Tuesday (June 28, 2011) night, I had the utter pleasure of meeting the sweet, soft spokenLa Toya Jackson at her book signing for Starting Over, at the Barnes & Noble at The Grove LA. Over a thousand excited fans showed up for the rare opportunity to meet their idol, and many were seen leaving the scene in tears of joy after they had accomplished what they stood waiting in line for hours to do.
I went to the event as both press and a true fan and happy that I was able to express to La Toya my heartfelt appreciation for the wisdom, kindness and lightheartedness she displayed on the latest season of Celebrity Apprentice. If you watched her on that show, you know what I mean. If you didn’t, the gist of it is that La Toya always remained her humble self despite the fact that all of the women on the show ganged up on her, some in the most vile and disrespectful ways. La Toya never threw mud back and only expressed forgiveness when given a chance to speak. It was refreshing to see a woman being a lady on reality TV these days.
In her new tell-all memoir, La Toya pays tribute to her late brother, Michael Jackson, revealing intimate moments she shared with the deeply troubled pop legend.
Rick and Kathy Hilton With Latoya Jackson and Jackson’s manager, Jeffre Phillips
La Toya was the first of MJ’s sibling to arrive at the hospital after Michael was rushed there two years ago, and as the informant on his death certificate, she noticed suspicious details and demanded a second autopsy. For the first time, she unveils shocking behind-the-scenes dealings that she believes led to her brother’s demise and she provides unprecedented insight into the destruction of one of the most dynamic artists in history.
La Toya claims there was a conspiracy to murder Michael. “People come into your life, wiggle their way in, control you, manipulate, control your funds, your finances, everything that you have,” she told Piers Morgan on CNN last week. She said her brother told her right before his death: “La Toya, I’m going to be murdered for my music publishing catalogue and my estate.”
La Toya has been consistent in her allegations since Michael’s passing. In her memoir, La Toya offers more detail on who wanted Michael dead in her opinion and reveals how much MJ himself knew about the plot. She told Morgan: “Michael told me that they were going to murder him. He was afraid for his life. I believe that when Michael walked in that house that night, whatever it was that greeted him, he knew that his end was upon him. And as soon as he had passed, some of the very people he had expressed suspicions about now controlled his estate.”
Although Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael’s private physician, will solely stand trial for MJ’s death, La Toya suggests he is not even at the center of the conspiracy to kill MJ. “I truly feel Dr Murray was simply the fall guy,” she told Extra. “I think it’s too easy to blame him. I think the investigation needs to go … further.”
Celebs who came out to support La Toya’s book signing:
Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd (Real Housewives of Beverly Hills)
Corbin Bleu (High School Musical)
Actor Flex Alexander, wife recording artist Shanice and their children Elijah Alexander and Imani Alexander
Season 4 finale of Celebrity Apprentice aired May 22, 2011 and a new winner was announced when the night ended. But let’s start with the most important note: This show raised over 3 million dollars for charity this season. CONGRATS to the entire cast for that accomplishment.
THE TASK
Now, back to the recap summary of the show. We last left our two remaining contestants in a rush to complete their events to promote the launch of 7UP Retro. Marlee Matlin had the help of Meat Loaf, La Toya Jackson and Richard Hatch. John Rich‘s teamwas stacked with Lil Jon, Star Jones and Mark McGrath.
Last week’s show ended with Def Leppard‘s manager throwing a monkey wrench into John’s plans. He called John and said his drummer won’t play kick drums. Instead of working things over the telephone, John told him he would deal with him in person once they got there. Marlee’s team was having problems of their own. Jeffrey Holder’s (the 1970’s voice of 7UP) lawyer refused to let Jeffrey sign the release. Meat Loaf called Jeffrey’s manager, Chuck, in an effort to resolve the issue but when he could not get a hold of him, he totally lost it and screamed, “I am gonna throw this f*cking phone across the room.”
Meat Loaf somehow ended up working out the logistics with Jeffrey Holder. Jeffrey showed up to shoot the commercial and was his old charming self — everything went great. John Rich met with Def Leppard’s manager and the band. John started to tell the band about his charity, St. Jude’s which Def Leppard had never heard about?! Weird. Anyway, John was hoping he could win the band over with his passion for the charity. The band seemed unmoved at first, but then agreed to the creative direction John had in mind.
For event set up, Marlee’s team seemed lost and felt that they had no direction as what to do, but somehow, the finished room looked pretty cool. John’s team on the other hand seemed very organized when it came to set up and created a fantastic look and feel for their event space. Mark McGrath even called the display, “breathtaking.”
Marlee did a fantastic job of meeting Trump and the 7UP execs at her event. She also kept in close contact with them throughout her event. She also did a fantastic job during the presentation part. Her commercial, “feel the love,” however, felt amateurish to me. It was basically La Toya, Meat Loaf, Richard and Marlee playing characters from the 70’s with no backdrop or props. The Harlem Globetrotters put on a great show, but, that was to be expected. Overall, Marlee felt happy with her efforts and said she worked her butt off even though it was worth the money she raised for charity. She said, “John, don’t ever underestimate me. I am the Celebrity Apprentice.”
John on the other hand, kept having people give him money ($275K) for his charity even though this was not a fundraising challenge. He failed in a major way when he did not meet and welcome Trump and the 7Up execs to his event. Their commercial had a story, it was funny, and well made. But John goofed again when he introduced Def Leppard and the band was no where to be found. OOPS! Embarrassing! John introduced them 20 minutes too early! WHAT? ISN’T HE THE MUSICIAN? He should have performance timing down perfectly. Would Trump forgive this major gaffe especially given the fact that John had failed to welcome the big wigs earlier? Only time would tell.
John redeemed himself. He quickly made “lemonade out of lemons,” by grabbing a guitar and singing on stage, “Don’t fire me, don’t fire me, Mr. Trump. There must be someone else you can bump. Cause that girl is kinda crazy and that guy is kinda lazy. So, don’t fire me, don’t fire me, Mr. Trump.” He then gave the crowd an impromptu concert. IMPRESSIVE! This is where Matlin really messed up: Giving John a concert task. Of course John had the right skills to cover up a huge blunder. John then introduced Def Leppard for a second time, and they showed up on cue this time and rocked the stage. What I would have given to be there! John was hoping that all his efforts would land him a win and another check for $250K for his charity.
TRUMP MEETS WITH 7UP EXECS TO CHOOSE WINNER
Trump met with the 7UP execs after the two events were finished and the execs said both celebs had exceeded expectations and that they would hire both of them. Marlee, they said, was an unbelievable salesperson and John a fabulous marketer. They liked the Globetrotters and “feel the love” theme. They loved John’s display. They were disappointed that John did not greet them until after the show and they did not like his timing error with Def Leppard. They disliked the level of signs at Marlee’s event. They liked both cans and both commercials and told Trump he had a tough decision on his hands. The execs like the cans so much that both are available for sale nationwide.
