Compared to fiction shows TA is cheap, but what about the other reality shows. This whole series takes place in a ten block radius in NYC using virtually all Trump products/locations. It does make me curious as to how much an episode of TAR costs - that at least is money I can see on the screen. (I suppose it wouldn't be such a crime even if they do give 100% to Trump as the show would be nothing without him. I just feel a little dirty that a guilty pleasure is such a huge waste of money...)

It's my understanding that all reality shows are significantly cheaper to produce than nearly any scripted show. This is one of the reasons that they have overrun the schedules...even if they tank, the network isn't out much, compared to a failed sitcom or drama.

I guess part of it is you're paying for the Mark Burnett brand. I just read that he was able to negotiate a $2 million per episode fee for that new boxing thing he's doing, "The Contender", AND is going to sell commercials on it himself (a la "The Restaurant"). Move over, and let the Big Dog eat.

When Steven Bochco was hot, he was commanding the highest license fees to that time; same as when John Wells was hot.

Maybe not Burnett, but sometimes reality TV producers just let these things slip by. I remember that back on the first(?) season of Big Brother, webcam watchers caught some of the contestants (like Eddie, the one-legged eventual winner) using a variety of racial slurs on multiple occasions, and were outraged when the incidents were never shown or addressed on TV.

Also, while I agree that there's been a reality of personality types for black women shown on reality TV in general, the range of types of black women (and men) that Burnett has cast on his shows has been pretty one-dimensional. Excepting perhaps Ramona (S1) and Tijuana (S7), they could all be described by some combination of "angry/confrontational", "crazy", and "religious".

Alicia: confrontational
Linda: confrontational/religious/crazy
Vecepia: religious
Ghandia: confrontational
Joanna: confrontational/religious
Oma: confrontational/crazy

And then of course there are the black men, most of whom have been (portrayed as) some combination of "lazy" and "dumb".

Just to clarify... Oma has only mentioned the n-word incident once publicly that I know of. When she told me and others about it, it was not for an interview or any other type of medium. We were just talking.

Why would they do that if the plaster incident wasn't a big deal? I don't understand that at all. Show me the plaster!


jennifuh She's scheduled to go on The Mix on Thursday morning, 3.11.

They'd take the plaster if they knew she was going to start making up stories about how badly injured she was. They have just as much business hanging on to it as proof of what really happened as she does.

Darned right they want to keep it. Lest it magically grow between taping and a courtroom appearance.....amazing what enlarging powers the prospect of $$ can have on a piece of evidence like that!

As others upthread have asked, I would be most interested in learning from some legal minds if going on this nationally televised shows, one is protected by doing eveything BUT naming the person involved. It would seem that as long as both people are public figures, both are clearly identified by said actions, Assorama is not protected from a slander action.

If that is the case, Erica just might be lying in wait, first for the show to end, second, to see if Assorama should get any deals. Right now, she probably has little worth sueing for, but it would be great if Erica (hate to say it, never really liked her that much either, but much more than Asso) could nail her hide to the wall.

From Assorama's 10 Burning Questions:

Maybe this is a dumb question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. How on earth are producers supposed to "examine their characterization" of any group? Cast more stable people? Show only the good?

I mean, I can understand complaining about the way a group is portrayed in scripted television, but reality? There is editing involved, but the producers have to have footage to edit. If you don't do assholish things, it's kind of hard for the final show to include footage of one being an asshole.

I still want to know the answer to this burning question: If they were in a construction zone, why weren't they wearing hardhats to avoid just this type of situation? Were they afraid it would mar the aesthetic? Aren't there some type of OSHA laws that apply or something? Just wondering.

And to get off the Omarosa subject for a minute (thank God--I'm almost beginning to wish for Michael Jackson's court date so she will get the hell off every TV screen and radio show in America):

An ad during the rerun tonight announced that George and Carolyn will be on Today Thursday morning!!! Woo hooo!! I'm so there!

Bowie said in his bit this morning that the area they were in was not a Hard Hat area. I'm not familiar with construction sites but I think that areas of the sites are designated as being Hard Hat areas if there is danger of falling debris. If the area wasn't designated as that then there must not have been any anticipation of things falling. It was just a fluke.

