First Robin, now Carolyn? Rhoda (or Rhona, whatever her name is), you may be next, look out!

I'm torn on the news. I liked the way Carolyn carried herself in the early seasons, and how she didn't hesitate to call the candidates out on their BS. As the show went along, however, it's like she seemed to hold vendettas against some of the candidates and professionalism seemed to go out of the window.

With all of that being said, I don't know if the reasons for her firing are legitimate or not, but hopefully she'll be able to take all of the good things throughout her tenure with Trump and be able to move on with her life.

Ha! Judgmental sourpuss gets it.

Sorry, I wouldn't be as gleeful if she hadn't taken as much condescension and glee in her viceregal tasks.

Especially, it seemed, towards the women.

How embarrassing for Carolyn. The contestants on this show are not really employees of the Trump organization and basically only get "fired" from a TV reality show, but Carolyn was axed for real.

I'll bet she stared the ol' hairball down like nobody's business when Trump summoned her for the final dismissal. She was always good at that. But, alas, such an empty and futile gesture could have no effect on a man as rich, powerful and egomanical as Trump.

I suspect Carolyn will survive this assault on her reputation and move on to something else, but her TV career is dead. That means no more walking the red carpet as a psuedo celeb or getting booked for lucrative speaking engagements, not without this show as a prop.

I just know this show is dead in the water anyway. It was a good concept for the first season, and maybe the second, but the freshness has definitely worn off and unlike other reality shows that have a few more tricks up their sleeves to keep things new (like..er...relevancy? legitimacy? an actual insight into an otherwise mysterious process?Project runway I'm looking at you!) The Apprentice is just the same types of famewhores facing the same asshole across the boardroom table, season after season. Carolyn was the only thing remotely charming about the whole series, and even though I was only a casual viewer after season one, I will definitely give it a pass this season.

I haven't watched this show since the Randal/Rebecca debacle/unfairness but Trump has a lot of nerve accusing someone else of being a famewhore. Sounds like though he's been building to firing Carolyn since he brought in his daughter. He has no loyalty to anyone. Carolyn'll be alright. Wait until she gets a book offer.

I am so done with this show. I wasn't sure I'd be back after this last season. I had simply gone all meh on it. But now I know I can't watch it because I have this severe allergic reaction to morons. My eyes start to roll uncontrollably and I break out in sarcasm and a bad case of incredulous snorts.

My insurance simply doesn't cover this; it's a pre-existing condition.

I think if she was still popular he may not have fired her. She'd become very smug and callous over the past few seasons. For all the talk of Ivanka and how she was going to be stuck up based on who her father was, she treated the poor suckers on this show with more respect than Carolyn has in a long time. The final straw for me was when she didn't bother to remember Pepi's name, and laughed about it.

I feel sorry for her that she is losing a job. I think she is better off in the long run. I also feel sorry for Ivanka because she'll get the blame.

Ah, nuts. I'm gonna miss that fiery minx.

I don't feel sorry for her. She could go anywhere and succeed. And I certainly don't feel sorry for the Donald. I'm betting this next season will be the last one.

Know who I feel most sorry for? Jacob. If you read the recaps, you'll know why.

I agree with this. She was very condescending with the candidates. She decided that various things the candidates did were stupid and therefore treated their failures as utter stupidity. Sometimes the price point was the issue, somethimes it wasn't; sometimes marketing was the issue, other times it wasn't. She was always the expert after the fact. After the team lost she was always quick to point out failures. Sometimes the losses were not big losses, yet she treated sometimes simple mistakes, done in haste, as if crimes were committed. Most of these types of projects, in reality, would be done over a period of months and the candidates, in the heat of a competition, with short turnaround periods, were treated as if the situation were the same as real life.

Her primary job was being a Trump employee; running the golf course. The Apprentice was secondary. If he wanted to remove her from The Apprentice, he could have done it simply by saying that he wanted to freshen the show (like moving it to LA) by bringing in new Viceroys, he would not have had to fire Carolyn from her real life job. Trump obviously likes Carolyn as a businesswoman and person, so her friing had to be merited in that she was not performing. I would even assume he warned her that he was displeased. He did not fire Carolyn just to give Ivanka the Viceroy job as he could have done that anyway. No way even Trump would do that.

