NeNe Leakes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta has a new job. The reality star confirmed via Twitter today that she will be a part of Glee as a rival to coach Sue Sylvester.
SPOTTED: NeNe Leakes at The Grove in Los Angeles for an interview with Maria Menounos of Extra to promote the new season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta and the paperback release of her memoir, Never Make the Same Mistake Twice.
During the interview, NeNe said, “I don’t know why I put myself out there for everyone to judge and start talking all their trash, but I did, and, it worked.”
The newly-single Leakes told TV Guide about the breakup of her marriage: “Greg and I are separated. He’s moved out.” Leakes continued, “It’s tough because we’ve been together for 15 years and it’s really hard on me because I’ve been with him since I was young and I’ve never really lived on my own. It’s really different for me.” About their current relationship status, she said, “I’m not a dater. When I got married, I took my vows very seriously — I wanted to be married for life. This is probably the hardest thing I’ve had to do. But Greg will be on the show this season. I have an issue with my oldest son, and Greg does come over and help me with that. We are co-parenting, and we do have a child together. We’re just not living together.”
As to what we should expect on the upcoming season of RHOA, Leakes told TV Guide: “Well, you know, I love being an entrepreneur and when I did Celebrity Apprentice with Mr. Trump, he taught us a lot about starting businesses.” Leakes continued, “You’ll see a lot of me doing my business ventures this season. I’m coming out with a wine… I’m actually a restaurateur. I have Famous Famiglia pizzeria that has opened up in the Sacramento airport. I’m also working with my business partner [who may be her new love interest, so tune in to find out!] on opening up the Linnethia Lounge.”
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.
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.”
AND THE WINNER IS….
Here is a great video clip recap of the episode. I will post the full episode shortly as well:
Who won Celebrity Apprentice Season 4? A winner is announced May 22, 2011.
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.
Celebrity Apprentice on May 8, 2011 resulted in three celebrities being fired: Star Jones, La Toya Jackso and Ne Ne Leakes (sort of).
The May 8th episode of Celebrity Apprentice started an hour earlier and by the time the episode was done, three celebrities were fired. Well, two were fired and one just quit.
WATCH NENE LEAKE’S EXIT VIDEO, IT’S VERY INFORMATIVE!
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:
READ MORE: FOR A FULL RECAP AND EPISODE VIDEO OF THE 5/8 SHOW, CLICK HERE!
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.
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!
YOU CAN WATCH THE FULL EPISODE FROM 5/8 HERE.
Did you miss Celebrity Apprentice Sunday May 1?
No need to panic!
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.
WATCH: STAR JONES CALLS OBAMA’S INTERRUPTION OF CELEBRITY APPRENTICE A “PIMP MOVE!”
You can watch the full episode here! See below.
OR, click here to read my recap – which is pretty descriptive.