Bonaduce Breaks Out a Defense

Former child star says he acted in self-defense when flipping Survivor alum onstage

Onetime Partridge Danny Bonaduce is doing his best to convince a court he's nothing more than a teddy bear.

A bodybuilding, admittedly steroid-using teddy bear, but a teddy bear all the same.

This, at least, according to recently released court papers in his nearly yearlong legal battle with Survivor alum Jonny Fairplay over their onstage tussle at a reality-TV awards show last fall.

Portions of a deposition Bonaduce gave back in April were attached to a motion filed by his lawyers in Los Angeles Superior Court Monday in a bid to dismiss the lawsuit filed against him, as well as Really Awards producers Fox Reality Channel and Natural 9 Entertainment, stemming from their Oct. 2 televised bloodbath.

"He had taken five or six steps back, and then came running at me," Bonaduce said in his account of his impromptu on-air body slam of Fairplay, whose real name is Jon Dalton.

While Dalton claims Bonaduce attacked him in the suit, resulting in his losing a tooth and requiring dental surgery, the Breaking Bonaduce namesake said he was simply acting in self-defense when he flipped the Survivor over his shoulders at the show.

"He had the microphone...which worried me for a split second," the radio host said. "I'm not going to say I'm scared, but it crossed my mind. Then he just jumped me."

As for his combatant's aggressive approach, Bonaduce added that Fairplay moved in "faster than you would like a grown man to come at you.

"And then he started gyrating his private area against me rather with some gusto. And since my arms were locked I went like this and he went over my shoulder."

Still, when all was said and done, and despite his penchant for hitting the gym, Bonaduce said in his deposition that he didn't expect the incident to become what it did.

"It never occurred to me anyone would be hurt," he said.

A hearing on the motion to dismiss the suit against Bonaduce is scheduled for Nov. 13.

The show's producers, meanwhile, are also seeking to be removed from the suit. A separate hearing to deal with their motion to dismiss is set for Nov. 7.