order to “protect his dad due to him having back problems.”
Tarek was not arrested for the Sin City skirmish– which was captured on surveillance cameras– though he did receive a citation. The former Flip or Flop star went on to be cleared by a Las Vegas judge on August 5 after proving that he had stayed out of trouble and completed “impulse control counseling.” According to court records obtained by The Ashley, it appears that the father of three also took an anger management class, which he submitted proof of completion to the court on July 31.
Tarek confirmed this week that the situation has officially been “settled.”
“Luckily, everything is okay and I think everything is gone now and done now and cleared up [on my record],” he said. “Everyone’s okay. I didn’t get in trouble with the law by any means and everything’s settled.”
Meanwhile, Tarek’s wife, Heather El Moussa, told the outlet that her husband’s roulette-table rumpus making headlines is something that comes with being on TV and in the public eye.
“ … you know, fights happen,” she added. “Unfortunately.”
(Photos: Instagram; HGTV)
3 Responses
All because someone accidentally bumped into a chair? He needs more than one anger management class.
Right?! If Dad was staring down the guy who accidentally bumped his chair, perhaps Dad needs to fight his own battles or join Sonny Boy in his anger management classes. Ridiculous.
A citation is a noncustodial arrest… so he was in fact arrested.