Also, I agree with Miss Alli that the reason that Burnett and company took the plaster was for potential evidence preservation. They were smart to do that and they were probably very aware of the potential of Miss O after observing her 24/7.

But even so, would O really have a case? Surely they have to sign some type of waiver before participating in this show--some kind of "we're not responsible for bodily injury or death resulting from any of the tasks" or something. In fact, I'm pretty sure I saw that when I was purusing the application for TA2.

Or maybe those types of waivers don't apply in certain situations or can be easily challenged? I really don't know, not being a lawyer. But I thought I heard once that a lot of those types of things are just to make the company feel good, but that they aren't always as binding as the company thinks. Anyway . . .

About the article a while back about Carolyn and George. I was surprised to learn that Carolyn has a couple of kids (at least, it didn't specifically say) and that she still works 60-80 hours a week. I mean, I don't have any problem with working moms (I'm one myself). But doing that many hours a week and still trying to have time with your kids and family is brutal. And now that she is working so much with this show and doing promotion and so forth, I wonder if that has added even more hours to her week. I mean, I'm not trying to criticize her decisions, just sympathizing with what must at times be a hectic life.

ROFLMAO!!! Maybe that was the reason for the Bambi-caught-in-the-headlights look.
She was waiting for the cheering to die down....lolol.

I heard on the local Kiss station today that Omarosa will be a guest on Valentine's show tomorrow morning. I believe this is syndicated out of LA.

Yeah, by the time the next episode rolls around, we'll be hearing that when she awoke after being hit by the CEEment, that *THAT person* was standing over her bed, dressed in white sheets and holding a torch. (NO, Assorama, that's the Statue of Liberty - more green than white - and while those may look like sheets, the lady of the harbor has no agenda.)

Not to mention last year with Jun and Allison dissing Blacks, Cubans, Koreans, and gays.



You forgot shiftless and triflin'.

Today's Doonesbury has Boopsie with her boss who fires her using "You're Fired!" with the Hand Dip.

Also, Carolyn and George on Today Show tomorrow morning! Yay!

I'd argue that the show has done the women in general very few favors. I wouldn't say that I saw a caring, loving, dynamic, and spontaneous side to Ereka, Katrina, Tammy, etc. (OK - Ereka's "let's go party, I wanna be BAD tonight" could count as spontaneous.) Most of the contestants, in fact, have been portrayed as one-dimensional. Such is the way reality shows usually are. What did she think? With 72 hours of footage reduced to 44 minutes each week, the producers would have the time to illustrate the many moods of each of the sixteen?

Watched part of "I Love the 80s" tonight and out came Tina Turner. Man, she's amazing. And all the "pundits" adored her too. Now that is a Strong Black Woman who was victimized but isn't always using it to get sympathy (or make accusations). Omarosa is just going to be a perpetual victim, no matter what the situation. It's ridiculous that it should bug me, but it does.

Maybe some of the crew was up in the scaffolding and beaned Assorama in the head with the plaster.

Crewperson 1: "Hey Danny - I bet ya ten bucks you won't hit that bitch with this drywall."

Crewperson 2: "Hell yeah I will."

Assorama: "EEEEK!!" {puts itsy bitsy plaster in her purse}

Crewperson 2: "Shit, now we got to sneak in her room and steal that back!"

Word to that. There's the little sister sweetheart, the mom, the big sister, the angry bitch (any color, pick one), the bully (male, female), the quiet-fly-below-the radar, the waterworks-cry-me-a-river type, the bimbo, the himbo, the nerd, etc. Some shows even have their regional specialities like Troy as the country boy or Tom on Survivor All-Stars (the Southern Hick).

And you never see but that one side of them... so if Omarosa thought every aspect of her personality would be brilliantly showcased, then she's beyond dumb. But of course, she'll stick to the "it was all the editing" in every interview from here to kingdom come.

Anyone know when the media is gonna quit feeding this famewhore? She's like that frickin' spam email that won't quit showing up everywhere - yuck!

"The Apprentice" is really "Survivor: Manhattan" in disguise.

