Trump's Ratings Brainstorm Gets a No-Go from Ro

Donald Trump's show, The Apprentice, finally got the green light from NBC for another season. Yesterday when the good news came down, Donald and NBC execs mentioned that they thought Rosie O'Donnell would be a great addition to an episode. NBC Entertainment chief Ben Silverman told reporters yesterday, "It would be great to have Rosie [O'Donnell] on. Donald personally told me to extend an invitation to her." Honestly, after all the waging war of words The Donald and Rosie exchanged, did he really think she'd say yes? Well, if he did, he's outta luck, because her spokesperson told the AP, "It will never happen in this lifetime or beyond."

Donald Trump's New Apprentice Talks

Hey, now that Rosie O'Donnell is going to be free soon, maybe she'd like to audition for the next season of The Apprentice. Yeah, fat chance. Stefani Schaeffer was crowned Donald Trump's newest apprentice in the finale this past Sunday, and the 32-year-old California-born attorney is readying herself for the next chapter in her big adventure. TV Guide caught up with her before she jetted off to New York to begin work with Donald.

TVGuide.com: Congratulations! Were you nervous?
Stefani Schaeffer: No, actually, I wasn't. It didn't [occur to] me to be nervous. I'm fine with that kind of situation. Audiences don't really disturb me.

TVGuide.com: Did you ever imagine you'd be signing up for a season with so many changes?
Stefani: No, I had no idea that tents would be involved or that we'd be living outside. My idea of The Apprentice is living in this beautiful Trump penthouse suite at Trump Towers, doing some business tasks and going up against some vicious people for a while — that was my impression from the show.

TVGuide.com: I know a lot of fans were disappointed with the changes this season. Did you hear that at all from people?
Stefani: I did hear that from people. I got a mixed reaction. Some people liked the tents, because they just thought it was funny to watch people suffer, and some people just thought that it was demeaning and didn't belong in the show. So there was a mixed opinion, but with any show, I think you'll find that with any change anyone makes.

TVGuide.com: Were you disappointed, as viewers were, that the final task was… the final task?
Stefani: I wasn't disappointed in the Renuzit task, but in so far as it being the final task, I was disappointed that it wasn't at least a gigantic charity event or something for a good cause — I thought that that would be a good way to finish the show. If I could change anything, I would make that recommendation. It was a great task, it was. It was very challenging, it may not have seemed it in the final 60 seconds that you saw as an audience member, but it was a lot of work put into a very, very short amount of time, and it was a lot of moving parts.

TVGuide.com: What would you suggest to breathe some new life into the show?
Stefani: You know, I'm not sure. I think the show has a good format. I like the show as it is. I don't know that I would keep the tents….

TVGuide.com: Would you keep it in L.A.?
Stefani: L.A. was really interesting, and if the tasks are challenging enough, it really doesn't matter where the show is. The show being in New York added a heightened sense of, I don't know, anxiety, feeling like you're in a rush — I think that was conducive to it being an experience. But L.A. was good, too. We're so spread out in L.A., the stress is there, it's just different — it's with traffic, it's with limitations of when businesses are open and that kind of stuff, so I think both locations have their advantages.

TVGuide.com: Do you feel the show took advantage of the L.A. setting as much as you'd expected?
Stefani: I don't know. In retrospect, we did do two different types of commercials and we did do things, like the tour-bus task, that were Hollywood-esque, if you will. We probably could have done a little bit more.

TVGuide.com: Was staying under the radar a "genius strategy" you planned?
Stefani: My strategy was to stay out of the firing line, and that meant doing a good job and making sure I had the respect of my teammates, and it was effective. It made me end up in the finals and I did it without ever ending up in a boardroom. No project manager ever brought me before Mr. Trump to try to get me fired, no teammate ever said anything negative about me, so I think it was a great strategy and I don't think I was under the radar at all. The audience sees a very tiny portion of the footage, and I can tell you that I was as active throughout the beginning of the show as I was shown to be by the end of the show, so you can't actually fly under the radar in a situation like this. With teammates who are all looking out to be No. 1 and be the winner, don't you think someone would say something to try to get you fired if you weren't pulling your weight plus more?

TVGuide.com: Definitely. And with your crew, you had very loud, boisterous people alongside you.
Stefani: We did. They were very loud. We had Chicago and New York adequately represented and quite a voice from Seattle as well.

TVGuide.com: I know you volunteered at one point to be PM.
Stefani: I did volunteer. It was after Surya was fired, but I was outvoted once again, because I wasn't perceived to have survived the boardroom, so to speak, and the rule really was that if you were one of the two survivors coming out of the boardroom, you had first dibs at being the PM.

TVGuide.com: Right, to prove yourself.
Stefani: Yeah, so that resulted in my never having a chance.

TVGuide.com: Did you see PM as being a danger zone?
Stefani: Not to me. I don't think that being a PM would have been a danger zone, only as much as if you lose, you're in the boardroom. But if I had been a PM and had lost a task — which I don't think I would have — and been in the boardroom, I would have, by far, defended myself better than the other candidates. I don't think I would have been fired despite being a PM.

