NBC Says Donald Trump Will Never Return to ‘Celebrity Apprentice’
Donald Trump has made a repeated point of NBC “begging” him to carry on as host of The Celebrity Apprentice, rather than pursue his Presidential aspirations, but it doesn’t sound as if the network would ask Arnold Schwarzenegger to give up the desk, should Trump come crawling back. NBC says The Donald will “never” return, at least in the current regime.
Addressing reporters at the ongoing TCA press tour panel, NBC boss Bob Greenblatt offered a stern rebuke to notions that Trump might ever get his Celebrity Apprentice job back:
No. He would never be back on Celebrity Apprentice, as long as I’m here.
On the one hand, it isn’t as if NBC would offer the job to Arnold Schwarzenegger, then yank it back at Donald Trump’s whim, but worth noting is that entertainment president Jennifer Salke offered a softer response (Via EW):
I have no idea. I have no idea what our response would be. With him, we’re taking one day at a time and seeing where he ends up and watching this unfold like all of you. We’re not involved in his life.
Before all this chicanery began, Trump viewers will likely remember the network’s sour breakup with the reality star-turned Republican nominee, even as SNL questionably afforded the alleged billionaire an opportunity to return host.
Meanwhile, in addition to guests like Tyra Banks and Jessica Alba, the new Celebrity Apprentice will feature former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Jessica Alba, entertainment attorney Patrick Knapp Schwarzenegger and business magnate Warren Buffett.
The competing cast will include SNL alum Jon Lovitz, Laila Ali, Brooke Burke-Charvet, Boy George, American Ninja Warrior host Matt Iseman, VH1 alum Carrie Keagan, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy vet Carson Kressley, ex-WNBA player Lisa Leslie, Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Real Housewives stars Kyle Richards and Porsha Williams, mixed martial artist Chael Sonnen, former NFL running backs Ricky Williams and Eric Dickerson, as well as Wilson Phillips singer Carnie Wilson.
It’s impossible to see where Trump might end up in the next few years, or if NBC might reverse course, but is The Celebrity Apprentice better off in Arnold’s muscular hands?