Woman says punch led to actor Dustin Diamond’s Wisconsin bar brawl

PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — A woman has testified that TV actor Dustin Diamond pulled a knife in a Wisconsin barroom brawl right after she punched his girlfriend in the face.

The 38-year-old Diamond, who starred in the 1990s show “Saved by the Bell,” is accused of stabbing a man during the fight in a Port Washington bar on Christmas Day.

Twenty-five-year-old Bethany Ward took the stand Thursday as Diamond’s trial entered its second day. She told the court that her cousin stumbled and pushed Diamond’s girlfriend, Amanda Schutz, starting the fight.

Ward said she didn’t see Diamond pull the knife, but that she heard a shouted warning that the actor had one out.

Diamond has pleaded not guilty to a felony count of recklessly endangering public safety and two misdemeanors.