TVGuide.com: Is there anyone you thought should have been in the final four?
Stefani: Wow. Perhaps Kristine could have been in the final four.

TVGuide.com: She had a surprising firing.
Stefani: You know, I would have liked to have gone up against her, I think she's very qualified. She was great.

TVGuide.com: Did you see her as your toughest competitor?
Stefani: Probably the toughest on Kinetic.

TVGuide.com: And what about Arrow?
Stefani: On Arrow, my toughest competition was James.

TVGuide.com: And you felt that even before the finale?
Stefani: Yes. That was my only competition.

TVGuide.com: What was the most frustrating part of the process for you?
Stefani: Life in the tent without a bathroom — that was frustrating. No running water when you're kind of a girlie-girl and you like to have your accessories about. Not having a blow-dryer, that was tough, sharing a port-a-potty with a bunch of guys, that was a little rough, no refrigerator....

TVGuide.com: Nothing about the tasks themselves?
Stefani: The tasks were the tasks. We all signed up knowing we were going to be handed some crazy assignments with just ridiculous deadlines and little or no sleep, very little food along the way, and you wouldn't have the opportunity to do your daily routine that puts you in your comfort zone. We just had to deal with it. The tasks were what I expected them to be — they were intense — and I would do it all again.

TVGuide.com: Would you really consider hiring James, as you said, now that you've won?
Stefani: I really would. If Mr. Trump gave me the opportunity, I would hire James. He's a great guy, a great worker and a smart man. I always said — and he said the same thing — we would hate to break up the team, and I think we did a really good job at maintaining a sense of loyalty and we were able to present our strengths respectively without bashing each other, and that's what we set out to do. I have great respect for him.

TVGuide.com: When do you leave for Cap Cana?
Stefani: I have no idea. I leave for New York, and then I don't know what the future holds after that.

TVGuide.com: Probably lots of meetings before you go.
Stefani: Probably.

TVGuide.com: Well, if the show returns, maybe we'll see you again, but on the other side of the boardroom table!
Stefani: Hopefully! Maybe I can sit in for Carolyn.

Photo from TV Guide.

Donald Trump Hires His Newest Apprentice

So this weekend featured the finale of The Apprentice: LA, and I gotta say, I have mixed emotions. My thoughts? They changed so much of the shows' format, as compared to previous seasons, that I was actually a tad disappointed, although I still love the show.

In prior seasons, when it comes down to the final four, they ran them through their paces with strenuous interviews with top level executives of various companies. They skipped that this season. When it gets down to the final two, in past seasons, they have had one big challenge to pull off to determine the winner. Yup, skipped that too. And then, of course, forgetting all the other changes they made in the beginning ... the tents, Project Managers staying PMs until they lose, losing Carolyn and George, the LA location, etc. ... just seems like they were trying to change too much all at once.

All that aside, the season is over and Trump has hired Stefani, "the realist," as his new apprentice. She largely flew under the radar, and maybe even too much so, but considering that landed her a $250,000/year gig, I'd say she did ok.

Here's a little bit of a pre-win interview with her.

"Success" can mean different things to different people; what does it mean to you and how will you know when you've achieved it?
Success is when you follow through and achieve the goals you've set for yourself, whatever they may be. Success is about never giving up and never being afraid to fail. Every failure makes you that much stronger... and that much more determined.

Describe the toughest business situation you've had to deal with and what you did to solve the problem.
The toughest business situation I've ever had to deal with was deciding whether to give up a chance at partnership and a great career at my law firm in order to appear on The Apprentice - I had to resign.

What lessons have you learned from past Apprentice winners or candidates?
I've learned from watching past Apprentice winners never to lose my cool. "Never let them see you sweat!"

Why should you be Donald Trump's next Apprentice?
(No answer provided.)

What's your favorite thing about Los Angeles?
There's just something laid back and sexy about Los Angeles. I like knowing that I can leave work at the end of the day and drive home via PCH with the top down on my car. It's an almost Zen-like transition to relaxation and a great way to unwind after a day of litigation.

What's your least favorite thing about Los Angeles? And you're not allowed to say "traffic."
Superficial people with attitudes and issues. People who lack substance and are more interested in themselves than about how to make a difference in the world.

What will surprise viewers about this sixth season of The Apprentice?
Things are never the way they seem, and the rules are subject to change at any time without warning.

What's your marital/parental status?
Divorced, no children.

If you could be the star of any movie ever made, which movie would it be and why?
I'd like to be Rene Russo in the remake of "The Thomas Crown Affair." Russo's character in the movie was so smart and sexy.

What are your three favorite albums of all time?
Too hard to narrow it down. I love Nickelback, Evanescence and Sting.