IN THE PRE-TAPED BOARDROOM
John cleverly blamed the Def Leppard timing faux pax on being “rattled” by having received almost $300K right before that moment. Marlee realizing she was being outfoxed, interrupted, “Wait, wait wait, wait, is this a fundraising task? I don’t understand.” Donald said it was not a fundraising task and although he could not give John credit for that, he admitted that maybe deep down inside he actually was. Marlee, who had previously failed on a fundraising task after having admitted she had tapped out her friends, said she could have raised double what John raised if this was a fundraising task. Ivanka said, “The point is, John went above and beyond cause he could and because it was the final task.”
David Cassidy who did not get along with Richard on the show was all too giddy about the latest outcome on Richard’s legal troubles. Remember, Hatch called Cassidy “little people” which terribly offended Cassidy as it should have. Cassidy told Trump: “I think he actually is in the right place at the right time. I honestly think when you take the low road, where else would you end up but on a cold slab somewhere and quite frankly, I think it was just. I thought it was vindication. And I told you Trump, everyone told you to fire Hatch instead of me.”
Rinna blamed Star Jones for her short-lived stint on the show and Jones responded, “It’s a game, Mr. Trump. Bring your A game!”
Trump then turned his sights on Gary Busey – the clips of his old tactics reminded me of how crazy this man really is. Crazy as a fox? I can’t tell. Remember some of the gems he’s said: “There are two things you never want to do: One is pet a burning dog and the other is fry bacon naked.” Trump asked him if he liked Meat Loaf and upon saying yes, Gary and Meat Loaf hugged it out. Meat Loaf then said he understands Gary because he had “some head trauma” and Meat Loaf himself has had “18 concussions and a fractured skull.”
Trump told Lil Jon he’s become even more likable and popular since the show. Agreed. Lil Jon said, “Gary came out to hang with me in Vegas. Gary is good people.” When asked how he liked being on Celebrity Apprentice, Lil Jon said he liked it but he wouldn’t do it again because “it’s very hard.”
Trump called NeNe “original” just like 7UP. And of course NeNe was all smiles. Once they showed the clips of NeNe, she seemed somewhat embarrassed to me. She told Donald she does not regret leaving (quitting really, read the full story here) because she did what was best for her at the time. She said “Star bothered me a lot….I am absolutely OK now, I don’t hold grudges. That’s just not who I am. I was very honest in the things I said [about Starr] and I stand by them.” Star responded, “Well, I had an amazing time on the show… but I was a little disheartened as I watched the episodes unfold [on TV] throughout the season to see that NeNe used this amazing platform to attack every single black woman on the show…” NeNe interrupted and said, “Let’s not go there with ‘black,’ it’s not about a racial thing…you used this platform to be very backstabbing and very manipulative.” As NeNe was talking, Star talked over her, “Tonight is about John and Marlee.” Trump stopped them. Star said, “Excuse me, I’d like to actually finish my statement tonight. Tonight, I’d like to say as a professional woman I was embarrassed as were so many professional women around the country.” Yes, Star, I too was embarrassed. But not just by NeNe’s conduct, but yours as well.
Donald turned to La Toya who cutely giggled. I love her. Trump said, “NeNe really went after you…called you Casper the Ghost and yet for some reason you seem to really like NeNe but not Star, why is that?” La Toya responded, “I truly believed and I knew Star was using NeNe as her mouthpiece. Star was really manipulating everything that was going on. NeNe didn’t realize she was being used…When I showed NeNe, she said, ‘you are right.’ She caught on to it. NeNe deep down inside when I got to know her, she has a really good heart, and I forgave her.”
LIVE BOARDROOM
Marlee looked gorgeous. And John looked like a handsome cowboy. Loved his move of bringing Donald a cowboy hat. And it suited The Donald. When Trump asked the fired cast who they wanted to see win, Meat Loaf and NeNe said they liked both. Star said the $275K John raised last minute should get John the win. Lil Jon of course picked his buddy John. La Toya also picked John because he executed himself well. David Cassidy picked Marlee. McGrath put it best: “Marlee had the best week ever in Celebrity Apprentice history; John had the best season ever on Celebrity Apprentice history.” Trump didn’t even bother asking Hope, Gary, Lisa or Nikki.
John and Marlee then sang a moving song About The Children. And then it came time to choose a winner. When Donald asked for a raising of hands of who should win, Hope, Mark, Nikki, Lisa, Meat Loaf, Star, La Toya and Lil Jon raised their hands for John to win. “That’s surprising,” said The Donald. Then he asked who thinks Marlee should win, Nikki, Lisa, David and Gary raised their hands. Lisa and Nikki giggled since they raised their hands for both candidates. NeNe did not raise her hand for anyone. Lisa defended herself because both were deserving.
AND THE WINNER IS….
Marlee said she should be picked as the winner because her charity is her life. She said she has always faced and beat barriers in her life and that she, like Trump, never takes no for an answer. She also said she worked her butt off to win no matter what it took. And she also mentioned she’s raised the most money in a single day.
John said he should win because his charity literally saves the lives of kids. And he said there was not one thing he did not exhaust all season. He listed his wins as: Raising over $1million, brining Nikki Taylor back to help the men’s team, getting Twisted Sister, and serving as project manager more than anyone else this season. He said his “body of work” over the entire season was superior to that of Marlee’s. Marlee disagreed because John did not see Marlee at work.
When it was all said and done, The Donald said this was his toughest decision ever but picked John Rich as the winner and his Celebrity Apprentice. He said from the beginning John has been a leader, strong, sharp and smart, and he could not ask anything more of him.
Here is a great video clip recap of the episode. I will post the full episode shortly as well:
Final Four of Celebrity Apprentice: Lil Jon, John Rich, Marlee Matlin and Meat Loaf squared off tonight on the May 15th episode.
The show started with Marlee crying over the firing of Star Jones. Ah, get over it Marlee, it’s a game.Donald Trump then came into the suite and told the remaining four that they will be interviewed by former season winners Joan Rivers, Piers Morgan and Bret Michaels. Donald also told our crew that based on the interviews, two more would be fired.
THE INTERVIEWS:
Some notables from the interviews: John Rich said Meat Loaf has been erratic. “He’s either crying or screaming.” He also said Marlee Matlin has raised a lot of money but he could not pinpoint any other great thing she’s done. Lil Jon said he thought John Rich and Marlee Matlin would be in the final two and not him because he had won enough money for his charity but the other two had raised more money and are tough competitors. He did not think Meat Loaf could win because he is too emotional. Meat Loaf told the interviewers that he cried a lot because his charity meant more to him than the others felt about their charities. Meat Loaf called Lil Jon “Lazy!” Marlee admitted she had tapped out her fundraiser donors.