16 people, two tribes/teams, losing tribe goes to tribal council/boardroom, one person voted out (except it's a vote of one). Eventually there'll be a merge, I guess. Mark Burnett is just taking his successful formula and replicating it. But the one glaring difference is, there are no OLD apprentices. On "Survivor" there are usually two or three token "old" people (as in, in TV land, over 40 is old - sniff).

re: Assy walking back in on Trump. Beyond her previous claims that she was "promised time to explain about my head injury" Assy now adds that she was "instructed to go back in" (she just said so on "Conan"). Conan even asked her if she meant "at that particular" moment, and she said "yes".

Assy says that the other players are cheering on the next episode because they were glad that the threat that she represented to their chances of winning was gone.

Conan was soft on her in some ways, but snuck in a few barbs.

Conan came close to calling her on the talk show claim. He joked "what time of night would you be on?" And later asked if she "really meant it". She ducked a real answer with "I hope so."

When Assy mentioned her upcoming clothing line, and that it would include short skirts and low tops, Conan came back with "Fine message for the women out there in business".

I really love Conan -- I laughed out loud several times during the interview, and not just at Omarosa's delusions. However, I wanted him to press harder on the "I was too strong a candidate -- that's why I got fired." claims.

He did say something at the beginning of the interview about her "claim" of being injured by a piece of plaster. She came right back and said it wasn't a claim, she really was hurt, but she didn't correct him and tell him that she was hit in the head with seement (or the Statue of Liberty, whichever.)

Has she always been so giggly in her other appearances? That really got on my nerves.

I loved it when he just about called her a nutjob. I also loved his Trump impression.

ETA: I also loved it when she said something (I think when she mentioned how strong a candidate she was) and only about 2 people clapped. Conan said something like, "Well, only 2 out of 200 agreed with you."

Oh, if you missed the interview, you can catch the rerun tomorrow on Comedy Central at 5pm (CT) and Friday morning at 11 (CT).

Why! yes, of course! That would explain why DT asked what the hell she thought she was doing! Now I understand completely........ except NOT.

How much more of this delusional bitch must we be subjected to? And I'd like to thank all of you who sit through these shows, way to take one for the team!

Oh, I tried to keep flipping on through the channels, but I have to watch, just to see what kind of claptrap she's going to spew next. The hole you're digging is getting deeper and deeper, Assorama...

As for the Conan interview, he was polite without kissing her behind- definitely snarking on her, though. And she looked more *manly* than I've ever seen her look, and that's saying something.[/petty] But I think the most telling part was when Conan questioned her re: not being the winner, and she snidely says, "Well, the winner has to spend a year with Donald Trump!" Very funny. I'm guessing you won't be using him as a reference, then, you heinous bitca!

When will it all end?!

In approximately 17 hours and 35 minutes. Give or take.

Good observation, though most of white women, except those in the "babe" category on MB shows are also uniformly shown as either crazy/confrontational/religious as well. Kathy=confrontational, Sue=crazy and confrontational, Jerri=confrontational with some babe points, Jenna L= confrontational, Heidi=confrontational ... and that's just those currently left on Survivor All Stars and The Apprentice. The others, in the Babe category, (Amber, Katrina, Amy, etc.) are just shown as dumb male playthings. OK, I'm generalizing, but I think MB makes characters/caricatures  of everyone on his shows to tell a good story. He has to use what the people give him, but it's possible he falls back on gender and even racial stereotypes in doing this.

I just heard on the radio that Trump will be hosting Saturday Night Live on April 3.

. . .Just a few more hours until there's someone else to talk about. Thank god she wasn't fired just before the re-cap program.
I'd say definitely not Burnett.

Don't mistake me; I loathe Ereka, and her petty BFF. And I think Ereka is just as delusional as Assorama (although we've seen so much more of Assorama it's beginning to get hard to remember).

We have seen petty, unprofessional, flustered, coquettish and childish behaviour from Ereka that she has re-formed in her mind to be kind, smooth good salesmanship. But what we have seen no evidence of --- none! --- is any racist behaviour.