What are your three favorite books of all time?
Also too hard to narrow down
"Fish" by Stephen Lundin (great way to boost morale)
"Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown
"The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

What hobbies do you enjoy, outside of trying to impress Donald Trump?
Snow skiing, scuba diving, motorcycle riding, tennis, golf, karate, working out, reading, and modeling.

Photo from ABC.

Rosie O Lets Donald Have It ... Again

So much for letting bygones be bygones. It seems the flare-up between chat-fest host Rosie O'Donnell and real estate developer Donald Trump has, well, flared up again.

As Emcee at yesterday's Matrix Awards in New York, Rosie certainly embarrassed more than a few of the 2,000 guests being honored in the Waldorf-Astoria Grand Ballroom.

She dropped the F-bomb more than once, causing guest Barbara Walters to lower her head on the dais and cover her face with her hand. Rosie lit into a mini-rant about Donald Trump, and ended it by grabbing her crotch and shouting, "Eat me!" She went on to say that she was sad when Trump called her "disgusting" and "fat" because, "it was always my dream to give an old, bald billionaire a boner." Lovely, Rosie. Truly a class act all the way.

The annual luncheon of N.Y. Women in Communications was honoring Cindy Adams, Meredith Vieira, Joan Didion, Susan Lyne, Arianna Huffington and Lisa Caputo, among others, and counted News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, Joy Behar, Nora Ephron, Martha Stewart and Sen. Hillary Clinton as presenters. Also in the audience were 17 young high school girls who had won scholarships to pursue media careers.

"I was offended by how vulgar and common O'Donnell was," said Robert Zimmerman, a Democrat active in progressive causes. "It was especially inappropriate with young people present."

Brandon Holley, editor-in-chief of Jane magazine, said, "I wasn't personally offended, but I thought it was fun to watch other people be offended."

"I cringed and dove under the table when she said, 'Eat me,' " said one woman attendee who wished to remain anonymous.

Also in the audience were Judith Giuliani, her predecessor Donna Hanover, Judge Judy Sheindlin, Helen Gurley Brown, Sue Simmons, Geri Laybourne of Oxygen Media, Jane Friedman of HarperCollins, and Hearst president Cathie Black.

O'Donnell's publicist, Cindi Berger, told us: "When you ask for Rosie, you know what you're getting. She's not a shrinking violet. She's a stand-up comedienne. She says things that are provocative."

Surprisingly enough, N.Y. Women in Communications was happy with Rosie's performance. Their managing director, Beth Ellen Keyes, sent an e-mail to her handlers saying, "Rosie was fabulous. Please let Rosie know how much we appreciated her being there. She was just great."

Photo from NY Post.

Apprentice Contestant Takes It All Off

Kristine Lefebvre, who was fired on the April 8th episode of The Apprentice: LA, for the very grave error of getting a telephone number wrong in a marketing presentation challenge, has decided to bare all in the June issue of Playboy magazine.

She will appear on the cover, and inside, and her rep says that Lefebvre, who is a cancer survivor, wanted to use this opportunity to send a message of support to others with the disease. I bet she's got Donald Trump's full attention now.

Kristine is married to Los Angeles chef Ludovic Lefebvre.

Trump told TV Guide, "I think Playboy has very good taste."

Photo from TV Guide.

The Apprentice: LA Says Buh-Bye to Tim Urban

When Tim Urban got kicked off The Apprentice: LA last week, I was a bit bummed. Do I think he would have won? No, I don't think so. But I think he got a raw deal with everyone ganging up on him. TV Guide sat down with him to dish about his on-screen romance with Nicole, and more behind-the-scenes dirt.

TVGuide.com: What's the saying? "'Tis better to have loved and lost The Apprentice?" Is that how it goes?
Tim Urban: Yeah, I think so! [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Are you regretting trying to help Nicole by whispering through the hedges a few weeks ago?
Tim: I don't regret much about the Nicole situation, but that was pretty stupid. It wasn't even necessary, I was just being emotional and being an idiot. I shouldn't have done that because this is a game where everyone tries to smell blood all the time on anyone, and that suddenly became a huge, bloody wound. Suddenly the team was like, "Oh, look at this. This is such an easy attack now!"

TVGuide.com: But on the flip side, Trump had only a week earlier told Nicole that you were "not loyal" by not fighting to keep her on Arrow.
Tim: Yeah, I don't know how you can do both. [Laughs] Somehow I was in big trouble for being loyal to the team over Nicole, and I was in big trouble for being loyal to Nicole over the team.

TVGuide.com: What was more awkward: Trying to speak to Nicole's visiting mom through the hedges, or watching yourself do that on TV?
Tim: Um, it was pretty awkward on TV, but it was more awkward in person. Yeah, that was... uncomfortable.

TVGuide.com: Getting to the tasks at hand, does anyone else actually come up with ideas on Arrow? Because they tend to only show us your grand ideas and everyone climbing on board.
Tim: To be honest, not really. We do have brainstorming sessions, but for five straight weeks — except for Soft Scrub, when Nicole wrote the story — they went with my ideas. In my mind, I was thinking that if I can get to the finals like this, I'm going to look like a clear winner, but it could also get me fired on any task. High risk, high reward.

