Danny Trejo Breaks Silence on Involvement in July 4th Brawl

Machete and Muppets Most Wanted star Danny Trejo says he was provoked into participating in a brawl on July 4th, claiming that he and a friend were targeted with water balloons and speculating that it was due to their ethnicity. According to Trejo, the balloons appeared to have some kind of chemical in them and not just water, and while video taken at the time shows the actor throwing the first punch, he said it was in self-defense, and that the men involved had roughed up his friend before he and other members of the crowd could break things up. The seemingly-unprovoked attack feels a bit like the bizarre attack on Rick Moranis in 2020. Something similar happened to Steve Buscemi earlier this year.

According to TMZ , who spoke with Trejo, law enforcement was contacted, but the fight had broken up and everyone had gone their separate ways before cops could be on the scene. There is no investigation happening as far as anyone knows. Trejo's claims that the balloons were filled with acid might change that, but it's hard to guess.

"It's pretty sad grown men would stoop low enough to attack an 80-year-old man," Trejo said in part.

The brawl took place during an outdoor event on July 4. Trejo and a friend were driving down the street, greeting fans, when they were first hit with the water balloons. After getting out of the car, a fight broke out, and about a dozen people eventually got involved.

Trejo's life story -- a former criminal who got clean and eventually became a famous and beloved actor -- is a big part of his public image, so seeing him getting into a fight in public came as a surprise to fans. The star is a fixture in his local community with his Trejo's Tacos restaurants and food trucks.

Earlier this year , A&E announced that Trejo will host The UnXplored with Danny Trejo , an eight-episode series that will be the third installment in A&E's strange and unusual programing slate. Trejo joins a slate that includes the William Shatner-hosted The UnXplained , which explores the world's most fascinating and inexplicable mysteries, and The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd , which unlocks history's strangest-but-true stories.

"I've always been drawn to projects that tap into my own curiosity and sense of adventure," said Trejo. "I can't wait to take viewers on this wild ride to mystified, and often uncharted, territories as I seek answers to the mysteries that live right underneath us."