NeNe Leakes Cast On Glee!

NeNe Leakes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta has a new job. The reality star confirmed via Twitter today that she will be a part of Glee as a rival to coach Sue Sylvester.

“Running through the house screaming Gleeeeee!” NeNe Tweeted. “Coach Roz Washington is gonna get that Sue Sylvester! I’m so proud of myself… “

Photos: NeNe Leakes Dishes On New Season Of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta

SPOTTEDNeNe Leakes at The Grove in Los Angeles for an interview with Maria Menounos of Extra to promote the new season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta and the paperback release of her memoir, Never Make the Same Mistake Twice.

During the interview, NeNe said, “I don’t know why I put myself out there for everyone to judge and start talking all their trash, but I did, and, it worked.”

The newly-single Leakes told TV Guide about the breakup of her marriage: “Greg and I are separated. He’s moved out.” Leakes continued, “It’s tough because we’ve been together for 15 years and it’s really hard on me because I’ve been with him since I was young and I’ve never really lived on my own. It’s really different for me.” About their current relationship status, she said, “I’m not a dater. When I got married, I took my vows very seriously — I wanted to be married for life. This is probably the hardest thing I’ve had to do. But Greg will be on the show this season. I have an issue with my oldest son, and Greg does come over and help me with that. We are co-parenting, and we do have a child together. We’re just not living together.”

As to what we should expect on the upcoming season of RHOA, Leakes told TV Guide: “Well, you know, I love being an entrepreneur and when I did Celebrity Apprentice with Mr. Trump, he taught us a lot about starting businesses.” Leakes continued, “You’ll see a lot of me doing my business ventures this season. I’m coming out with a wine… I’m actually a restaurateur. I have Famous Famiglia pizzeria that has opened up in the Sacramento airport. I’m also working with my business partner [who may be her new love interest, so tune in to find out!] on opening up the Linnethia Lounge.”

Celebrity Apprentice 5/22 Recap Summary

Season 4 finale of Celebrity Apprentice aired May 22, 2011 and a new winner was announced when the night ended. But let’s start with the most important note: This show raised over 3 million dollars for charity this season. CONGRATS to the entire cast for that accomplishment.

THE TASK

Now, back to the recap summary of the show. We last left our two remaining contestants in a rush to complete their events to promote the launch of 7UP Retro. Marlee Matlin had the help of Meat Loaf, La Toya Jackson and Richard Hatch. John Rich‘s team was stacked with Lil Jon, Star Jones and Mark McGrath.

Last week’s show ended with Def Leppard‘s manager throwing a monkey wrench into John’s plans. He called John and said his drummer won’t play kick drums. Instead of working things over the telephone, John told him he would deal with him in person once they got there. Marlee’s team was having problems of their own. Jeffrey Holder’s (the 1970’s voice of 7UP) lawyer refused to let Jeffrey sign the release. Meat Loaf called Jeffrey’s manager, Chuck, in an effort to resolve the issue but when he could not get a hold of him, he totally lost it and screamed, “I am gonna throw this f*cking phone across the room.”

