» Apprentice in the Media Options

[Roark13579]

I remember in the last Big Brother a lot of vile, racist, misogynist and homophobic sentiments that were displayed by some of the hamsters on the live feeds were edited when shown on television and that is what's causing me not to totally dismiss Omarosa's allegations.

While some words naturally had to be bleeped, those things were all eventually shown. Or at least the worst ones were -- you couldn't fit all the vile stuff that came out of those mouths into three hours a week.

Robert's "bitches, whores, sluts" rants about the women in the house were shown multiple times. Erica's line about Jee being "right off the boat" (I don't remember the exact words, but that's the only racist line I recall) wasn't shown immediately, and people on the boards complained about that, but then it was shown at least once during the final show, and there was a very uncomfortable scene were Julie Chen interrogated them both about it.

As for the 24x7 thing, I assume that they don't really mean they were filmed every second, including bathroom breaks. We also haven't seen any night-vision shots in the bedrooms, so they might not be filming them while they sleep. I think that's a euphemism for, "every time we turned around, there were cameras in our faces." However, they were definitely filming when the women approached the plane and when Ereka and Omarosa were fighting. I'd also bet that it didn't take the producers long to recognize Omarosa's "potential" and make sure a camera was on her at all times, which is how they got so many of her confrontations from start to finish, going all the way back to her attempt to play with Tammy's head in the first episode.

I'd also be more likely to accept a cover-up if, say, Amy had said it. Let's say Amy wins the whole thing, and then Omarosa starts making her claim. The editors go back through hours and hours of tape, and sure enough, they spot Amy saying the word in the background of a shot about something else, which is why they didn't notice it before. In that case, it might make sense to cover it up to protect the winner. But Ereka? She was portrayed in a bad light much of the time anyway; there was simply no reason for the show to protect her.

So if Ereka said it -- and didn't whisper it to her under the covers one night -- it'd be on tape, and we would have seen it, even if bleeped. I just don't buy it, even before adding to the mix all of Omarosa's other lies and delusions.

[Rachel RSL]

Here's a link to an article about the ladies posing for FHM. It includes a picture of Kristi, Katrina, Amy, and Erika in nice, classy business wear.

They all suck. Seriously. Women like those four make it 1000 times more difficult for the rest of us to be taken seriously in the business world. HATE!

This post has been edited by Rachel RSL: Apr 8, 2004 @ 10:50 am.

[Tashanir]

Seems Omarosa's Publicist has resigned from representing her...
NY Daily News Article

Also mentioned in the article...Ereka was "very disapointed" in Oprah because Ereka felt Oprah didn't give her the chance to appropriately defend herself.

New Yorker Ereka Vetrini, 27, is also steamed at Oprah Winfrey. On Tuesday, the talk queen invited Vetrini, Omarosa, big boss Donald Trump and various "Apprentice" alums for a taping that airs today. But Vetrini says she wasn't given equal time to defend herself against Omarosa's claim that Vetrini once used "the N word" to describe her.

Vetrini, who denies uttering the slur, is now exploring a slander action against Omarosa.

"That was unfair," she told us. "I love Oprah, but I was disappointed about the way this show was produced. [Racism] is a very serious subject for me."

NY Daily News Article

What Ereka doesn't seem to get is that she's hurting her won defense by the way she communicates. She does not handle these confrontations well, comes off waaayyy to emotional and erratc and just stoops to Omarosa's level by slinging her own insults at Omarosa. Who is representing this girl?

This post has been edited by Tashanir: Apr 8, 2004 @ 11:24 am.

[LTG]

What bothered me the most (apart from the already disclosed info that the renter was already a renter) is the fact that she got $2k in new furniture, the landlord obviously got a check

Well, it was no secret that the furniture and other decorating touches were being thrown in with the apartment, so that is not a revelation. I had assumed that the buildings were actually owned by Trump (after all, his father made his fortune building/renovating reasonable housing in Brooklyn and Queens). Since he didn't own it, it makes sense for the landlord to get some money -- after all, in a non-rigged situation, he would have been taking a chance that they would rent it for less than he could have gotten on his own. The big problem for me is the fact that it was pre-rented, and that the 'negotiated' price was not actually what the woman was paying. I mean, it's just a total sham. Very disturbing.

