Watch A Storage Wars Shoot Devolve Into An On-Set Brawl

A&E’s Storage Wars has dealt with controversy before, but we’ve never seen anything liked the leaked footage of the all-out brawl that occurred on the set of the reality series earlier this week. If you wondered if controversial cast member Dave Hester was involved, that answer would be a giant, “Yuup.” You can check out the footage, below, but please keep in mind that there’s a lot of cursing, and thus it’s NSFW.

On Friday, Storage Wars was taping in Palm Springs when storage unit auction head Dan Dotson reportedly missed a bid from Dave Hester, who has been known for his vocal antics on the show in the past. Producers on the show asked Dave to bring the error up to Dan Dotson, which didn’t go over particularly well. A brawl ensued, featuring Dotson arguing heatedly with Hester, during which Hester managed to punch the auctioneer in the face. Then, according to TMZ, Dan Dotson’s wife, Laura, got involved, reportedly jumping on Hester’s back and getting knocked off. By the time this video footage kicks in, she’s screaming obscenities at the controversial reality star, including the following:

You’re a son of a bitch motherfucker. You like hitting a woman? You like knocking me down on the goddamned ground?

The aggressive brawl and follow-up led to production on the A&E drama being shut down. Hester also reportedly went to the hospital for a tetanus shot, as Laura allegedly scratched him during the incident.

It’s not like this is the first time Dave Hester has caused headlines for Storage Wars. At one point, Hester was even fired from the popular A&E series, after having made some unsavory statements regarding the show. He later sued the network for wrongful termination, and while he missed all of Season 4 of the series, he reached an agreement with A&E that landed him right back on the show for Season 5. (It probably helped that his catchphrase and bold personality made him the most memorable member of the cast.)

Storage Wars has been a ratings winner for A&E, and while the numbers are certainly down from the show’s heyday, it’s doubtful the brawl will affect production for long. Hopefully the cast can get along enough in the heat of summer to avoid any scratching and clawing in the future.

Check out a video of Laura and Dave getting in each others' faces on the next page... The Storage Wars video below is from a few years back, courtesy of A&E's Youtube Channel...

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.