Meat Loaf somehow ended up working out the logistics with Jeffrey Holder. Jeffrey showed up to shoot the commercial and was his old charming self — everything went great. John Rich met with Def Leppard’s manager and the band. John started to tell the band about his charity, St. Jude’s which Def Leppard had never heard about?! Weird. Anyway, John was hoping he could win the band over with his passion for the charity. The band seemed unmoved at first, but then agreed to the creative direction John had in mind.
For event set up, Marlee’s team seemed lost and felt that they had no direction as what to do, but somehow, the finished room looked pretty cool. John’s team on the other hand seemed very organized when it came to set up and created a fantastic look and feel for their event space. Mark McGrath even called the display, “breathtaking.” 
Marlee did a fantastic job of meeting Trump and the 7UP execs at her event. She also kept in close contact with them throughout her event. She also did a fantastic job during the presentation part. Her commercial, “feel the love,” however, felt amateurish to me. It was basically La Toya, Meat Loaf, Richard and Marlee playing characters from the 70’s with no backdrop or props. The Harlem Globetrotters put on a great show, but, that was to be expected. Overall, Marlee felt happy with her efforts and said she worked her butt off even though it was worth the money she raised for charity. She said, “John, don’t ever underestimate me. I am the Celebrity Apprentice.”
John on the other hand, kept having people give him money ($275K) for his charity even though this was not a fundraising challenge. He failed in a major way when he did not meet and welcome Trump and the 7Up execs to his event. Their commercial had a story, it was funny, and well made. But John goofed again when he introduced Def Leppard and the band was no where to be found. OOPS! Embarrassing! John introduced them 20 minutes too early! WHAT? ISN’T HE THE MUSICIAN? He should have performance timing down perfectly. Would Trump forgive this major gaffe especially given the fact that John had failed to welcome the big wigs earlier? Only time would tell.
John redeemed himself. He quickly made “lemonade out of lemons,” by grabbing a guitar and singing on stage, “Don’t fire me, don’t fire me, Mr. Trump. There must be someone else you can bump. Cause that girl is kinda crazy and that guy is kinda lazy. So, don’t fire me, don’t fire me, Mr. Trump.” He then gave the crowd an impromptu concert. IMPRESSIVE! This is where Matlin really messed up: Giving John a concert task. Of course John had the right skills to cover up a huge blunder. John then introduced Def Leppard for a second time, and they showed up on cue this time and rocked the stage. What I would have given to be there! John was hoping that all his efforts would land him a win and another check for $250K for his charity.
TRUMP MEETS WITH 7UP EXECS TO CHOOSE WINNER
Trump met with the 7UP execs after the two events were finished and the execs said both celebs had exceeded expectations and that they would hire both of them. Marlee, they said, was an unbelievable salesperson and John a fabulous marketer. They liked the Globetrotters and “feel the love” theme. They loved John’s display. They were disappointed that John did not greet them until after the show and they did not like his timing error with Def Leppard. They disliked the level of signs at Marlee’s event. They liked both cans and both commercials and told Trump he had a tough decision on his hands. The execs like the cans so much that both are available for sale nationwide.
IN THE PRE-TAPED BOARDROOM 
John cleverly blamed the Def Leppard timing faux pax on being “rattled” by having received almost $300K right before that moment. Marlee realizing she was being outfoxed, interrupted, “Wait, wait wait, wait, is this a fundraising task? I don’t understand.” Donald said it was not a fundraising task and although he could not give John credit for that, he admitted that maybe deep down inside he actually was. Marlee, who had previously failed on a fundraising task after having admitted she had tapped out her friends, said she could have raised double what John raised if this was a fundraising task. Ivanka said, “The point is, John went above and beyond cause he could and because it was the final task.”
RETURN OF FIRED CAST
We now cut to the live boardroom and the entire cast came in with two exceptions: David Cassidy, Lisa Rinna, Nikki Taylor, Hope Dworaczyk, Lil Jon, La Toya Jackson, Star Jones, Meat Loaf, Gary Busey and NeNe Leakes. Richard Hatch was not there because he is serving time again for tax evasion (Read the story here.) No mention was made as to why Dionne Warwick was absent.