I posit that anyone who would be ignorant enough to ever make any of the varied and everchanging (but all heinous) comments that Assorama accuses Ereka of making absolutely could not hide that level of ignorance on a Mark Burnett show for the length of time given. I didn't watch Big Brother, but on Survivor, any contestant with the slightest whiff of racism has those beliefs aired for the crowds to debate. Personally, I know I am more sensitive to interpret remarks as racist (that is, sometimes when Burnett et al. decide to air a comment that other people will not interpret as racist, I will), and I'm willing to concede I'm more sensitive to this because I'm Chinese-Canadian.

What I do agree with is that on a Mark Burnett show, often people of colour are cast to fall in very particular stereotypes. However, there is an extreme distinction between casting crazy people and "portraying" (which is the word I've heard Assorama use) those crazy people as being crazy. Look, The Apprentice isn't doing the portraying -- Assorama and Ereka are portraying. Editing isn't portraying -- it's editing. But I completely agree that the way these shows are cast is getting out of control.

Ereka is a delusional bitch (and as someone upstream -- or perhaps on the Ereka or Assorama thread -- pointed out, also a liar) but I don't believe she is a racist. This type of evil smear campaign is completely reprehensible, because in my opinion, it is a far more serious charge.

I've heard Omarosa make this claim several times now, and I am trying to figure out where the heck she gets this. As has been mentioned several times before, this isn't Survivor where strong players can and do get voted off for their threat status. But, DT is making the calls of who goes home because the ultimate winner will head up one of his companies! It doesn't make sense, unless...

Is it possible that Omarosa thinks she is too wonderful to head up a DT company? Like my lazy-ass cousin who hasn't worked in years because he claims he is "over-qualified" for all the jobs that are available? How can you be over-qualified for the top spot -- where else could she go?

I'd love to get inside her head -- the more I see of her, the more I'm convinced that she is seriously suffering from a Napolean complex, or some other form of mental illness.

Did anyone see this article in today's NY Post Page Six: http://nypost.com/gossip/16976.htm

(caution: it could be a potential spoiler, so dont go there if you dont want to know)

For people who read it:
Does that mean that the ones who have been offered these deals do not make the final cut?

Delta888--couldn't agree more on the distinction of casting vs. portraying of African Americans--and O doesn't see it She has portrayed herself in a horrible light, but how many black women did Burnett pass by to cast her? I won't let him off the hook of using stereotypes in casting for ratings (or Americans for buying into the stereotyes), but O has no one to blame for her portrayal but herself.

George on Today--Man that was hilarious when George was asked if women were more emotional or whatever and he said something like yes and no and the interviewer said, stop going back and forth, give me an answer! I love George in the boardroom, but I liked having someone say that to him.

George and women and teamwork--who won the first four tasks?

Just before they cut to commercial, after George said that the women did represent a cross-section of women in business, Carolyn just got in with a "yes" to the interviewer asking if they had been picked for other reasons/didn't represent real women. I think Carolyn didn't want the audience thinking that these women are anything like actual businesswomen.

Word, Boilergal! I've seen a few of Assorama's interviews (and read the posts on this thread), and I was wondering exactly the same thing. I haven't seen any of the interviewers call her on it, either. Is she really just that stupid, or does she think that we're that stupid?

Carolyn? Could not have looked better on the Today show this morning. Baby blue is definitely her color.

I also was glad to hear her give Kristi props -- she was more talented than the three latest women to get the boot.

I daresay it's both.

Maybe, maybe not. That's what it seems at first, but Jenna Morasca appeared in Playboy and she was the winner of Survivor Amazon. I read somewhere that MB and CBS had the right to refuse permission for Jenna and Heidi to pose, but obviously the chance for free publicity overruled. And DT doesn't seem to shy away from flashy publicity either. I could also see this information being thrown out there as a red herring.

There was an article about Heidi in the Philadelphia Inquirer this morning. Nothing shocking. It said the winner has been chosen (of course, Heidi couldn't say who). There were rumors that the finale was live, but the article made it sound like it wasn't.

She talked about editing a little, saying that all the contestants swore, but they only chose to show her swearing. Also, her mom is in remission.

Three words regarding the Today Show:

"Apprentice. Music. Video!"

