Actor Danny Trejo has broken his silence on an altercation he was involved in during a Fourth of July parade in Los Angeles last week.
The incident took place after a water balloon was hurled at his vintage car, according to reports. In a statement to TMZ, the 80-year-old "Machete" star apologized for his behavior.
"I'm so sad that I behaved the way I behaved," he said.
"I'm so sad that grown men gotta throw water balloons to enjoy a day," Trejo continued. "I don't think I would've even got out of the car if somebody hadn't yelled, 'It's acid!' That's when I got panicked. When I got out of the car — boom! — then a balloon hit me. Then I look up and I see a guy holding [one]. I went over [and said,] 'What in the hell is wrong with you?' "
Video footage obtained by TMZ shows Trejo exiting his convertible and confronting a group of people surrounding the vehicle and shouting "no water" moments after a water balloon hit his vehicle. Trejo then appears to punch one man, throw a chair then stumble off the curb.
Commenting on the ordeal to TMZ, Trejo said he "stepped back" and "fell off the curb" after a man tried to grab him, alluding to the incident being racially motivated.
"I'm sad. I'm just sad," he said. "There's still people like from the '50s and '60s that still feel the same way, because no one else was targeted. No one else was targeted."
Trejo's friend, Mario Castillo, who witnessed the event said it was "targeted."
"There was nobody else who was getting hit with balloons in front of us or behind us. They were just at our lowriders," he said, noting that he sustained injuries from people "stomping on my arms" and "holding me down."
Trejo managed to escape the ordeal without serious injury.
"I'm alright. They couldn't hurt me," he said. "It was sad … I would be embarrassed if I attacked an 80-year-old man and he's still talking and laughing."