TVGuide.com: What was your Plan B if they weren't able to get you your suit in time for the SmartMouth presentation?
Tim: I was going to go out in my pajamas, since all our people were in pajamas. We had written something into Stef's speech like, "Look at Tim. Tim is a typical person with morning breath.... " We were going to spin it that way.

TVGuide.com: Frank and James are now the only two guys left on the show. Do you think either one of them has a chance? Or are the women this season simply too dominant?
Tim: I can see why Frank made it far, because he does a really good job on a simple task, every task, and he never has a chance to get fired because nothing he ever does could get him fired for. He's just building things and getting things. But Frank, I don't see him being the winner. It'd be hard for Trump to look Frank in the eye and say, "You're hired." James has a shot, but there are a lot of strong girls. They're 4-for-4....

TVGuide.com: How do you think Nicole measures up against Kristine and Heidi?
Tim: People look at Heidi and Kristine as these professionals and they might not be taking Nicole seriously, but she's a force on that team, I think. She's very good, and because she has this boisterous Italian personality, I'm not sure that her strengths are coming through. But she has a shot just like any of them.

TVGuide.com: What was your favorite reward?
Tim: I've got to say Snoop [Dogg]. The fact is, they only have a little time for rewards, and they had to show Frank and James rapping, because that's high comedy, but I had a chance to sit down at the piano and just play, and Snoop sat there next to me humming along....

TVGuide.com: And then, what? Everyone started passing around a blunt?
Tim: He actually pulled out a joint. He said, "I was told not to do this but I'm getting the shakes, so I have to," and he lit it up. He then blew smoke into the camera and said, "Trump, you're fired." [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: I gotta ask: What's the status of your relationship with Nicole?
Tim: We're still together, if you can believe that. Ten months later. I just got off the phone with her to call you. You're looking at the rockiest time we ever had, but we had kind of made up by the time I got fired. I told her that I was pretty angry and she expressed that she was kind of angry, but then we said, "Let's not let this be a huge thing." After the whole thing was over, we realized that we were really quite tight, and it has lasted.

TVGuide.com: Where are you two geographically?
Tim: She's in Chicago and I live in L.A., so it's not ideal. But we've been going back and forth a lot, and we took a trip together in the summer....

TVGuide.com: You know the Donald is just licking his chops at the prospect of an "Apprentice Wedding" special....
Tim: Yeah, I know. [Laughs] But I don't think I like Trump nowadays, so....

TVGuide.com: What's next for you?
Tim: Music. Music, music, music. That's why it was a little silly that I was trying to get a job with Trump, when really what I want is to be a composer. I really like the show, and I would have taken it because I'm competitive, but music is my thing. This great composer, Glen Ballard, and I just finished an album together, a bunch of my piano music, and it's unique, cool stuff. The actual job probably would have messed up my career more than it would have helped it, but... I had a good run. You can get the CD on my website, TimUrban.com, or on iTunes.

Photo from TV Guide.

The Apprentice's Double Whammy

Last week, Trump pulled a fast one, firing two of the contestants on The Apprentice, one for uttering the phrase "white trash" in the boardroom.

After the truly horrid Lexus challenge, Trump said sayonara to Derek Arteta and Jenn Hoffman. TV Guide sat down with the two to get the low-down on the whole experience.

First, Derek:

TVGuide.com: When they had that promo running all week, saying that "two words" will lead to a double firing, I was sitting there wondering what they could be. Does someone tell Trump, "You suck"? The last words I expected them to be were "white trash."
Derek Arteta: It's funny, because every week I have my friends over to watch, and as soon as that [promo] came up, they all looked at me and started laughing. They somehow knew it was about me. "Derek, tell me what you say.... " Some of them guessed the two words, actually!

TVGuide.com: Before The Apprentice, had you been aware of the negative connotations of the term "white trash"?
Derek: Some people can take it negatively, but frankly I was using it to describe myself. I'm also openly gay, so if I want to call myself a fag, I can call myself that. It's empowering. If I'm a guy who likes deep-fried appetizers and who likes bowling and go-karts, so be it, I'm going to call myself white trash. You know what, when there's a white-trash antidefamation alliance, they can take me up on it.

TVGuide.com: The argument, though, is that by specifying white, you're suggesting that minorities represent "regular" trash.
Derek: Yeah, that's what I have heard. The funny thing is, the last episode totally cut this out, but I'm actually Latino, and during the whole Priceline task in the mall, I kept saying, "This is ridiculous. Just because you're Latino doesn't mean you can't speak English." I said to Mr. Trump, "As a Latino, I'm offended," and Trump was all thrown off. He was already surprised by me being gay, and then this...? He turned back to me and said, "You're really not offended by this?" and I'm like, "I actually am." It's weird to me that now Trump was OK with the racist connotation of assuming that Latinos in a mall don't speak English, but god forbid you say "white trash." I think the majority of viewers don't even see the racist connotation of "white trash."