[Wrigley]

Thanks for the links Tashanir, Dougintx, and sdpfeiffy.

The article from The Morning News was fascinating to me, and equally as important, well written. Sorry to admit that I did view the photo, and was saddened, quite frankly. Haven't seen Oprah yet, as Dr. Rice's testimony before the 9/11 commission pre-empted the 9AM broadcast. I've got the TiVo set for the evening repeat, but not sure I even want to watch it. Perhaps I'll just put the "Trump House of Wings" bit on a continuous tape loop and laugh all this off . . . 'cause I'm starting to take stuff a bit too seriously.

[bzbee]

That article was great sdpfeiffy, I agree. And as for that FHM article....I think it is safe to say that any business credibility is completely shot at this point for those four. And who on earth thinks that Ereka looks like J Lo (besides the BFF of course)?!? Blech. And as for E's comments about Oprah, can't say that I am a huge fan of Oprah, but I think she might have a leetle more perspective on the situation of race relations than a spoiled white girl from Westchester.

[Wrigley]

And as for E's comments about Oprah, can't say that I am a huge fan of Oprah, but I think she might have a leetle more perspective on the situation of race relations than a spoiled white girl from Westchester.

Valid point, bzbee. My potential problem with this Oprah ep in particular (and I say potential, because I won't see it until this evening, if I can even bear to watch), is that it appears that she may not have provided a level playing field for the "faceoff." If Oprah wants to agree with/support Omarosa, that is her perogative. If her goal is to discredit Ereka, fine. I just wish that the segment would leave less room for the bias argument. (Om on stage with Op, E in the audience, etc.) Maybe it is too much to hope for in this day and age, but if this topic is going to continue to take up space in the media, can't we get one interview where someone points out the strengths and weaknesses of both sides? (Om's resumé hijinks, E's lack of professionalism, etc.)

[Tashanir]

Maybe it is too much to hope for in this day and age, but if this topic is going to continue to take up space in the media, can't we get one interview where someone points out the strengths and weaknesses of both sides? (Om's resumé hijinks, E's lack of professionalism, etc.)

Great point! Whether Ereka likes it or not, Oamrosa DOES know how to control her temper. That could be why they were positioned the way they were in this episode. And I just don't see Oprah having any time for the now infamous "eye roll defense" that Ereka gives. If Ereka starts in with insults, name calling, bad mouthing, etc. Oprah is just going to shut her down. Period. That's probably why Ereka is disapointed. Ereka wanted to be able to pull the drama queen act and Oprah wouldn't let her get away with it.

Yes, Omarosa is a nutball...but she's a polished nutball. Ereka, on the other hand, is volatile. Ereka dealt herself a bad hand by being so hystrinoic and childish.

[SD Dude]

I mean, it's just a total sham. Very disturbing.

No shit. This reality show is also a game show, is it not, with a quarter of a million dollar grand prize? Versacorp lost and that week Tammy lost her chance for the grand prize based on fabricated numbers. Sounds like quite a potential scandal to me. Especially since the outcomes of other tasks are also quite suspicious. I suppose Trump and MB could defend themselves by saying that ultimately, Trump is the only one who is going to decide who gets the job and there are no tiered runner up prizes, thus a player leaving on week 2 or week 10 makes no difference at all. So, whether the competition is entirely fair versus entirely scripted doesn't mean a thing because if Trump decides he doesn't want to hire you, you ain't winning the game. As long as this was made clear to the contestants beforehand (and I would presume it was), they really can't complain about tasks being rigged.

Of course, I note the small print in the closing credits that states something to the effect that Trump discusses his firing decisions with the producers beforehand, yet I missed the fine print that says,"the outcomes of the competitive tasks are decided beforehand by Trump and the producers."

What I want to know from the author is did he see Omarosa playing basketball?