The former winners told Trump that although there were two “clear favorites,” any of the four could win. About John Rich, Bret Michaels said: “He is absolutely at the top of the fieriest competitors here…he is a fighter.” He said about Lil Jon, “He is an entrepreneur. He is extremely intelligent.” They said Meat Loaf is too emotional. Joan Rivers said she was blown away by Marlee Matlin. Bret of course called her “hot.”
THE BOARDROOM:
John said he would pick himself and Marlee as the final two. Lil Jon changed his tune since the interview and said he’d pick himself and John. Marlee said she would pick herself and John. Meat Loaf also picked himself and John. Way to go John. Trump then said his advisors hated Lil Jon’s answer when he had not named himself as the final two. Trump said he had fired Lennox Lewis when he was on the show when Lennox did not pick himself as the possible winner. And that is the reason he fired Lil Jon on the spot. Good bye Jon!
THE TASK:
For the final task, the two had to help 7 Up, the uncola, to launch the new 7 Up Retro (made with real sugar). Their task were threefold: Design the packaging and the in-store display; write, create and produce a commercial, and launch the product at a star-studded gala. One team would have a 1970’s team and would have the help of the Harlem Globetrotters. The second team would have a 1980’s theme with the help of Def Leppard. Marlee was so excited that there was no more fundraising involved.
The old fired teammates rolled into town to help our final two. There was no sign of NeNe Leakes even though Donald said “everyone wanted to come back but we chose you.” Marlee chose the 1970’s and teh sports related theme. John was confused that she would let the musician get the music-themed task. Marlee said she loves sports and the 70’s and the visuals of the Globetrotters.
When it came time to pick teams, John first picked Lil Jon. Yes, of course, the two have worked quite well on every task this season. Marlee picked Meat Loaf. WHAAAAAAAT! She picked him because “he’s Mr. 70’s and Bat Out Of Hell.”John then picked Mark McGrath and his team was starting to look like an all-stars team. Marlee said she was having difficulties with her next choice and picked Richard Hatch over Star Jones. WHAT?? Was Marlee not the one just crying over Star being fired? John then picked Star which sent La Toya Jackson to Marlee’s team by default. IF JOHN LOSES THIS TASK, I WILL BE SHOCKED!
Meat Loaf wanted to be placed in a fairy suit in the commercial. Heelarious. Marlee’s team was all over the place and spewing out ideas which were just crazy. John’s team, on the other hand, came up with a motto right off the bat: “7 UP, keepin’ it real,” and decided upon a zebra design for the can. Marlee finally decided to narrow everything down to a focus on the disco ball and came up with “7 Up, feel the love” as their motto.
Star admitted to having a crush on John and flirted with him often. As John was telling the camera that she told him that she would date him if he were not married, a frame fell off the wall simultaneously and eerily and John broke into laughter.
Ivanka’s visit with the teams made her feel worried that Marlee would let Meat Loaf over power her. She thought John’s team was very organized. She liked both can designs. The men were panicking because they did not have a concept for the commercial until hottie McGrath came up with one involving a Madonna and other 80’s icon look-alikes and a hair metal guy at a music video audition. Genius. They asked Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister to play the metal guy who becomes “Twisted Sister” once he drinks the uncola. Again, brilliant.
For Marlee’s team, Meat Loaf wanted to have the 7 Up 12-pack box look like a boom box. Richard changed the design of the box to the same design as that of the can while Meat Loaf was out. When Meat Loaf objected, Marlee said the boom box does not work for her charity because the charity provided assistance for deaf people. She obviously missed the big picture that the box was intended for the mass public. For the commercial, they contacted Jeffrey Holder, an iconic actor who represented 7UP in the 70’s. But for the concept, Meat Loaf was once again all over the place with ideas and Marlee was too busy being in the commercial as an actress than paying attention to Meat Loaf. Their commercial included La Toya as a superhero, Richard as a disco guy and Meat Loaf as himself.
Def Leppard’s manager threw a monkey wrench into John’s plans. He called John and said his drummer won’t play kick drums. Instead of working things over the telephone, John told him he would deal with him in person once they got there. Marlee’s team was having problems too. Jeffrey Holder’s lawyer refused to let Jeffrey sign the release. Meat Loaf called Jeffrey’s manager, Chuck, in an effort to resolve the issue but when he could not get a hold of him, he totally lost it and screamed, “I am gonna throw this f*cking phone across the room.” And with that, the show ended and we got a preview of next week’s finale episode and looks like NeNe and Gary Busey will both be baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
The May 8th episode of Celebrity Apprenticestarted an hour earlier and by the time the episode was done, three celebrities were fired. Well, two were fired and one just quit.
We started the episode with the team in the suite congratulating La Toya Jackson for talking her way back on the show. She tells everyone, “I really fought in his office….I’m a force to be reckoned with.” Marlee Matlin said to the camera that it was not fair to allow La Toya back.
Star Jones and NeNe Leakes returned to the suite. La Toya hugged NeNe. Star admitted to the camera that she only told NeNe she would discuss her outburst only to get herself out of that situation. “I had no intention of talking.”
NeNe on the other hand tells everyone “I actually told Star I need to have a conversation with her.” She later told the camera that Star is no where to be found, which “means she can’t stand the heat. I get it, you’re scared. We’ll be fighting ’till the end. Game on. I thought you were strong Ms. Jones. Come back and play with the big girls honey.”
WHY SOMEONE QUIT
At the task assignment, Trump said he had really hoped NeNe and Star could have worked things out. Trump asked Star if things can be worked out between the two and Star said no. So, Trump made Meat Loaf and NeNe switch teams.
Trump then asked Star “Do you feel better now?” When Star said she did, NeNe was surprised. She told the camera afterwards, “I am not in a good place right now. And I just need to be alone and that’s all I know to do right now. As I walk out of the comedy club, I am not sure what I need to do, I just know that I need some time.” We then cut to team Backbone, NeNe’s new team, and they have no idea where NeNe is. “Where the hell is NeNe at man, for real,” asked Lil Jon. They frantically try to call her but no one can get a hold of her, so, they started the task without her.
John Rich made a cute little diddy called, “Where the hell is NeNe” In the hopes that the song would conjure her up and get an extra person making calls for donations. It went something like this, “NeNe, NeNe, where the hell did you go? Guess you don’t wanna work today with your new team Backbone!”
Team Backbone told Ivanka that NeNe had disappeared who must have alerted her father. The Donald called NeNe on her cell phone and said he has never called anyone before but called her because she has “great ability.” He also warned her, “You should not quit. If you quit, it’s gonna follow you for the rest of your life.” NeNe shot back. You accommodated Star. You have seven talents that are still left. You can’t just accommodate her, that’s not fair.” NeNe then told the camera that Trump bought Star’s “Bullshit” and that she did not have to stay and put up with BS to raise money for her charity. “Best thing to do is for me to walk away.”