Think Carolyn's firing will be a new 'Jump The Shark' category for the show though.

Agreed. The first season or two she was great and I loved her, but right about the time her book came out she started growing sour and the self-importance was bleeding through. When the normally diplomatic George says that she let things go to her head, there had to be a real problem.

Bye Carolyn. Don't let the door hit you, but it would be funny if it did.

Agreed, VanClub. I'm also betting that Trump will make like it was his decision to end the series: "It's still huuuuge, but I like to go out while I'm still on top!"

Besides, isn't there plenty of Trump Ice left to shill?

I hope you are right. I was under the impression by the comments that Trump made right after the last season that Rancic has two more seasons of TA left in his contract. Most likely I misunderstood and the L.A. season is his last as Trump lackey and fartcatcher. But the possibility of it going on to a season past this upcoming one is slim to none I would imagine. So either way, Rancic's extended director's cut of his 15 minutes will be over. Too many newer fresher faces lining up outside the door of The Best Week Ever and E! 101 Most ________.



And the great thing about this, is other than idiots like Larry King, Regis Philbin and Donny Deutsch, the notion of Trump going out on top with this show will sell about as well as Trump Ice.

I hadn't even heard about Robin's firing, so I looked up the story and she was accused by an anonymous source of being a prima donna, too. I'm beginning to think "prima donna" means "doesn't put up with my nonsense" in Trumpspeak. Carolyn and Robin should get together, recruit Rhona, and write a tell-all about working for The Hair.

Good luck in your next career move, Carolyn! I'm sure you will find something much better out there than working with that jackass Trump.

I guess intelligent women are not welcome in the Trump organization...frankly I found Rhoda a little boring, at least Robin had some spark to her. Watch out Ivanka, you're next!

I think Carolyn will do just fine in her next postion - hopefully no more stupid shows where she has to judge all those tools, fools and witches!

I think Ivanka is intelligent. Then again, if she's intelligent, why would she want to be on this show?

What makes me laugh in this situation is I think according to her book, Carolyn got her job running the golf courses because she went to Trump and told him that her boss at the golf course wasn't doing well enough. So if the same happened to her, with her assistant taking her job, I guess it's karma.

I think Carolyn is smart and tough and she is going to be better off without Trump.

I agree. There's no way I would work for Trump. No way.

Ah, but at least she was a looker.

George and Carolyn were the last of what was good about the show.

I'll admit I always thought she was harder on the women, but she always seemed to call a spade and spade and in the end Trump fired her for being everything he taught her.

I'll miss her bitchiness and especially her spontaneous giggles.

Rumors have started that she might be joining the bitchfest known as "The View".

This boggles the mind...

Nooooo! She's too smart for that...isn't she?

That's really funny about the View--I was only joking a few pages back when I suggested she try out for it. Let's see--she's blonder than Hasselbeck and as self-promoting (according to Trump) as Star. Sounds like a good fit!

Removing Carolyn will be a step up for TA. I remembered her viscereal hatred back in S1 for the lady with the foul mouth, saying "I've seen nothing from you". It wasn't constructive, only meanspirited.

Meanwhile, Ivanka uses tact and constructive criticism whenever she addresses someone she doesn't like. She seems more heartfelt, professional and dignified rather than shrewish spiel.

'B-Bye Carolyn. Good luck out there kiddo, you'll need it.

This title thread should be changed:

Carolyn, Ass-Extraordinaire, kicked. Bwah!!

I thought she'd always been like that, but slightly mellowed down especially last season.
I also thought that she was overrated by many viewers. More often than not her reactions to and treatment of contestants left me feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Unlike Carolyn, I believe that straight shooters can also be kind and tactful. But if the rumor about the fame having gone into Carolyn's head so much that her performance started to suffer, then Trump had every right to let her go. After all, Carolyn would've done the same had she been in his shoes. Good luck to her anyway!

Trump complaining about another person having the big head is just too funny for words.

