The shirtless and sauce-covered reality star hilariously brought the comedian to the ground.
Meatball didn't mean to tackle Billy Eichner. In perhaps the most shocking moment of The Bachelorette's "Men Tell All" episode, Eichner handed Meatball a jar of marinara sauce, a callback to the contestant's hilarious moment earlier this season, and Meatball didn't hesitate to strip down, cover himself in the sauce, and tackle the comedian.
"I was going in for a hug and then I think I slipped, and he came down with me," Meatball, whose real name is James Clarke, told ET after the incident. "I was very sorry for that. We hugged after that. It was fun. He was enjoying it. He got a kick out of it."
As for where he stands with Eichner, who was on hand to promote his upcoming flick, Bros, Meatball joked, "We are bros."
"I never thought I would pour meatball sauce all over myself again, but you never know what's gonna happen," he quipped. "This is Bachelor Nation here."
The rest of the cast was likewise stunned by the moment, perhaps no one more so than host Jesse Palmer.
"I have PTSD when you bring that up... Those are moments for me that I just can't unsee," Jesse told ET. "The fact that Meatball, A, thinks it's always a good idea to douse himself in marinara sauce, but then, B, tackling Billy Eichner, a movie star, on the set, covered in marinara sauce, those are questions that I'll probably never get the answers to."
Unlike the show's host, its leading ladies were unsurprised by the spectacle.
"I am so not surprised that Meatball did this," Rachel Recchia said. "I really hope that, throughout this season, people got to see the funny side of Meatball, the serious side of Meatball. He's just such a great person. Wasn't expecting the tackle, but was here for it."
"[I was] not surprised at all," Gabby Windey agreed. "He owned it. We were here for it. I loved to see it. I can’t wait to watch it back again and again."
The tackle did briefly give Gabby pause, though, as the ICU nurse joked to ET, "I was afraid I’d have to dig deep back into my consciousness of how to be a nurse."
Meanwhile, Bachelor Nation's Wells Adams was impressed by Meatball's "bold move," while Tyler Norris was just glad that, despite being in the "line of fire," he "did not get caught with any sauce."
"If you see Meatball, there’s a good chance he has an Italian sauce on his body and nipples, and I’d bet money on it," Logan Palmer joked to ET. "Tonight I would have won that money 'cause he was sauced up."
"It was just Meatball being Meatball," Mario Vassall agreed. "He was very much on brand."
Bros will hit theaters Sept. 30.
The Bachelorette airs Mondays on ABC. Keep up with the historic season by following along with ET's coverage of the series.
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