Trump told her, “You got this far, for you to quit at the end is stupid. It’s stupid.” Meanwhile, Team Backbone keeps calling NeNe and they only get her voice mail until NeNe texted La Toya to say she quit for good because Star brings out the worst in her. John Rich said, “Star beat her, Star ran her off. That is so amateur, I can’t say I have a healthy amount of respect for that…NeNe is so disappointing to me. You can’t just leave your team and abandon us. She didn’t even say good bye. We didn’t do anything to her.” Lil Jon added, “She was on a losing team,” John Rich interrupted, “Now she is now on a winning team and didn’t show up.”
WATCH NENE LEAKE’S EXIT VIDEO, IT’S VERY INFORMATIVE!
TASK ASSIGNMENT # 1 – THE COMEDY SHOW
Back to the first task at hand. Trump asked the teams to produce a comedy show and told the teams they each would be able to select three comedians to perform. They also had to sell 50 tickets for charity and the team which made the most money would win. La Toya chose to be team captain for Team Backbone and Meat Loaf for Team A.S.A.P.
Both teams faced a problem right out of the gate: The had tapped out all their resources on previous fundraising tasks, so, they were having problems raising more money this late into the competition. Team Backbone got Jimmy Fallon to perform at their show, so, they thought that would help bring in an audience.
On Team A.S.A.P., Marlee volunteered to do a 20 minute piece called “Deaf Comedy” to relay funny things that happen to her in real life. Star got Tracy Morgan to do a short video clip for the show.
The teams auditioned the comedians for their shows and as soon as that was over, the teams went back to calling their friends and contacts for more fundraising. La Toya had a hard time reaching out to her wealthy contacts due to the time difference and when she did reach someone, she would not push them too hard. She was disappointed that she could not land the million dollar donor she had thought she could. Instead, she had raised about $18,000 so far. Jimmy Fallon helped a bit by donating $10,000 to the cause.
MEAT LOAF CRIES AND HAS A MELT DOWN
Meat Loaf on the other hand was rocking the donations for Team A.S.A.P. but felt really deflated when it hit him that all the money he’s raised would go to La Toya‘s charity instead of his “kids” if he loses. And that’s when his meltdown started. He started crying, “I cannot gamble that money that was meant for that camp to play this game.” Star told Meat Loaf that she would call Trump and ask if the losing team could keep its own donations. That calmed Meat Loaf down a bit.
Star called Trump and told him about Meat Loaf‘s emotional attachment to the funds he was raising and asked if they could keep the earnings if they lose. Trump said, no, because that would take the incentive away from winning. Since Trump was on speaker phone and Meat Loaf could hear every word, he started to cry again. Meat Loaf told the camera later, still crying, “I can’t gamble the money for the kids. My heart won’t allow that.”
SHOW TIME
“It’s killing me, it’s absolutely destroying me,” Meat Loaf continued until the ladies made him concentrate on the show but he seemed lost and disoriented. La Toya on the other hand was so excited and could not wait for the show to start. Once the show started, Meat Loaf totally changed and took command of the stage as the emcee.
Team Backbone did great during their show as well, with Jimmy Fallon singing his song about the life on Celebrity Apprentice. He started with, “Sitting in the boardroom, The Donald staring into my eyes, his hair, staring into my soul! Just hoping. Just praying the two words don’t come out of his mouth. ‘Ye’r fired, ye’r fired, take that rolling suitcase out the door, ye’r fired ye’r fired, you son of a bitch you’re fired and don’t you mess with Team Backbone’….”
THE BOARDROOM
Meat Loaf started crying again in the boardroom. “I have such an emotional attachment to my charity.” He then compared what he is doing to a father taking rent money to Vegas and gambling it away. Meat Loaf then gushed over his new team, and they gushed over him. Marlee said, “He is a gem….he is a keeper.”
Donald then said let’s talk about NeNe. “The fact is, she left. She quit. She gave up…We’ve had this happen before and those people have always called me and said it was the worst decision they’ve ever made because everyone calls them a ‘loser, a quitter.’ So, to you NeNe I say, ‘You’re fired. You’re a quitter and Star Jones kicked your ass whether you like it or not.” Ah, well said Donald, but you realize NeNe was NOT in the room, right? And you realize that can’t fire someone who’s quit…just FYI…
Donald then started gushing about La Toya. He said he didn’t know much about her before but he thought she was “Solid,” and that she had totally transformed her image on the show. “It’s really brought you to a new level.” Her teammates agreed. “This girl’s got a lot of fight than I’ve ever seen,” said John Rich.
John also admitted his team missed Meat Loaf tremendously. And then, there was the ‘Oh my God moment’ of the show: John Rich told Meat Loaf that if his team loses, John would pay Meat Loaf’s charity out of his own pocket in the amount matching what Meat Loaf had raised. John said, “I will do it as your friend. That’s how much you mean to me brother. You are the man, you are great, so you don’t need to worry. I got you on that.” So, of course, Meat Loaf started crying again. “Working with John and watching Marlee…I tell you Donald what you have done for me. This show has made me want to be a better person and has taught me things I did not know I knew. So, thank you very very much Mr. Trump.” Ah, that’s all sweet and dandy Meat Loaf, but you wanna thank John too? That was an incredibly nice gesture.
WINNER OF TASK ONE – AND WHO WAS FIRED?
Now, as to the winner, Team A.S.A.P. raised $102,080. Team Backbone lost as they only raised $82,500. And Meat Loaf cried yet again. And I am sure John Rich took a sigh of relief as his pocketbook was left intact. Meat Loaf giddily ran out of the boardroom and called “baby” and told her he had raised $192K for his charity, The Painted Turtle. He then said three of his best good-feel moments in life were his children and winning this task.
When it came time to a firing, John Rich said he raised the most money. La Toya said she had nothing bad to say about anyone on her team and said they were both equally good. When asked, Lil Jon said he’d fire the ‘project manager’ if they were the one raising the least amount in funds which La Toya had. Donald told La Toya that she set a record by being the only celebrity ever allowed back after being fired. But he quickly followed that by saying she set another record, being the only person fired twice on the show. La Toya took the news well. “You are fired, but we love you.” And with that, La Toya walked off Michael Jackson Billy Jean style into the cab…If you missed that, you must watch it. I have the full episode coming soon.
WATCH VIDEO CLIP OF LA TOYA BEING FIRED TWICE!
TASK # 2 – ON STAR COMMERCIAL On Star is now available for sale for any existing car at Best Buy. Our stars were tasked with creating a commercial to introduce this new product on the market. John Rich volunteered to be the project manager for Team Backbone. Marlee Matlin agreed to lead Team A.S.A.P. which made for a rematch between the two, Marlee having won round 1.