Well, it's nice to see that Carolyn can be as much of a revisionist as the contestants on The Apprentice. According to her, in an interview with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning, America , Carolyn's parting with The Hair was a mutual thing and she's happy, happy, happy, dammit, as can be to now get to spend some quality time with the kiddies at home. Carolyn smiled more in that one interview than I've ever seen her smile in three whole seasons of watching The Apprentice. She also categorically denied George's assertions that she had let fame go to her head, though Carolyn claimed to still like and respect George.

I find it hard to believe that Carolyn and Trump had been discussing her future-- read, her eventual departure from the show and his company-- for "a while now," as she claimed. Like many of the fired apprentices, Carolyn is trying to put the best face possible on a routine dumping. I doubt it'll work.

Oh, and did Carolyn ever keep The Donald waiting, as has been claimed? She can't remember that happening. I'm sure Kwame from Season One would also like to forget that he ever did that, too.

I will miss Carolyn on the show. I will miss the show too. Deliberately. What a mess.

Carolyn, as so many who are on the wrong end of a very public firing, will rise from the ashes and probably end up with a much better deal than anything she could've gotten from that hole. If it's true that her area was one of the few money-making entities in the organization, that won't be missed by executives who are trying to turn their businesses around or take them to the next level.

As for me? The Apprentice failed to interest me last season. While she's a lovely person, I don't need to look at two Trumps on the same side of the table. Just not worth it.

Carolyn has found an ally in one Martha Stewart.

You have to give Carolyn credit for having balls. Over the seasons, she has treated intelligent candidates with contempt and scorn - people with degrees from world-class institutions like Harvard, Princeton, Wharton, The University of Chicago, etc. - people who were Rhodes Scholars and Mensa members. She herself, however, is the proud holder of a degree from Mercy College, founded in 1950! That's right, The Hair was born before this school was! According to the annual college rankings provided by U.S. News & World Report, Carolyn's alma mater is ranked as a fourth-tier school (the lowest possible rating).

No wonder she was so mean and spiteful toward all the apprentice candidates - when it comes to academic achievements, Carolyn must have an inferiority complex the size of Texas! Her shrewish behavior is probably the result of her need to overcompensate for her lack of "book smarts."

Yeah, and so much for The Donald's "appreciation" of education and "great schools." Well, maybe he does have such an appreciation, but he is willing to set it aside when an attractive young girl comes looking for work in his organization. Well, she was a young girl 10 or 15 years ago, when he hired her! Only in a place like Trumpland could a young woman with Carolyn's background build such a lucrative career. Trump's very own "Lady Di" (remember that?) - gag me!

Sorry for the rant, but I just can't stand the hypocrisy of this woman.

She was equally scathing towards street smart candidates, so I don't think jealousy of degrees really had anything to do with it. I think Carolyn started out well. She called people out for their BS, properly so, IMO. She questioned them on their failures in the challenges, whether they graduated from Harvard, or were a self-made millionaire with only a high school degree. I don't think a lack of a degree from an esteemed school takes away her right to criticize the candidates; that was her job on the show. Some of them were singularly lacking in common sense, and even business sense.

Regardless of where Carolyn went to school, she did turn around a failing business, Trump's golf course, and even he credited her with that. Not everyone, even some very well-educated people, can do that. I don't doubt that her good looks might have influenced trump on some level, but I don't think he would have kept her around if she hadn't gotten the job done. I do remember him saying once that he was very impressed by the fact that she filled in at an outdoor grill once when they were short-handed, and that she didn't mind pulling up her sleeves I admit she got a bit too testy sometimes in the later seasons, but her attitude was nothing compared to Trump's who called the candidates stupid on a regular basis.

I don't know what really happened with Carolyn. Maybe the fame did go to her head. But I think he could have found a more gracious way to let her go, and least saiying something nice about the work she did for him, which was apparently valuable at one time. But I no longer expect anything approaching graciousness from Trump.

I saw Carolyn on the Scarborough Show. At this point, I'm not sure what her motive is, saying she wasn't fired. She talked in circles and was overall incredibly inarticulate. She says she got offers from the PGA, and tv shows. But without Mark Burnett's editting, it was amazing how unimpressive she sounds. I wouldn't hire her.

