Someone got fired last night in front of millions of television viewers. The ninth season of Donald Trump’s Apprentice television show kicked off on Sunday evening. This season is a Celebrity Apprentice season with fourteen celebrities including sports heroes, a Grammy winning singer/songwriter, a model, a rock star, one rock star wife, comedians and an ousted governor.
Donald Trump once again led the boardroom. He was accompanied by his son Donald, Jr. and his daughter Ivanka. Trump started off the show with a few words of encouragement, “It’s time for a new deal. Time to get back to work, it’s time for the apprentice,” said Trump.
Meet the Celebrities
The fourteen celebrity contestants were introduced in the first episode and were quickly given their first competitive task. The celebrities are:
- William Goldberg, actor/wrestler
- Curtis Stone, master chef, bestselling author
- Brett Michaels, award-winning, multi-platinum singer, songwriter and producer
- Carol Leifer, a standup comedian and Emmy-nominated writer
- Sharon Osbourne, wife of rock superstar Ozzy Osbourne, talk show host, reality show star
- Summer Sanders, Olympic swimmer, Today show correspondent
- Selita Ebanks, model
- Darryl Strawberry, legendary baseball player
- Holly Robinson, actress and author
- Maria Louise Kanellis, wrestling diva and aspiring fashion designer
- Michael Johnson, 200/400-meter sprinter
- Rod Blagojevich, ousted Illinois Governor
- Cyndi Lauper, Grammy-award winning singer/songwriter
- Sinbad, comedian
The First Apprentice Project
It was the men versus the women in the first show. The women selected the Tenacity and the men selected Rock Solid for their group names. A bit of switch this season, the men picked the project manager (PM) for the women’s team and the women selected for the men’s team. Cyndi Lauper and Brett Michaels were picked as each team’s PM.
The task included running a New York diner for several hours. The team that earned the most money, won the task. The men won, this time. Brett Michael’s charity, The American Diabetes Association, received $100,000. Trump combined the winnings of both teams and rounded it up to the $100,000.
The decision point that won the project was the pricing structure for the food sold and served in the diner. While the men’s team was more organized and worked better together, all except Blagojevich who was more concerned with telling people about his innocence, the women did a much better job at promotion.
Gourmet food with prices starting at $100 versus gourmet hamburgers starting at $25 was the tipping point. Curtis Stone who is a master chef by trade, helped make quick decisions for menu items and pricing and those decisions took the win.
The Apprentice Boardroom
Three Trumps and it’s a firing. All three Trumps, Donald, Ivanka and Donald, Jr. were seated in the infamous boardroom and relayed the news that the men won. The women were left facing a firing. Unfortunately, the women’s group this year is bit on the softer side and none of them would say who should be held responsible for the loss until Trump prodded them to do so. The women finally voiced their opinions that comedian Carol Leifer was the weakest link in the group.
In the end, Cyndi Lauper could not decide on two people to come back with her so Trump took on the initiative and fired Leifer.
Apprentice Season Worth Watching
This is one of the best reality television shows on air. While some of the drama may be staged, the business principles remain real-life. Theories for marketing, management, leadership, financial and product development are all depicted and proven.
If the first show is a good example of the rest of the season, Celebrity Apprentice promises to be a good watch.