During the task, John Rich felt sick with a possible case of a bad sinus infection and he was in charge of writing the commercial – that made life real tough on the guy and he was not able to concentrate well. That left Lil Jon as the one feeling the most pressure since he was the only healthy person on the team. Somehow John came up with the commercial concept despite the torture he was going through. Lil Jon starred in the commercial and he brought his full energy to it.
Meat Loaf decided for Team A.S.A.P. to have their commercial be about a police officer using On Star to find a donut shop. Cliche much? Star freaked out when she realized Meat Loaf had no script for the commercial and wanted to improvise. Meat Loaf said it was Star’s job to come up with Script and she was just stalling. He then became worried that she was stalling on purpose to sabotage him. Star, as one of the stars of the On Star commercial for her team, kept messing up her speech and blamed Meat Loaf for not having a proper script. At the end of the shoot, Meat Loaf and Marlee wanted to film a shot of the On Star box but Star insisted that they already had the shot and they should instead move on to editing (THIS becomes a big issue in the boardroom.)
Both teams had a hard time during editing phase of the task. Team Backbone had too much special effects to fix and John Rich put a lot of “blind trust” in Lil Jon to get the visuals correct. On Team A.S.A.P., Star said to the camera that her strength is not editing so she said if they do badly in that department, it’s their fault. Both teams were able to finish their videos in time.
The teams presented their commercials to the execs and to me, the execs did not seem thrilled with either effort. They met with Trump and told him that Team A.S.A.P.’s commercial had a great theme which told an entertaining story. They also said that although this team had a more ambitious concept, the commercial was softer on the message that this was a new way of getting On Star in your car. They said Meat Loaf did not get what the On Star brand message is about and that he made the police officer comical whereas to On Star, police officers are heroes. About Team Backbone they said Lil Jon had great energy and did a great job identifying the news that this was a new way of getting On Star. They did say he may have been a bit over the top. But they agreed that Team Backbone sold the idea that this was a brand new way to get On Star. They were disappointed that in one of the driving shots, the driver was not wearing a seatbelt which renders On Star unusable.
IN THE BOARDROOM FOR TASK #2 John and Lil Jon sang each other’s praises, with John saying the show has allowed the two diverse performers the opportunity to work in harmony together and has broken down a lot of barriers.
Trump then moved on to Team Backbone. “You look good tonight, Meat Loaf, you look good. You are so much more handsome, you know, I am not a gay man, I think gayness is wonderful frankly, but I am not a gay man. You seem so much more good looking, what the f#@ck did you do?” Meat Loaf said Celebrity Apprentice has kept him in shape. Trump then questioned why Meat Loaf did the vignettes and not Marlee the project manager.
After watching Team A.S.A.P.s commercial, John said they had missed the main point that On Star is now available at your local retail store and that you can buy it. “I may be deaf, but I think I heard it at the end of the commercial,” Marlee snapped back. “I would put it at the end and the beginning,” John rebutted.
They then watched the men’s commercial. Marlee said the men’s commercial was not as warm and as personal as theirs was. Star admitted she enjoyed their commercial but didn’t like theirs any more. Neither women seemed too convinced of themselves. Team Backbone did not like the other team’s commercial at all and the execs agreed with them: Team Backbone won the task.
WHO GOT FIRED? I personally think without NeNe around, there was no longer a need for Trump to keep Star around either for ratings purposes based on the drama the two were able to create, so, that is why Star heard the famous, “You’re fired” motto. But not before she put up a fight.
Marlee said Meat Loaf brought a different style to the team and even if it is a brilliant style, it may have caused the loss. Meat Loaf defended his choice of a comical police officer. Star said she felt Meat Loaf’s idea of humor was something they had not tried before and she felt Meat Loaf had said he would take responsibility for it.
Marlee said she would fire Meat Loaf because they were not accustomed to his off kilter style. Star said she would fire Meat Loaf because the commercial was not what the execs were looking for. Meat Loaf said as far as branding was concerned, that was Star’s job. Star said yes, the branding was her responsibility but not scene selection. She also said she is the one that put the ending brand logo (and not the box) into the commercial. Star said Meat Loaf, “Tell the truth. You had a shot of the box why didn’t you use it?” Meat Loaf asked, “Why didn’t Marlee? Why didn’t you?”
Trump asked the three to leave the boardroom. During their conversation outside, Meat Loaf called Star, “sweetie” and Star hit the roof. “Don’t ‘sweetie’, I am a grown woman. I hate that.” The two then went back and forth on whose fault it was that the commercial lacked a shot of the box. Meat Loaf said Star may be an attorney but he can argue as “good” as she can. Star walked away as she often has and said, “Stop, I don’t even want to talk anymore. You have to come to me with my credentials to get me to debate with you. Enough. Enough.” Meat Loaf said, “Don’t you cut me off, how dare you cut me off young woman.”
Back to the boardroom. Trump asked Meat Loaf what was going on outside. He said Star was not arguing back and would not look Meat Loaf in the eye so she must have been lying. Star said there was never a script. She said she begged Meat Loaf for a script and he said all ideas were in his head. Trump then got on Marlee’s case for not having overruled that. She said Meat Loaf said, “Trust me.”
Trump asked Star why she got offended by being called “sweetie” and said he was tired of this politically-correct crap. Star said in a debate calling a woman “sweetie” diminishes a woman’s status. Trump then challenged her and said that she had refused to debate Meat Loaf outside so, there was no debate. Trump then said Star didn’t get along with NeNe and now she was not getting along with Meat Loaf either and everyone gets along with Meat Loaf (Guess Trump forgot Gary Busey). “What’s wrong with you Star?” Trump asked.
Trump asked Marlee who was in charge of branding – and Marlee said Star was in charge of branding message. Star said she could not tell Meat Loaf what to put in the commercial. Trump said the On Star people said the branding missed the mark. “You were in charge of branding, you’re fired Star.” Marlee let out a loud sigh of disbelief.
Bye bye Star….Watch the video clip of her being fired:
BONUS: Watch Star’s exit interview not shown on the show:
The May 8th episode of Celebrity Apprentice left everyone with a big question: What happened to NeNe Leaks? The short answer is that she got offended that Donald Trump switched her to the men’s team (and La Toya Jackson) when Star Jones told Trump she and NeNe could not work things out. NeNe then disappeared and quit on her new team Backbone. Here is how it went down:
We start with Star and NeNe returning from the boardroom to the suite. La Toya hugged NeNe. Star admitted to the camera that she only told NeNe she would discuss her outburst only to get herself out of that situation. “I had no intention of talking.”