[yeahwhatever]

The big problem for me is the fact that it was pre-rented, and that the 'negotiated' price was not actually what the woman was paying. I mean, it's just a total sham. Very disturbing.

This doesn't bother me. If the producers set up buyers and the buyers had previously agree to take the units that's not an issue. The teams won (and lost) because of what they negotiated. And since the renter we know about had already agreed to a lower rent the fact that Bill *still* couldn't get a better price for the apartment just makes him look like more of a doof. Money wasn't an object for her, since whatever she agreed on wasn't going to be the price anyway. Had Bill asked for more, he probably would have gotten more. IMHO he started too low, the same mistake that was made when renting out the penthouse. Obviously he learned nothing from the rental experience.

[Wrigley]

crystalcakes from another thread, re: the Morning News article

(and i have no idea what his deal was with the death being honored, i think he didn't have a clear point to his article, but i am a writer and i am picky.)

crystalcakes, I don't think the guy died . . . just was badly injured. There is mention of "M" moving in with his mom after his release from the hospital. My take was that "M's" story wasn't necessarily the writer's story to tell, and that he told it, in part, to point out that there is a "dark side" to Reality TV, beyond what one might expect in terms of dishonesty. I like how he readily admits that by even writing the article, he is contributing to the thing he is complaining about. I feel that way every time I post in Omarosa's thread.

[yeahwhatever]

Yeah. I don't get what M's suicide attempt had to do with anything. The dark side of reality TV? That the apartment in the show had been the scene of a sad event? That later on a car chase and accident happened? So what? Years ago we found out that a woman had completed a suicide in the apartment we rented. Sad for her (and her husband and child) but really had nothing to do with us.

[choco]

Omarosa is a nutball...but she's a polished nutball. Ereka, on the other hand, is volatile. Ereka dealt herself a bad hand by being so hystrinoic and childish.

From the clips I've seen from Oprah, she looked like a referee trying to hold back two snarling pitt bulls ready to gnarl each other's eyes out. No easy feat. Props to Oprah for trying to keep things civil. Honestly, it's good that they were kept physically apart because I could honestly see violence erupt.

Ereka strikes me as her own worst enemy. When I first heard the n-word allegations, she had my sympathy, but after watching her volatility and explosive temper over the past few weeks, she has now cast doubt as to her own integrity. I honestly don't know if she said it or not. You can see how angry and emotional she gets, it's possible she could have uttered something offensive in the heat of the moment.

It's also possible that she could have said something else and Assy could have misheard her. Both these women are highly volatile drama queens. It's a toss-up.

This post has been edited by choco: Apr 8, 2004 @ 12:01 pm.

[Wrigley]

Yeahwhatever, I see what you're saying. (Need more caffiene . . . ) Maybe "dark side" wasn't the right choice of words. I found the article interesting (and directly related to reality TV) in terms of the affect the renovations had on the family downstairs, and the perks afforded to the upstairs tenant. My bias? I'm a landlord, and have been (and will soon be once again) a tenant. In terms of M's story and the car chase bit, perhaps it didn't have anything to do with reality TV. I found it compelling in a "human interest" sort of way, and did enjoy his writing style. So obviously, YMMV.

From the clips I've seen from Oprah, she looked like a referee trying to hold back two snarling pitt bulls ready to gnarl each other's eyes out. No easy feat. Props to Oprah for trying to keep things civil. Honestly, it's good that they were kept physically apart because I could honestly see violence erupt.

choco, interesting insight. Good reminder of why I should not get so worked up until I see the show. This might be the key to why we haven't been able to get "just one interview."

This post has been edited by Wrigley: Apr 8, 2004 @ 12:14 pm.

[archer1267]

Bostonians: In today's Metro was the news that Ereka & Katrina are going to be hosting a viewing party at King's (DeVille Lounge), 10 Scotia Street (by the Pru). The first 100 lucky attendees will get signed copies of the FHM spread.

The very first male attendee to show up will get a 15-minute two-way. (OK, so I made that part up.)