Found this on MSNBC--a short article summarizing an interview Carolyn did with the naseau-inducing, ear-trauma-causing Rita Cosby. (Scroll down to the second entry). I think there's also a link on the page to the actual video clip, but I didn't feel like wretching up my breakfast, the typical reaction I have when RC comes on the screen.

Anywho, it sounds like Carolyn repeated much of what she said in other interviews, including that she's getting offers from the PGA and TV deals. Hard to know quite who to believe in this whole situation. I agree it's much more likely that Trump fired her in a pique because she wasn't there to cater to his every whim than that he cheerfully let her go to pursue other opportunities. I can't see Trump being that magnanimous.

What types of PGA offers, exactly? To supervise course grounds, or as a TV narrator? Because the latter usually involves extensive golf experience and knowledge.

There's an article in this week's People magazine about The Hair and Carolyn (page 78). Trump is quoted as saying"I don't need stars. I need people who run property." If that's the case, why did you put her on your fucking show in the first place. Trump comes across as a jealous blowhard who can't stand it that somebody else was getting popular from his so called huge TV hit show.

I remember Carolyn once saying that she didn't tell DT that she was pregnant until much later in the pregnancy because she was concerned that he would think she couldn't do her job. Trump then said "yes, I probably would've thought that." I think he just sees women as something to conquer and I really don't believe he has any respect for them. Carolyn will probably be much better away from his organization. Good luck Carolyn and may you be a huge success in whatever you do.

Blech, I completely agree about the awful experience that is a Rita Cosby interview... but I managed to keep my dinner down while I watched the video, and what surprised me the most was how Carolyn seemed so bitter at George. When she was reacting to him writing a book, it seemed like she was biting her tongue pretty hard to not say something bad about him. Of course, I haven't paid any attention to the comments he's made about her, so maybe it was justified.

Overall, Trump firing anybody for being a famewhore is the most laughable thing I've ever heard, and I am totally done with this show.

There was another mini-interview that she did about her being "fired" in the new Us Weekly that is on sale now. She basically says the same thing that has been said in the past interviews mentioned.

It is just interesting that she wants to make it seem like it was more amicable, but is making a great effort in doing so, which kind of skews it to making it seem like it wasn't that way. A little confusing, I know, but it all just seems strange!

I'm sure she's walking on eggshells as to what she'll say about DT. She sure doesn't want to get the Martha Stewart treatment. DT could make life in the business world very difficult for her if she's not careful, and I'd hate to see him ruin things for her.

Does anyone know what George's book is about? Let's hope he didn't follow in Carolyn's footsteps -- wasn't the topic of her book something like "how to handle a difficult boss"? Bwah! We see how well that turned out. Maybe Carolyn needed to follow some of her own advice.



I'm not surprised at all. I was never terribly impressed with her. And I do agree with you, growsonwalls, that I'd never hire her, either -- unless she wants to clean my windows or something. I hope she has the same "TV career" that Omarosa had -- and she'll soon completely drop off the radar.

Carolyn had her moments - as everyone else did on the show. Yes, at times, she seemed to be rather abrupt.
She was, IMHO, actually quite talented and is truly a major step above most "executives or managers" that I have come across in the business world.
I truly believe, in an intutive sort of way, that Donald Trump's future organization will be going the way of the dodo bird- one day it will no longer be exept as a fable.
This all, in large part to just the way he is. His attitude and getting rid of his best people, are indicators that he will lose the confidence of future people of great potential, who will bypass him and his companies in their career plans.
Carolyn was a major asset and very loyal to him. This serves to all future prospects, that he is not someone who is loyal to others, and will lead one day to the total and utter collapse of all things Trump.
I wish the best for Carolyn. Nobody is perfect... but she is truly a remarkable person and her book was better than anything I ever read from Trump's writings.

from Larry King's interview with the donald:

Larry King

KING: Your decision to fire Carolyn Kepcher, why?

TRUMP: Well, Carolyn is a very nice person and she ran one of my golf clubs and it's a terrific club, Trump National in Westchester. And, she did a good job. But when she went on "The Apprentice" and then "The Apprentice," as you know, became the number one show on television and she became a star and I became a star. We all became stars, everybody, and George Ross became a star. You know George walks down the street and...