David Cassidy who did not get along with Richard on the show was all too giddy about the latest outcome on Richard’s legal troubles. Remember, Hatch called Cassidy “little people” which terribly offended Cassidy as it should have. Cassidy told Trump: “I think he actually is in the right place at the right time. I honestly think when you take the low road, where else would you end up but on a cold slab somewhere and quite frankly, I think it was just. I thought it was vindication. And I told you Trump, everyone told you to fire Hatch instead of me.”
Rinna blamed Star Jones for her short-lived stint on the show and Jones responded, “It’s a game, Mr. Trump. Bring your A game!”
Trump then turned his sights on Gary Busey – the clips of his old tactics reminded me of how crazy this man really is. Crazy as a fox? I can’t tell. Remember some of the gems he’s said: “There are two things you never want to do: One is pet a burning dog and the other is fry bacon naked.” Trump asked him if he liked Meat Loaf and upon saying yes, Gary and Meat Loaf hugged it out. Meat Loaf then said he understands Gary because he had “some head trauma” and Meat Loaf himself has had “18 concussions and a fractured skull.”
Trump told Lil Jon he’s become even more likable and popular since the show. Agreed. Lil Jon said, “Gary came out to hang with me in Vegas. Gary is good people.” When asked how he liked being on Celebrity Apprentice, Lil Jon said he liked it but he wouldn’t do it again because “it’s very hard.”
Trump called NeNe “original” just like 7UP. And of course NeNe was all smiles. Once they showed the clips of NeNe, she seemed somewhat embarrassed to me. She told Donald she does not regret leaving (quitting really, read the full story here) because she did what was best for her at the time. She said “Star bothered me a lot….I am absolutely OK now, I don’t hold grudges. That’s just not who I am. I was very honest in the things I said [about Starr] and  I stand by them.” Star responded, “Well, I had an amazing time on the show… but I was a little disheartened as I watched the episodes unfold [on TV] throughout the season to see that NeNe used this amazing platform to attack every single black woman on the show…” NeNe interrupted and said, “Let’s not go there with ‘black,’ it’s not about a racial thing…you used this platform to be very backstabbing and very manipulative.” As NeNe was talking, Star talked over her, “Tonight is about John and Marlee.” Trump stopped them. Star said, “Excuse me, I’d like to actually finish my statement tonight. Tonight, I’d like to say as a professional woman I was embarrassed as were so many professional women around the country.” Yes, Star, I too was embarrassed. But not just by NeNe’s conduct, but yours as well. 
Donald turned to La Toya who cutely giggled. I love her. Trump said, “NeNe really went after you…called you Casper the Ghost and yet for some reason you seem to really like NeNe but not Star, why is that?” La Toya responded, “I truly believed and I knew Star was using NeNe as her mouthpiece. Star was really manipulating everything that was going on. NeNe didn’t realize she was being used…When I showed NeNe, she said, ‘you are right.’ She caught on to it. NeNe deep down inside when I got to know her, she has a really good heart, and I forgave her.”
LIVE BOARDROOM
Marlee looked gorgeous. And John looked like a handsome cowboy. Loved his move of bringing Donald a cowboy hat. And it suited The Donald. When Trump asked the fired cast who they wanted to see win, Meat Loaf and NeNe said they liked both. Star said the $275K John raised last minute should get John the win. Lil Jon of course picked his buddy John. La Toya also picked John because he executed himself well. David Cassidy picked Marlee. McGrath put it best: “Marlee had the best week ever in Celebrity Apprentice history; John had the best season ever on Celebrity Apprentice history.” Trump didn’t even bother asking Hope, Gary, Lisa or Nikki.
John and Marlee then sang a moving song About The Children. And then it came time to choose a winner. When Donald asked for a raising of hands of who should win, Hope, Mark, Nikki, Lisa, Meat Loaf, Star, La Toya and Lil Jon raised their hands for John to win. “That’s surprising,” said The Donald. Then he asked who thinks Marlee should win, Nikki, Lisa, David and Gary  raised their hands. Lisa and Nikki giggled since they raised their hands for both candidates. NeNe did not raise her hand for anyone. Lisa defended herself because both were deserving.