Did anyone catch that. I saw a clip of it at around 8. I stuck around for the Carolyn and George interview, but had to leave for work. What I saw of the video had me giggling.

NBC says there was NO "n" word!

In this morning's NY Post NBC flat out denies that the "N" word was used. And even better? Ereka is going to be on The View this morning to "ostensibly to answer more questions about what went on with Omarosa."

Hot diggity! I cannot wait for this!

ETA: CLICK HERE for the Heidi article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

I don't think this can be true. Trump has repeatedly said that the winner has not been chosen, although he has a pretty good idea who it will be. Unless Trump shared his thoughts with Heidi (which seems unlikely), then I don't see how she, or anyone else except Burnett, could know for sure. I'm sure she knows who the top two or three are, but that's all. Maybe she's speculating from that who the winner will be.

And the article on the other "jobs" being offered to some of the Apprentices is very interesting. Most notably, the difference between the types of "jobs" offered to the women (posing in Playboy) and Troy (running a small company of some sort). It just goes to show that you reap what you sow.

Damn! I missed George and Carolyn this morning because I overslept. Can someone briefly recap, please?

Interestingly, the word that Omarosa uses in the Post article to describe the alleged "N" word incident is "repulsive"--exactly the word that DT used to describe her behavior.

I think Conan did a good job of appearing to be nice to Omarosa while obviously (to anyone but her) snarking on her. Especially with the above quote, to which he added "and cocktail waitresses everywhere."



What kills me is that in the course of a 5 minute interview, she'll completely contradict herself. She starts off by saying, "I wasn't there to make friends, I was there to become CEO of a DT corporation." Then she says she was booted for being too strong and that she doesn't mind being a loser, since the 'winner' has to spend a year with DT and that doesn't seem like much of a prize, and then she says how much she loves DT. Crazy much?

From the NY Post Article about the use of the N-word:

Maybe I'm reading into the statement, but NBC isn't denying that Ereka ever used the N-word. They're just saying they don't know if she used it.

She's NEVER been called the "N" word? Is that possible? I'm Asian and I've been called every Asian slur out there and my life has not been super adventurous or anything.

Admittedly, I'd love for them to have been firmer about it, and God knows Omiseria irks the heck out of me in re: this specific incident, I do have to acknowledge that it's not (as I overenthusiastically stated above) exactly a flat out denial. But it's close!

Well the Post article says:



And the network wouldn't be able to categorically deny that Ereka never in her life used such a word. They're not affiliated with her other than through the show and don't represent her. Ereka will have to speak for herself.

True, but the only direct quote from NBC is the "unaware" one. Of course NBC can't deny Ereka ever used that word in her life, but why should they care unless it was said on the show?

I think the the "unaware" quote was written by a lawyer. God forbid NBC flatly denies that Ereka used the N-word and it's later revealed that she did. All hell would break loose.

Per RhondaGC's request . . .

George, Carolyn and a female professor from the Stern School of Business at NYU were interviewed by Matt (at a boardroom-type table on the TTS set). The focus was whether the show accurately depicts how women behave in the corporate world.

All three guests agreed that the show is not a completely accurate reflection. Carolyn made the (spot on) points that (1) most of the "catfighting" among the women happened in the apartment and not during the tasks and (2) that almost all of any said fighting was caused by/centered around "one particular person."

Matt stated that he noticed that during Boardrooms the men seem to stick up for themselves more than the women. Carolyn first said that that was only true of some of the men, but that she agreed generally. She was surprised that Jessie and Kristi just sat there and took criticism without defending themselves. She opined that Kristi was very bright and it seemed apparent that she thought Kristi should have stayed longer.

The other item of note is that Matt asked whether women were more emotional in the workplace than men. George said that they were, and the two women disagreed, saying that it depends on the person. George rephrased his remark. The professor agreed with Matt that once a woman is emotional at work, it is harder to regain respect because it feeds into stereotypes.

On a superficial note, as I posted previously, Carolyn looked fabulous -- she was wearing a baby blue v-neck sweater-type shirt and subtle sexy makeup that made her look younger than on the show.

He's Hired! Donald Trump to Host 'SNL'