TVGuide.com: As for the actual task, would you have fired Angela, the deadline misser, over Jenn, the unexpectedly ill-prepared presenter?
Derek: No, I would not have. My alliance was trying to get rid of Jenn. It was not Angela's fault; that was just the editing. Angela was brought in at the last minute, at Jim's request, to make one extra sign, and I got angry because Jim had asked her to do that. It was not Angela's fault at all. Angela and I are really good friends, she is the one I started the alliance with.

TVGuide.com: What was the best part of the mansion, and what was the worst part of the camp?
Derek: The best part of the mansion was what I call "temptation island," an island in the kitchen chock full of Twinkies and Twix bars and Snickers. Marissa and I would always hang out there. The worst part of the camp was the porta-potties, which were pretty rank. They were segregated between male and female, and I was the only guy on the team, yet somehow the seat in "my" porta-potty was always down. I don't know if the girls were using it, or people [on the crew].... It always ended up being really gross in there.

And now, Jenn:

TVGuide.com: Did you sense that Trump was ramping up to fire Derek for saying those two words?
Jenn Hoffman: Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. In the boardroom prior to this, Derek had said something in relation to the whole Latino thing, and Trump looked at him like, "Oooh, I don't like you anymore." So I knew that if he said anything to piss off Trump again, he would be gone. I was just hoping it would be in the final boardroom, when I brought his ass back in there! [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: That was a fair plea you made: "Derek was the one who screwed up here, so.... "
Jenn: "Can't we just call it a day?" [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Do you feel it was gratuitous that Trump went on to fire somebody else?
Jenn: If it had been a random person who made [an offensive] comment, then I would have understood that he still wanted to fire somebody who was responsible [for the team losing]. But I do feel like Derek and Angela shared in the responsibility for the task tanking, so I wish Trump had been satisfied with Derek's firing. But apparently he was out for blood that night!

TVGuide.com: What was the best part of the mansion, and what was the worst part of the camp?
Jenn: The best part of the mansion was the pool. I loved lounging in it all day. It was kind of nerve-wracking yet fun to be in a bikini on national television. Aimee, Marissa and I definitely embraced it more than the rest of the team. We were definitely down with it. We'd also float around the pool and spy on Arrow and listen to them fight all day, that was fun. The worst part of the tent was that it really broke you down. At first I thought it was kind of fun, like camp, but it was just so cold and wet and damp.... It's not conducive to a good business environment and putting on a good game face the next day. If you just slept in a tent and showered with a hose, you just can't bring it. I look at the message boards and people say we all look rough. Of course we look rough, we haven't washed out hair in a week! I think we looked pretty damn good under the circumstances.

TVGuide.com: Do the Apprentice message boards have any nicknames for you?
Jenn: Well, I've had a couple.... One person said that I look like Nicole Richie, so in response somebody wrote back, "Yeah, a 'fat' Richie!" [Laughs] It was kind of like a backhanded compliment.

TVGuide.com: No, I think you look like Ben Stiller's wife.
Jenn: Oh, I get Christine Taylor (Zoolander) all the time. When I was a TV news reporter, I used to have my hair just like hers, and people would put on the message board there, "Christine Taylor is apparently reporting here now!"

TVGuide.com: What's next for you?
Jenn: I'm not really sure. I've gone back to my PR firm, and they've been incredibly supportive. But I've also dabbled in TV hosting and acting and reporting, so I think I will try to give all that a whirl. I have a bit of stars in my eyes. I certainly don't expect The Apprentice to propel me into stardom, and I don't expect to collect my Oscar anytime soon. [Laughs] Though I should have collected an Emmy for my performance [last Sunday] night, because I truly wanted to crawl across the boardroom table and stab someone. But instead I just smiled and was like, "I love you!"

TVGuide.com: I liked how you sort of broke the fourth wall by telling Trump, "I think we all saw [my firing] coming a few minutes ago."
Jenn: That was a goal of mine. If I was going to win, fantastic. If I wasn't going to win, I didn't want to go out like everyone else, but in a way unique to me. That was my personality coming through. I was not going to leave the boardroom without, A) interrupting the fact that I was getting fired and pointing out how humorous it was, and B) making everyone inside the boardroom laugh.

Photo from TV Guide.

The Apprentice's Ousted Marisa Talks

You may remember that Marisa was booted from The Apprentice last week, as her entire team voted her the one to go. The next day, she sat down with TV Guide to dish. Here's a little bit of the interview:

TVGuide.com: I feel like one drawback of this season's "penthouse versus the outhouse" setup is that we didn't really get to know you folks over on Kinetic. Did you feel that way, seeing the coverage?
Marisa DeMato: I totally agree. I felt like you really didn't get to see a lot of the team, because they focus so much more this season on the losing team. And in the third week, with the exemption [from the task], our team was basically nonexistent.