KING: Yes, people know him.

TRUMP: ...20-year-old women are screaming "George, George." They're going crazy.

KING: So what -- what...

TRUMP: But the difference is, well the difference is with George it rolls off his back. He's been there. He's a hardened veteran. Carolyn loves being a star and you can't be a star and run something in terms of a business in my opinion.

KING: But you're a star and run something.

TRUMP: Well, I run it and I run it differently. I have two businesses, you know. Star is part of my business. But, Carolyn if I said, you know, "What's the price of the belts," it was like, you know, belts? Now, with all of that being said I like Carolyn. I would help Carolyn. I hope she gets something good. But it was just time for her to go.

KING: You mean having this star effect affected her work? She was less good at what she did?

TRUMP: Well, I think she was much less good at what she did and she loved being a star and I think that's great. In other words, I'm not complaining about that. I think that's great. But it can't be for me.

I mean if she wants to continue to be on television, and this happens a lot in "The Apprentice," you know, people legitimately want to work for me and all of a sudden they're on television and now it's like "We really want to go into the movies, Mr. Trump, the hell with real estate," right?

So, that's happened to a couple of the winners of "The Apprentice." They got so enamored with that beautiful camera right over there that that was much more important to them than doing a job.

KING: She wrote a bestseller or a book called "Carolyn 101." There were some who thought, maybe critics of you, that you were jealous of her."

TRUMP: No, I was not jealous of Carolyn at all. Carolyn ran a small country club for me and she did nicely on "The Apprentice" and so did George. I mean they did great. The show became this great success. But I have to have people that during the day are doing a different job. And, I don't blame Carolyn because I fully understand how that happens. It would happen to many people.

KING: Yes, sure.

TRUMP: But, look, I wish her the best.

KING: Have you heard from her?

TRUMP: I have.

KING: And?

TRUMP: Well, nothing, I just wish her well. I'll give her references. I'll give her recommendations. I wish her well.

I wonder who he was referring to. Bill?

Kelly? Kendra???

Maybe that is why we don't see them on film that much.

Does anyone know what Carolyn is doing these days?

Note to Donald:
No Carolyn will equal fewer viewers. I watched this show despite Mr. Trump--he was often my least favorite character. He did seem like a real person, though. But if he's replacing George and Carolyn with his vapid children, he can count me out of the viewing audience. "The Apprentice" was a pretty good show, "The Trump Family Follies" sounds pretty stupid. Many may not have liked Carolyn--but she and George together added an aura of legitimacy to the proceedings. I'm not tuning in to all Trumps all the time. I doubt that Donald cares, but I'd like to have it on record--twop record, anyway.

Um...what the fuck does that mean, Trump? That Carolyn doesn't know what a belt is? That she doesn't know the price of the belts in the country club's store? The Hell?!?


Sooooo.....if you fully understand how that happens ... and you're constantly harping on how important loyalty is to you .... wouldn't it have been better to simply sit down with Carolyn, give her a stern talking-to, and give her the chance to mend her ways? I mean, this is the woman who turned a run-down, ramshackle country club into a money maker for you. Who's worked for you for 10 years. Where's your loyalty now, Trumpy? Gah.

I don't think Carollyn got nastier over the years ... I think the editing monkeys made it appear that way. There were several times when, on the show, she appeared irrationally mean-spirited and harsh. But when you watched the extra footage and saw everything in context, she wasn't nearly as mean .

Then again...maybe that's how Trump was helping to set Carolyn up for her "fall from grace"? Put the editing into full-on 'she's a bitch!" mode so that people wouldn't feel so bad when she was gone? Sure, it's a stretch, but this is Trump we're talking about...

Well, Carolyn is (for now anyway) no longer out of a job:

On Tuesday, Carolyn was hired by Microsoft to be one of a panel of judges for a contest to find the best small-business idea in America. More on this in an article on Yahoo! at:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061128/tv_nm/...ft_contest_dc_1

The winner of this contest gets $100,000 in seed money and either a storefront or other space in New York RENT FREE for a year.

Carolyn Kepcher is creating a new website for career woman - launching this Spring. www.carolynkepcher.com