“You speak bad about me on TV. Why?”: Jean-Claude Van Damme Offered a Duel to Settle Scores With Steven Seagal, Seagal Refused Both Times

Jean-Claude Van Damme Offered a Duel to Settle Scores With Steven Seagal, Seagal Refused Both Times
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Hollywood is notorious for many things and quite a few of those just so happened to be celebrity feuds. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt are not that fond of each other, Taylor Swift and Kanye West; the list is endless. Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal also fall into that category. Van Damme and Seagal are at the root of this as well with both of them commenting about each other during interviews.

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Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme

The feud between the two action movie stars seems to have started many years ago and stemmed from their fighting capabilities, as both are martial artists-turned-actors.

Also Read: Karl Urban Stole Mortal Kombat Role Belgian Split King Jean-Claude Van Damme Publicly Campaigned for in $256M Franchise

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Jean-Claude Van Damme And Steven Seagal’s Feud

This dispute between Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal started nearly three decades ago when Seagal went on to question Van Damme’s fighting capabilities during numerous public appearances, stating that Van Damme is not as skilled and strong as many may claim. In one particular instance, Seagal was asked if he knew who the Bloodsport actor was, to which, he flat-out said no.

Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal

When Van Damme was asked about how he felt about the Above The Law actor, he stated that he thought that Seagal was a good guy, however, he was very tense. He then revealed an encounter that he had with the actor, where he confronted him about the things he had said about him during interviews, asking why Seagal thought that Van Damme was a bad guy.

“Well, he’s a good guy, but he’s too tense. I saw him in Planet Hollywood and I said, ‘Hey, Steven, you speak bad about me on TV. Why?’ said Jean-Claude Van Damme, “I said, ‘Come on, look, I’m a nice guy. Am I a bad guy?’ I shook his hand, he relaxed. Hey, it’s okay if he wants to say things. It’s not my problem.”

While this interaction went better than many would think, this was not the end of the feud between the two actors.

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Also Read: Stars of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Ghost of Tsushima Confirmed to be Joining Mortal Kombat 1 Cast alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme!

Jean-Claude Van Damme And Steven Seagal Almost Fought Eachother At Sylvester Stallone’s House

Sylvester Stallone, best known for his work in the Rocky franchise, once revealed that in 1997, he had hosted a party at his house in Miami, where he had invited many A-list celebrities including Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Shaquille O’Neal. Two other celebrities in attendance were Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal.

Jean-Claude Van Damme
Van Damme

“At a party in my home in Miami in 1997, Van Damme was tired of Seagal claiming he could kick his a** so he offered Seagal outside into my backyard.” explained Sylvester Stallone, “Seagal made his excuses and left. But Van Damme, who was berserk, tracked him down at a nightclub and offered him out again.” he went on “Van Damme was too strong. Seagal wanted none of it.”

It would seem that Van Damme had had enough of Seagal claiming that he could beat him in a fight and offered for the two to test his theory outside, in Stallone’s garden. It would seem, however, that Seagal did not like this idea all too much and decided to leave the party and instead go to a nightclub. This did not stop Van Damme, as he tracked the star there and offered to but heads once more.

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Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal

“No,” Seagal replied when asked if he got into a scrap with Van Damme. “It would be like me squashing an ant. If he sees me he runs.”

Seagal managed to get out of this once again, however, Stallone believes the reason for this to be the fact that the Above The Law actor knew that he was weaker than Van Damme. This did not stop Seagal from going on his reality TV show, Steven Seagal: Lawman, and claiming that the only reason he did not fight the Bloodsport actor was because he would have hurt him too much as he was too strong and Van Damme was too afraid of him.

Also Read: “We’ve recorded him. Well, he’s going to be Johnny Cage.”: Franchise Co-Creator Ed Boon on Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Massive Appearance in Mortal Kombat 1

Source: LadBible

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Written by Ananya Godboley

Articles Published: 1127

A poet and art enthusiast, Ananya Godboley is a striving academic who is pursuing a career in Criminal Psychology, currently doing an undergrad degree in Psychology. Passionate about History, Philosophy and Literature, she loves to learn about new and interesting subjects. A writer for FandomWire with over 1000 published articles, she adores all things superhero and Taylor Swift.