TVGuide.com: So when you then show up in Week 4, all we're left with is this painting of you as a person crazy for people in chicken suits, and who perhaps talks too much in the boardroom.
Marisa: Starting back in Week 2, I was getting a little more face time than most, because I was vocal about not really being that thrilled with the [twist where] one person could essentially continue to be project manager [for weeks on end].

TVGuide.com: Was that you? I quoted you when I raised my own objection to that rule change with Donald Trump. I told him it keeps the other team members from having a proper chance to shine.
Marisa: It does, and I still feel that way. As you said before, no one's really gotten to know what a great team Kinetic was, and Kinetic was a great team. Some people right now may be thinking, "Oh, she didn't get along with her group," but nothing could be further from the truth. There really wasn't any dissention in our group whatsoever, aside from Heidi and I occasionally having professional differences over designs or concepts. I was very close with Muna and Aimee and Derek.... You wouldn't necessarily know it by watching, but my boardroom [outcome] was more about taking out the strong player - at least as far as Heidi was concerned. Regarding the chicken suit, I can sit back and say, "Wow, people are going to think I'm really adamant about that" and not know where it's coming from, but had they seen what led up to that point - which was our team learning that Arrow did in fact use a chicken suit as part of their marketing — America would have understood why I felt so passionate about the issue. At that point in the boardroom, I felt they were doing a good job trying to spread the blame around, and that was my chance to say, "I'm not to blame for this loss."

TVGuide.com: Yeah, I thought you might squeak out of this one, but then I saw there was only, like, a minute left in the hour....
Marisa: There are examples where you just drop the ball and make mistakes, and you're the reason the team fails, and you can kind of accept that. If that had been the case for me, I would definitely own up to it. But it was just the opposite. I put myself out there and pushed to do my best job.

TVGuide.com: Is there anything you would do differently back in the boardroom?
Marisa: I would not have been as worried to say I would fire Heidi as project manager. I felt like, because she and I hadn't seen eye-to-eye, it would have looked like it was some sort of personal animus, but it wasn't. For some reason Trump has really taken a liking to her, so he's not getting the full picture, and I felt like it would have been an uphill battle.

TVGuide.com: Now just how dirty did Arrow leave the camp?
Marisa: It was pretty filthy, I have to say. I had never seen anything like that before. It looked like things had been sitting in pots and pans for days.... It was pretty gruesome.

TVGuide.com: You must have been like, "At least I only had to spend a day there."
Marisa: Oh, I know! One day and one night, that was all I needed in Tent City. I got off easy!

TVGuide.com: And what about this whole on-set romance thing? They promo'd the hell out of it the week before....
Marisa: And then it wasn't even on the episode!

TVGuide.com: It's Tim and Nicole, right?
Marisa: Um, I'm not sure that I can confirm anything, but... it's interesting, regardless, based on the things they were showing last night. It was surprising to us. I mean, I'm just surprised that anybody could spark any sort of interest, the way that they were living outside there!

Photo from TV Guide.

Trump: The Blog

If you aren't getting enough Trump lately (if that's true for you, you might want to get your head checked), have no fear. Trump has his own blog! Well, technically it is a group blog associated with Trump University. It was recently revamped to look all professional and nice.

One of Trump's recent posts was about Britney Spears, of course. After picking on her a bit, Trump says:

I think Britney's going to be OK and I think she's going to be a great mother. She wants some free time but now, Britney, it's time to settle down and get back to work. It's time to get back to being a mother and being a star.

I'm sure you'll be adding it to your favorites list.

Trump Gets His Star

Donald Trump got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, according to USA Today. The last thing the Donald needs is more publicity, but he's getting it.

Donald must be pretty proud of himself, since Rosie O'Donnell doesn't have a star. That's his son, Barron, who has to be one of the cutest babies ever.

Photo from Us Weekly.

Rewind: The Apprentice 6, Episode 2

The week's episode was all about swimwear. Each team has to design and manufacture a line of men's and women's bathing suits for Trina Turk. Trump mentioned that Trina is a big name in the fashion industry - I've never heard of her though. You?

Trina will be hosting a fashion show on Santa Monica Beach for a group of swimwear buyers. The team that makes the most money selling their bathing suits will win. In yet another twist, the winning team will not have to participate in the next task, though I'm not clear yet on how that's going to work. How do they compete next week then? We'll have to stay tuned to find out.

Nicole volunteers to be Project Manager for Team Arrow and Carey immediately gets out his notebook to start designing the bathing suit styles for men. Apparently he is a frustrated designer, and mentioned that he is very excited about this opportunity. This episode, we learned that Carey is gay, and he designed a suit that he felt would be a huge hit with the gay population. Others on the team were worried about that, but he persevered and designed that pink suit you see on above, modeling it himself during the fashion show. Interestingly enough, Kinetic's Derek, who, this week, also revealed that he is gay, didn't like Carey's suit at all.

