A man allegedly involved in a violent confrontation with Tarek El Moussa is pressing charges, according to a new report from TMZ.
The HGTV star, who co-stars with his ex-wife Christina Haack in shows like Flip or Flop and the new The Flip Off, allegedly got into a fight with a man at a Las Vegas casino early this month. A police report states that the fight — which was caught on surveillance video — began when the man seemingly bumped into a chair that El Moussa’s elderly father was sitting in.
According to TMZ, El Moussa’s father was allegedly upset and turned around to stare at him, and the man then touched his shoulder and told him something that caused El Moussa to get involved.
New details about the incident make it seem like the fight was serious, and El Moussa’s opponent may even have sustained serious injury. Police say that El Moussa allegedly “kneed him to the floor,” then climbed onto his back and hit him in the head three times.
An earlier report even states that the man was knocked out cold. When TMZ first reported the story, they quoted witnesses saying it looked “bad,” and the other man involved was “seriously roughed up.”
Read More: ‘Flip or Flop’ Star Tarek El Moussa Cited for Battery After Knocking Out a Man
Police interviewed El Moussa at the scene, and cited him for battery, though they did not arrest him. According to TMZ, El Moussa said he got into the fight to “protect his Dad due to him having back problems.”
Speaking to TMZ, El Moussa’s lawyers issued a statement, saying, “Tarek intends to contest these allegations in a court of law where he will assert his right to self-defense and the defense of his elderly and infirmed father.”
El Moussa’s wife Heather Rae wasn’t involved in the fight, but she was in Vegas with him at the time that it happened. Heather shared an Instagram Reel highlighting their trip to the city, including video snippets of their time in Vegas and mentioning that both sets of parents were there with them.
Most recently, El Moussa and his wife co-star in The Flip Off, a new Flip or Flop spin-off that also stars Christina Haack. In this competition-style real estate series, the Moussas compete against Haack to see who can “find, buy, renovate and flip a house for the biggest financial gain,” according to HGTV’s website.
The Flip Off originally intended to also co-star Haack’s at-the-time husband Josh Hall, but Haack and Hall announced their divorce last July, just a few weeks after filming started. Hall appears in the first episode of the show, but he was largely absent from the filming process.
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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes