Late “Saved by the Bell” star Dustin Diamond once pulled a knife on a fellow actor during an on-set argument, a former production assistant claims.
“I don’t remember what started it,” former “Saved by the Bell: the New Class” production assistant Scott DeVaney says in the “Hollywood Demons” docuseries episode “After the Bell.”
According to DeVaney, who didn’t name the other actor, during the incident, Diamond shouted, “I could have you fired” at the unnamed fellow cast member.
This “led to Dustin pulling out a butterfly knife. It’s a very physically threatening thing,” he claims.
DeVaney alleges that Diamond “didn’t attempt to strike” the other actor with a knife, but the altercation ended “with [Diamond] in tears, and he runs off.”
The former production assistant explains on the docuseries that his “best read” on the situation was that Diamond was “pulling out all the stops to display his power, but reached this emotional crescendo with these threats … I think running off and crying was the only route available.”
Diamond starred in “Saved by the Bell,” as the nerdy Screech from 1989 to 1993, and reprised the role for “Saved by the Bell: The New Class,” which aired from 1993 to 2000.
He died of cancer at age 44 in 2021.
According to DeVaney, when Diamond was on “The New Class,” he was coming off the big hit of the first show, “but he was still an insecure teenager at that time,” who wanted to show everyone, “‘I’m the big boss, I’ve got the gravitas, I’m really the star of the show.”
The production assistant claims that during his time on “The New Class,” he saw Diamond “treat a lot of people poorly.”
Diamond’s time on “The New Class” was “pretty bananas from the jump,” DeVaney says.
His dressing room was, “immediately a little odd. He had pictures of knives and guns in his dressing room,” DeVaney says.
Diamond’s friend, Mark Bridge, confirms in the doc that Diamond used to carry a pocket knife around.
Diamond’s father, also named Mark, also confirms that he got a phone call after the incident, telling him that Dustin “threatened somebody.”
He adds that his son was “dealing with hard things,” such as his brother’s death at age 8 from a heart condition, and his mother was also dying of cancer, at the time.
Diamond had a rocky path after “Saved by the Bell,” including a sex tape, and a 2014 arrest, following an altercation in which he allegedly stabbed a man in a Wisconsin bar.
In 2015, he was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct, and served three months in jail. He was briefly sent back to jail for violating his probation and failing a drug test.
Some of his friends appeared in the doc to say that they believe he was misunderstood.
Lizette Santiago, another former friend, says that Diamond “wasn’t used to people caring about him.”
She recalls that he got a lot of “hate” from the public, and said, “there was a time we were walking in New York City and I think someone threw something at us, like ‘Screech sucks.’”
In a rare interview, Diamond’s fellow “Saved by the Bell” cast member Lark Voorhies says in the doc, “That was my very good friend. I miss him.”
“After the Bell” airs Monday, May 4 at 9 p.m. on ID and streams on HBO Max.