At the end of the fashion show, Trina tallied up all the orders from the buyers for the bathing suits, and Kinetic won again. Arrow sold $19,616 worth of swimwear, and Kinetic sold over $20,000. Only $350 of Arrow sales were for the men's swimsuits, which was pretty pitiful.

The reward this week was a trip to Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion, complete with a chat with Hef and his three girlfriends, Bridgette, Holly and Madison. Clearly a prize not chosen with the women on the team in mind.

Back in the boardroom, Nicole chose Carey and Michelle to return with her, and Carey took most of the heat, ultimately getting fired for his pink bathing suit.

If you missed any of this episode and want to catch up, you can see the full thing right here.

Until next week...

Donald Trump v. Rosie O'Donnell ... Again

This will be the last time that the Glitter & Gossip offices cover the running feud between Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell. We will be happy to cover news of things that they're doing separately, but the constant picking that HE is doing will not be covered anymore. Phew ... feel better now.

Rosie just came back from a two-week vacation, and yesterday was her first day back to "The View."She mentioned that his attacks against her are upsetting her children. "Vivi is upset about it for sure. Blake said, 'Mama, he said the F word.'" As the audience gasped, Rosie explained that in her house, the "F word" is fat.

"The guy, he's obsessed with me, obviously," Rosie said.

"I love when people say you're fat -- like you don't know," she said. "It's always the first comment from someone who disagrees with you. 'You're fat!'"

And true to form, Donald fired right back: "Rosie, as usual, is misquoting me. I used the word 'slob,' I used the word 'degenerate' and I used the words 'not very smart.' The word 'fat' played a very small role, if any, in my description of her," he said in a statement released yesterday.

Barbara seems like she's also had enough, saying, "Everything he said about me is totally untrue."

And then Trump, of course, fired back to that as well. "Barbara lied, as she knows very well. She will have to live with herself. She admits to phoning me. Isn't it obvious to everybody that if she phoned me, she had to be saying what I've stated, not what she claims to have said."

Honestly, I get that he's trying to garner publicity for the newest season of The Apprentice, but this is so unnecessary. And, besides, according to People magazine, the feud isn't helping ratings anyway. Donald, man up already and quit whining. They're all acting like school children - enough already.

Photo from The View.

Jennifer Hudson Jumps in the Fray

Either Donald Trump is nuts or he is brillant. Do you think it's a coincidence that Donald Trump is in the middle of a media firestorm at the same time that a new season of the Apprentice has started? Ummm, no.

The newest chapter in the drama is that Jennifer Hudson appeared on The View, which is apparently the forum for the fight. They were talking about how the Donald called Rosie fat. Her thoughts? "We ain't fat, we thick."

Is a cage match next? They could sell it on Pay Per View!

In other Trump/O'Donnell feud news, Melania Trump, the Donald's wife, went on one of the morning shows and said she thinks Rosie is harassing him. I'm getting bored.

Photo from jenniferhudson.net.

Rewind: The Apprentice 6 - LA (Episode 1)

The newest series of Donald Trump's show, The Apprentice, premiered last night. For those that forgot to set their Tivos, never fear, it will be rerun tonight. Especially good for anyone else, like me, who didn't notice the slight change in the show's title (adding the LA to it), so, of course, my Tivo didn't it up. I missed the first half-hour because of that, but still took notes for the remaining hour for our Rewind piece.

As we mentioned awhile back, this season of The Apprentice has many changes from seasons past. The biggest, of course, is the location. It's now in Los Angeles. I miss it being in New York, but I'll get over it.

Other changes include:
- The Project Manager STAYS the Project Manager until they lose a task.
- The winning team stays in a fully-equipped mansion, and the losing team stays in tents in the backyard. No electricity, no stove, nothing. One of the whining contestants, Stefani, a mild Faith Hill look-alike, described it as a "third world country." Obviously she has never been to a third world country. Donald called the new setup - the Haves and the Have Nots.
- The team stays in the mansion until they lose, and likewise for the losers in the tents.
- The winning team's Project Manager gets to be in the boardroom for the deliberations with the losing team.
- No more Robin telling the teams/individuals that they can go into the boardroom. They get direction from Donald barking over the intercom. I miss Robin.
- At the end, the person sent home doesn't go by taxi. They are whisked off by a Lexus car service with driver. Did I mention I missed it being in New York?

The first challenge was for the teams to run a car wash - whoever brought in the most bucks won. Frank and Heidi were project managers and Frank lost by just a smidge.

The winning team enjoyed dinner at Spago's with none other than celebrity chef, Wolfgang Puck. Donald's wife, Melania, also joined them for dinner, although she didn't say a word.

It was touch and go to see who Donald was going to send home and although he told Frank he thought he was "terrific," he definitely had his mind set on sending him home, particularly when Frank said that Martin (the one remaining with him) was "brilliant." Seriously, why would you say that when it's between you and him to go home?