NeNe on the other hand tells everyone “I actually told Star I need to have a conversation with her.” She later told the camera that Star is nowhere to be found, which “means she can’t stand the heat. I get it, you’re scared. We’ll be fighting ’till the end. Game on. I thought you were strong Ms. Jones. Come back and play with the big girls honey.”
At the task assignment, Trump said he had really hoped NeNe and Star could have worked things out. Trump asked Star if things can be worked out between the two and Star said no. So, Trump made Meat Loaf and NeNe switch teams. Trump then asked Star “Do you feel better now?” When Star said she did, NeNe was surprised. She told the camera, “I am not in a good place right now. And I just need to be alone and that’s all I know to do right now. As I walk out of the comedy club, I am not sure what I need to do, I just know that I need some time.”
We then cut to Team Backbone, NeNe’s new team, and they have no idea where NeNe is. “Where the hell is NeNe at, man, for real,” asked Lil Jon. They frantically try to call her but no one can get a hold of her, so, they started the task without her.
John Rich made a cute little ditty called, “Where the Hell is NeNe” In the hopes that the song would conjure her up and the team would then get an extra person making calls for donations. It went something like this, “NeNe, NeNe, where the hell did you go? Guess you don’t wanna work today with your new team Backbone!”
Team Backbone eventually told Ivanka that NeNe had disappeared who must have alerted her father. The Donald called NeNe on her cell phone and told her he has never called anyone before but called her because she has “great ability.” He also warned her, “You should not quit. If you quit, it’s gonna follow you for the rest of your life.” NeNe shot back. “You accommodated Star. You have seven talents that are still left. You can’t just accommodate her, that’s not fair.” NeNe then told the camera that Trump bought Star’s “Bullshit” and that she did not have to stay and put up with BS to raise money for her charity. “Best thing to do is for me to walk away.”
Trump told her, “You got this far, for you to quit at the end is stupid. It’s stupid.” Meanwhile, Team Backbone kept calling NeNe and they only got her voice mail until NeNe texted La Toya to say she quit for good because Star brings out the worst in her. John Rich said, “Star beat her, Star ran her off. That is so amateur, I can’t say I have a healthy amount of respect for that…NeNe is so disappointing to me. You can’t just leave your team and abandon us. She didn’t even say good bye. We didn’t do anything to her.” Lil Jon added, “She was on a losing team,” John Rich interrupted, “Now she is now on a winning team and didn’t show up.”
So, there you have it…just like that, we last see NeNe in a New York cab to …only NeNe knows where…But that did not stop Donald from ‘firing’ NeNe. In the boardroom, without NeNe present, Donald said let’s talk about NeNe. “The fact is, she left. She quit. She gave up…We’ve had this happen before and those people have always called me and said it was the worst decision they’ve ever made because everyone calls them a ‘loser, a quitter.’ So, to you NeNe I say, ‘You’re fired. You’re a quitter and Star Jones kicked your ass whether you like it or not.'” Ah, well said Donald, but, you realize NeNe was NOT in the room, right? And that you can’t fire someone who’s quit, you know that right?…just FYI…
WATCH NENE LEAKE’S EXIT VIDEO! NOT SHOWN ON THE SHOW!
Celebrity Apprentice May 8, 2011 was a special three-hour episode (and started one hour earlier) which had lots of drama including La Toya’s return to the show, Meat Loaf crying, and a rumor that NeNe Leaks has quit because of Star Jones.
Want to know who got fired tonight on Celebrity Apprentice? Well, THREE stars were fired tonight, look below.
The celebrities had to accomplish two tasks tonight. The first one was to produce and sell tickets to a live comedy show. La Toya Jackson was the project manager for Backbone. Meat Loaf and NeNe Lakes switched teams so Meat Loaf served as project manager for Team A.S.A.P.
Surprise guests Jimmy Fallon and Tracy Morgan assist the teams in this task.
For the second task, the teams had to produce a 60-second commercial for On Star.
LIVE UPDATES: – MEAT LOAF HAS A MELT DOWN – NENE LEAKES DISAPPEARS AND THEN QUITS ON HER TEAM. READ FULL STORY BY CLICKING HERE. – TEAM A.S.A.P. LEAD BY MEAT LOAF WINS FIRST TASK – LA TOYA JACKSON IS FIRED! – SECOND TASK HAS STARTED – MARLEE MATLIN IS PROJECT MANAGER FOR TEAM ASAP SECOND TASK – JOHN RICH IS PROJECT MANAGER FOR TEAM BACKBONE SECOND TASK – TEAM BACKBONE WINS SECOND TASK – STAR JONES IS FIRED!
No need to pray for a re-airing of the “Sheer Madness” episode which aired Sunday May 1 but which was interrupted by news of the death of Osama Bin Laden.
The May 1st episode of Celebrity Apprentice was full of twists, network interruption and drama! DRAMA BABY! But let’s sift through it all as best as we can….
We start with Star Jones and NeNe Leakes coming back to the suite to join the rest of our celebs after the firing of La Toya Jackson. Star tells the camera, “I’m tough and I am strategic. I am gonna work really hard to let somebody else lead and I am gonna bring my A game, as always.” NeNe looks dejected and tells everyone she hates to see anyone leave after they have all bonded.
NeNe then told the camera, “When Star did what she did to La Toya in the boardroom, I really was like I want to stay and kick Star’s ass, I am gonna figure it out how am I going to f!#!$ Star up. And I am.”
For this week’s task, the teams had to produce a live hair show featuring hairstyling products by Farouk Hair System products and Farouk hair stylists. Trump said hair is the most important way to make celebrities look beautiful, then laughed and said he has been abused for years about his hair but he doesn’t think it’s that bad.
Lil Jon was horrified, “I got dreads, I don’t know anything about doggone hair shows!” And since John Rich was exempt from having to lead (he lead and won last week), Lil Jon and Meatloaf did Rock Paper Scissors to decide who between them should lead. No lie. I don’t joke about that. Right in front of The Donald and Farouk Shami, the head of Farouk Systems (Maker of Biosilk and Chi). Lil Jon lost and had to be project manager.
NENE & STAR JONES COME TO BLOWS
NeNe told Trump Star wants her to lead, so, NeNe said even though she knows Star has “bad intentions” and being “strategic to throw her under the bus” she was going to lead anyway. NeNe then stared Star down (Star did not look back at NeNe) and said, “It’s all good, It’s all going down!”
Star defended herself to Trump without responding directly to NeNe by saying she thought leading would be a good opportunity for NeNe to win money for her charity. NeNe got in Star’s face as Star started to back away. “You did not think that and you did not say that. I know how you think, I know how you play the game,” NeNe yelled in Star’s face. “This is not The Real Housewives,” Star said as she kept backing away and looking at the Trumps to stop the madness. “Who are you to step in and tell someone when to be project manager, who are you? I will take you down while the rest of these girls will look at you and be scared,” NeNe shouted.
“I’m the girl that is not scared. You pressed the last button in me Ms. Star Jones and I will do what the rest of these girls won’t!” She then called Hope Star’s “puppet.” “Wow!” is all Star could say, now having put HopeDworaczykand Marlee Matlin in between her and NeNe. BUT, NeNe said she wanted to be on Star’s side now too and came over and started harassing Star again.
Trump asked how this all started. NeNe said it started from the beginning but that she was going to put a stop to the “bullshit manipulation.” Meat Loaf looked like he was going to die of discomfort and the other two ladies just stood there motionless, staring at Trump.
NeNe would not let up. “You talk a good game, now bring your street game cause that’s what I am bringing. Now where is Barbara Walters, Ms. ‘I am so educated!’ How educated are you on the street?” Lil Jon finally interrupted and said. “It’s getting hot in here!” That ended the madness. Temporarily.
Star explained to the camera why she remained silent during the verbal attack on her: “This is not the Atlanta Housewives and I was bound and determined to show America the difference in the way an educated black woman handles herself under stress and the way someone who is not handles stress.”
After Trump and his gang were gone, NeNe went after Star again – “Don’t you ever play me like that again!” Star said, “I don’t do this, I don’t do threats.” She then begged NeNe to explain why she was so mad at her. And all NeNe could say is, “Shut the F%@ up, punk ass bitch.”
OK–seriously, I need a break. This was extremely hard to watch and summarize.
WORKING ON THE TASK
Back to the “G-A-M-E.” The men knew they had unity on their side, but felt at a disadvantage against the women on a hair task until John Rich came up with a brilliant idea! What did he come up with? Bring back the fired Nikki Taylor to have her hair done on the men’s hair show. When the men called her, Nikki said without hesitation, “I’m in! I can’t believe the girls didn’t call me.”
Back to the women, NeNe told her team she knew things had started bumpy but asked them to come together and work. Not sure how the women could unite that quickly considering NeNe had just attacked all three of them in front of the boss–and the client. Hope told the camera she was turned off by NeNe and could not respect her as a leader. Star had a better attitude and knew they all had to work together and finish the task. The women came up with the theme of “Shake Your Beauty!” and the ice seemed broken as the women started shaking their hair left and right and all around and laughing together.
The men met with Farouk Shami and he told them his motto is “be safe, be beautiful and buy American.” He told the women to surprise him when NeNe said she wanted to do something different.
Men had a hard time settling on a theme for the show and Meat Loaf kept getting distracted. They knew they had to focus on “America” because that is what Farouk stressed upon, so they came up with “Feeling Good in America” as their focus for the show.
The women started getting along better. At least at face value. NeNe asked Hope to be the model. Hope told the camera she is tired of being the model even though that is her job in real life but knew she had to oblige because NeNe is a “vicious evil woman.”
Lil Jon was killing me. He took the models clothes shopping and said, “I feel like a pimp walking through Lord & Taylor!” He kept strutting through the high-end conservative store saying “pimp pimp!” LOVE HIM! Thanks for the laughs Lil Jon during such a harsh episode!
Hope and Marlee went shopping for the women. Hope said it was hard for her not to mentally check out when she was yelled at by NeNe. She then added it was hard for her to shop for someone else and not buy something for herself. So, she got preoccupied with shopping for herself and disappeared on Marlee.
At the salon, the men and women had to work in close proximity of each other. Star was in one corner working on the graphics. Somehow, this made NeNe go off on Star again to the camera, calling Star fat, evil, and dirty. “You may have lost weight on the outside, but your brain is still fat.” Huh?
Nikki walked into the salon and the men egged her on to go say hello to her old teammates. Nikki sprung the news on the women that she was helping the men and NeNe took it quite well even though she did not find it “cool.” Agreed. But it’s hilarious and quite genius on the men’s part.Star called Niki a “persona non grata” to the camera. Hope was confused by Nikki’s action and Marlee said, “I consider Nikki a friend. That would be a betrayal.”
Well, not only did Nikki help the men’s team by agreeing to be a model, she also, on her own, reached out to three of NY’s top models and got them to help as well. WOW! This is getting dirty darling Nikki!
The women were late to the salon on the day of the show and NeNe was mad that the stylists would get stressed when she’s late. “RELAX, can’t a bitch be late one time?” she asked the camera.
HAIR SHOW DAY
At the show, NeNe did a so-so job as the emcee. The dancers that Star had hired did a great job. So did Marlee as a hair model. NeNe said she always liked Marlee and could tell she was going beyond the call of duty serving as a hair model. About Hope‘smodeling on stage, on the other hand, NeNe thought she looked “stupid” and like “big bird.” NeNe said if she loses the task, fire will go down on Star and Hope.
The men’s show started dead with “holes you could drive a truck through,” as Meat Loaf described. But once Nikki stepped on stage, the energy changed. They finished the show strong by ending on a Mardi Gras party theme.
LA TOYA RETURNS
SURPRISE SURPRISE! We cut to Donald’s office and in walks La Toya! YAY!! She told him she was thrown off guard last episode and could not understand why she was fired. Donald who we all know has no good reason for having fired her blamed La Toya’s laryngitis saying she could not defend herself well in the boardroom.
WHAT DONALD?! Really? Did you just use that punk ass excuse for having fired La Toya just to keep the trouble makers on the show and improve the ratings? Yep, he sure did. Donald then asked her who her problem is and La Toya said Star has been after her from the beginning but said she rather talk about herself instead and said she wanted to come back, work with the men, and show her strengths. She reiterated that she could not see any grounds for her to have been fired. Good for you La Toya! You tell the man!
Trump told La Toya that in the history of the show, he has never given anyone a second chance. He said he would think about it only because she had in fact done well. Duh! La Toya was sweet but firm. I am really loving this woman I must admit! She shows how a woman can be classy, sweet, yet strong and resilient. Thanks La Toya for bringing some sanity to this show.
As you can read below, Donald came to his senses and surprised the men (and the women) by letting La Toya come back again and join the men’s team this time. HOOOOOORAY!!!
IN THE BOARDROOM
NeNe said she felt a bit alone on the first day of the task because her teammates were not living up to their potential. Ivanka told NeNe she should not be surprised because of the way she had acted. NeNe said Star is disloyal and a backstabber. Star said she knows those are not true about her and that is why she could continue working on the team despite the hell fired upon her at the start of the task. Star admitted though that she was bossy. “She’s been mean, honey,” NeNe told Donald which made Meat Loaf chuckle.
Donald asked Star if she would like NeNe or Hope on her team moving forward. Star said it would depend on whether she and NeNe could resolve the tension cutting at the two. She said she feels bad that NeNe despises her. NeNe said she does not want to work with anyone who is not decent or loyal.