Both Heidi and Ivanka said that Martin should be the one to go home and Ivanka said that Martin would definitely not fit into the organization. And Daddy's Little Girl won, because Martin was sent packing, muttering that "this is unheard of" and "horrible" as the Donald bid him adieu. (You can see a bit of the boardroom footage right here or the entire episode right here).

Next week's challenge has the teams designing swimsuits and putting on a runway show.

And for an unusual sneak peek into a future episode, check out the below clip from YouTube. It was a family on vacation in LA who happened to be on a double decker bus tour, that was part of a challenge.

Until next week.

Photo from NBC.

Donald Trump Is Being Sued

I'm sure the timing of this lawsuit has NOTHING to do with the fact that real estate mogul Donald Trump's newest season of The Apprentice just premiered last night. Joseph Hewett is suing The Donald because he wasn't chosen as a contestant. Boo hoo. He maintains at that age 49, he was told he was too old.

He auditioned for the show in 2005, and is looking for class-action status for his complaint, trying to rally other rejected applicants along with him.

Trump hasn't commented yet, but I can say with almost great certainty that he'll be making the media rounds with this one as well.

Photo from People.

No-Go for Miss Nevada, Katie Rees

When Miss USA Tara Conner got a second chance from Donald Trump, Miss Nevada Katie Rees had hoped for the same repreieve, asking for leniency from pageant officials who were taking away her crown. They said no, following up with this statement from organization President, Paula Shugart, "The Miss Universe Organization has thoroughly considered the request of Ms. Katie Rees to be reinstated as Miss Nevada USA 2007. In light of the serious nature of the circumstances, there is no recourse but to stand by our decision."

Miss Nevada lost her crown largely due to the racy pictures of her that were shown all over the internet and television. I'm sure her parents are very proud.

The Miss Nevada first runner-up, Helen Salas, has assumed the title and will compete in Los Angeles on March 23 for the Miss USA 2007 crown.

Photo from E! Online.

Newsstand Friday: Us Weekly

In this issue:

How Idols Got Thin!
Their voices are killer, but now - wow! - so are their newly fit bodies. Six sexy "American Idol" stars reveal how they toned up and slimmed down.

Britney & Paris Split!
The feud heats up. They'll always have Vegas. Paris Hilton and Britney Spears are on the rocks, and it looks like Spears was the heartbreaker..

Rosie v. Trump: It's War
Fat insults, bankruptcy charges, threats to steal girlfriends: The battle between two powerhouses

Donald Trump in the News Again

I love Donald Trump's business sense, and his show, The Apprentice, but the man is seriously a media whore. Now he's back in the news because he is suing Palm Beach, Florida because he was cited by them for flying an oversized American flago over his Mar-a-Lago Club. And how much is he suing them for, you ask? $10 million. Ridiculous.

The town says that Trump violated zoning codes with his 80-foot pole, because he needs a permit to have a pole bigger than 42 feet.

In an effort of goodwill, if Trump gets any damages from the suit, they will go to veterans of the war in Iraq. Nice touch, but still ridiculous lawsuit.

Photo from NBC.

Donald Trump is like a Dog with a Bone

He just won't let go. And I'm sure it has NOTHING to do with the media attention he's getting from this. No, definitely not.

The war with him and Rosie O'Donnell goes on, but he's the only one doing the sparring now. Yesterday on The View, Rosie didn't say a word, just made a face, mimicing him. He, on the other hand, took a different route:

To the FOX News Channel, he said: "Barbara Walters, in my opinion rues the day she put that animal on her show."

To Good Day L.A.: "Maybe she wanted to put the crown back on Miss USA's head. I think she's very attracted to Miss USA so she probably wanted to put the crown on her head herself."

To the New York Post: "She's an extremely unattractive person who doesn't understand the truth. ? I think she's a terrible person. She has failed at everything she has done. She's a bully and she sucker punches people."

Yesterday, Barbara Walters released another statement saying: "Donald Trump is a personal friend of mine and has been a good friend to The View for many years. I'm sorry there is friction between Donald and Rosie. That said, I do not regret for one moment my choice to hire Rosie O'Donnell as the moderator of The View. I certainly hope and expect that this tempest will pass quickly."

Donald, move on already. Honestly, let it go.

Photo from ABC.

The Rosie v. Donald Trump War Rages On

Last night, when Donald threatened to sue Rosie over his claims that he "never declared bankruptcy," she took to her own blog to fight back.

After publishing a lengthy narrative from Wikipedia verifying that Donald, did, in fact, file for bankruptcy years ago, she ended with this:

loving the wiki
i use it
do u

i will let u know if the donald sues me
or if kelli leaves me for one of his pals
dont u find him charming

Barbara Walters also issued a statement late yesterday afternoon, declaring her support for Rosie's opinions:

"Both Rosie and Donald are high-spirited, opinionated people. Donald has been a friend of The View for many years and Rosie, of course, is our enormously popular moderator. We cherish them both and hope the new year brings calm and peace."

Photo from IMDB