Marlee said, “Sometimes NeNe scares me..” And NeNe cut her off, “When did that start?” Marlee admitted, “Yesterday morning I was a little scared.” Star also said she was worried that the verbal attack could have turned physical and NeNe said she would never physically attack Star. Marlee said she had the utmost respect for NeNe and found her loyal and honest. She said she does not think NeNe is “violent” but thinks she is verbally abusive. Star said she was not physically afraid of NeNe yesterday but was afraid that she herself could not maintain her dignity. NeNe asked Star if backstabbing is dignified and Star said she is not a backstabber. NeNe then asked, “Why is your reputation the way it is?” Hope rolled her eyes at the question and Lil Jon just dropped his head.
Donald said Star has a great reputation. But NeNe said most people she knows do not like Star.
Moving on to the men. They felt strong on their work. About Nikki, John said it was his idea to hire her help because he had become good friends with her through the show. “The most beautiful bright woman I know is Nikki Taylor and I thought she would be perfect [for a hair show which we the men knew nothing about.”]
Lil Jon said he had no weak player on his team and when challenged by Donald as to whom he would blame if they lost, Jon said confidently, ” We’re not going to lose…I know we did not lose.” And you know what? He was right.
Ivanka told the teams about their reviews. Farouk had loved Jon as an MC. He loved the theme of “American cities” and said the men really played up the patriotic theme well. He did not like that they did not address the safeness of his products, specifically that the products lack ammonia.
For the women, Farouk liked Marley as a model and found her charming. He thought the woman had emphasized safety and the stylists were informative and represented the brand well. Negatives were that NeNe was weak as an MC and had not highlighted the brand. He did not feel that there was a theme or direction. And lastly, Farouk thought the stylists had more control than the team over the presentation.
Farouk liked both teams but picked the men as the winners. As Donald congratulated the men, he told them he had a surprise for them. With that, he asked La Toya to come in and did she ever! She strutted into the boardroom looking all fly in her knee-high boots and sat on the men’s side. Donald said La Toya had made a strong case as to why she should be allowed back and he was impressed by her reasoning. La Toya said she looks very forward to working with the guys. Trump said this makes up for Jose Conseco having left due to no fault of the team or him and said he will never allow this type of re-hiring again. Never say Never Donald..
Donald asked La Toya who her friend was between NeNe and Star and La Toya said NeNe. She also called Star a backstabber. She also called Hope a “follower.” Donald called out Hope for not defending herself even though NeNe had also accused her of the same thing.
Back in the suite, the men and La Toya celebrated and John said of La Toya, “What a boost for our team!” Lil Jon said La Toya will mesh well with their team.
Back to the boardroom, Donald said both NeNe and Star are “nice” people. Donald asked NeNe why her team had lost. NeNe said her fault was that she waited too long to speak up to Star and when she figured out Star was being strategic and manipulative about wanting NeNe to be project manager, she lost it. NeNe said Hope or Star should be fired. “Hope is just weak. What do you guys need her here for? She’s just gonna be an intern. She’s just gonna let Star eat her up. And Star is gonna throw her in here next week.”
Hope then tried to defend herself by saying she lead better than NeNe when she was project manager. And then said she found it “interesting” that NeNe’s charity is one to help victims of domestic violence when she verbally abused Star. Ivanka cut her off and said it would be more beneficial if Hope just stuck with defending herself rather than Star. Her answer, “I don’t think I have been a follower of Star. I think I have done what I have been told by a project manager.”
Star said she wants Marlee on her team moving forward. Donald asked, who else. Star picked Hope because she wants her team to pull together. But also said if NeNe does not feel attacked, she is “one of the hardest workers” she has ever met. Trump asked Marley who she wants on her team moving forward. Marlee said moving forward, she would least like to have NeNe because she was project manager. Ivanka pressed Marlee, “That’s not what my father asked.” Marlee then said she’d rather have NeNe than Hope.
NeNe sent Marlee back to the suite and brought back Hope and Star to the boardroom. Star said she should not be fired because she “sucked it up and contributed to the task.” She said the barrage of attacks was meant to humble her and she was. NeNe said “I do think Star is a hard worker and she is very smart. I just don’t like the way she plays the game.”
Hope said she does not feel manipulated. She just feels Star is bossy and that’s her personality. Hope said NeNe should be fired because she was the project manager, raised her voice in front of the client and did not do a good job as host.
NeNe said Hope should be fired. “I am gonna keep it real because she is not a strong player and Star will walk all over her.” Hope then brought up the fact that NeNe had called La Toya “Casper the Ghost.” Donald asked Hope what she thought about La Toya having just said NeNe is her friend and Hope had no answer for that.
Donald asked Star if she cared if he fired NeNe or Hope. Star said the dynamics with Hope would not bring extra stress to the team. She added if NeNe and her could work out the complete animosity between them, “then I say keep NeNe.” NeNe looked at Trump triumphantly.
Donald then said, “In all fairness, I think that Hope has been very much under the radar. I have a great deal of respect for Hope. She is young. She’s beautiful. I think you have an amazing career ahead of you. I think this show is going to make you a big big star. A really big star. I must say however that these two [Star and NeNe], if they they could ever get going, they will be impossible to stop. And you don’t seem tough enough to go against them. It’s just not your world. Hope, you’re fired.”
As NeNe and Star walked out, NeNe said she wanted to talk to Star. The two looked contentious yet again, though they did shake hands. I have a bad feeling about this…
Hope said in her ride to who knows where, “It’s something cool to be fired by Trump.”
On the trailer for next week, it looks like more fireworks between NeNe and Star will be coming our way- “Game on!” It will be NeNe vs. Star, round two. And Meat Loaf is seen crying. There will be two tasks next week and three more will be fired. The show will start an hour earlier than usual.
Celebrity Apprentice May 1, 2011 was called “Sheer Madness.” The two teams had to put together a live hair show featuring a hairstyling products, featuring Farouk Hair System products and Farouk hair stylists.
NeNe Leakes was the project manager for Team A.S.A.P. Backbone’s project manager was Lil Jon.
Who was eliminated and fired?
SPOILER ALERT:
UPDATE: THE MEN WIN! AND GUESS WHAT?! LA TOYA JACKSON RETURNS TO THE SHOW TO JOIN THE MEN’S TEAM!!!
UPDATE #2 – OSAMA BIN LADEN HAS BEEN KILLED AND THE NEWS INTERRUPTED CELEBRITY APPRENTICE. WE HAVE NO IDEA WHO GOT FIRED. LIVE BLOGGING WILL RESUME ASAP.
UPDATE #3 – Hope is likely the one that was fired. CONFIRMING!
UPDATE #4 CONFIRMED! HOPE WAS FIRED!!
UPDATE #5: Star Jones was spotted today talking about Obama’s “pimp move” interruption of Celebrity Apprentice. WATCH THE VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE!