AND THE WINNER IS….

Marlee said she should be picked as the winner because her charity is her life. She said she has always faced and beat barriers in her life and that she, like Trump, never takes no for an answer. She also said she worked her butt off to win no matter what it took. And she also mentioned she’s raised the most money in a single day.
John said he should win because his charity literally saves the lives of kids. And he said there was not one thing he did not exhaust all season. He listed his wins as: Raising over $1million, brining Nikki Taylor back to help the men’s team, getting Twisted Sister, and serving as project manager more than anyone else this season. He said his “body of work” over the entire season was superior to that of Marlee’s. Marlee disagreed because John did not see Marlee at work.
When it was all said and done, The Donald said this was his toughest decision ever but picked John Rich as the winner and his Celebrity Apprentice. He said from the beginning John has been a leader, strong, sharp and smart, and he could not ask anything more of him.

Here is a great video clip recap of the episode. I will post the full episode shortly as well:

Who Won Celebrity Apprentice?

Who won Celebrity Apprentice Season 4? A winner is announced May 22, 2011.

We last left our two remaining contestants in a rush to complete their 7UP Retro events. Marlee Matlin had the help of Meat Loaf, La Toya Jackson and Richard Hatch.

John Rich was stacked with Lil Jon, Star Jones and Mark McGrath. Who did Donald Trump eliminate and who did he hire as his Celebrity Apprentice?

Spoiler Results of tonight’s episode: Winner is: JOHN RICH.


CLICK HERE FOR A FULL SUMMARY RECAP.

Celebrity Apprentice Recap 5/15

Final Four of Celebrity Apprentice: Lil Jon, John Rich, Marlee Matlin and Meat Loaf squared off tonight on the May 15th episode.

The show started with Marlee crying over the firing of Star Jones. Ah, get over it Marlee, it’s a game. Donald Trump then came into the suite and told the remaining four that they will be interviewed by former season winners Joan Rivers, Piers Morgan and Bret Michaels. Donald also told our crew that based on the interviews, two more would be fired.

THE INTERVIEWS:

Some notables from the interviews: John Rich said Meat Loaf has been erratic. “He’s either crying or screaming.” He also said Marlee Matlin has raised a lot of money but he could not pinpoint any other great thing she’s done. Lil Jon said he thought John Rich and Marlee Matlin would be in the final two and not him because he had won enough money for his charity but the other two had raised more money and are tough competitors. He did not think Meat Loaf could win because he is too emotional. Meat Loaf told the interviewers that he cried a lot because his charity meant more to him than the others felt about their charities. Meat Loaf called Lil Jon “Lazy!” Marlee admitted she had tapped out her fundraiser donors.

The former winners told Trump that although there were two “clear favorites,” any of the four could win. About John Rich, Bret Michaels said: “He is absolutely at the top of the fieriest competitors here…he is a fighter.” He said about Lil Jon, “He is an entrepreneur. He is extremely intelligent.” They said Meat Loaf is too emotional.  Joan Rivers said she was blown away by Marlee Matlin. Bret of course called her “hot.”

THE BOARDROOM:

John said he would pick himself and Marlee as the final two. Lil Jon changed his tune since the interview and said he’d pick himself and John. Marlee said she would pick herself and John. Meat Loaf also picked himself and John. Way to go John. Trump then said his advisors hated Lil Jon’s answer when he had not named himself as the final two. Trump said he had fired Lennox Lewis when he was on the show when Lennox did not pick himself as the possible winner. And that is the reason he fired Lil Jon on the spot. Good bye Jon!

THE TASK:

For the final task, the two had to help 7 Up, the uncola, to launch the new 7 Up Retro (made with real sugar). Their task were threefold: Design the packaging and the in-store display; write, create and produce a commercial, and launch the product at a star-studded gala. One team would have a 1970’s team and would have the help of the Harlem Globetrotters. The second team would have a 1980’s theme with the help of Def Leppard. Marlee was so excited that there was no more fundraising involved.

The old fired teammates rolled into town to help our final two. There was no sign of NeNe Leakes even though Donald said “everyone wanted to come back but we chose you.” Marlee chose the 1970’s and teh sports related theme. John was confused that she would let the musician get the music-themed task. Marlee said she loves sports and the 70’s and the visuals of the Globetrotters.

When it came time to pick teams, John first picked Lil Jon. Yes, of course, the two have worked quite well on every task this season. Marlee picked Meat Loaf. WHAAAAAAAT!  She picked him because “he’s Mr. 70’s and Bat Out Of Hell.” John then picked Mark McGrath and his team was starting to look like an all-stars team. Marlee said she was having difficulties with her next choice and picked Richard Hatch over Star Jones. WHAT?? Was Marlee not the one just crying over Star being fired? John then picked Star which sent La Toya Jackson to Marlee’s team by default. IF JOHN LOSES THIS TASK, I WILL BE SHOCKED! 

Meat Loaf wanted to be placed in a fairy suit in the commercial. Heelarious. Marlee’s team was all over the place and spewing out ideas which were just crazy. John’s team, on the other hand, came up with a motto right off the bat: “7 UP, keepin’ it real,” and decided upon a zebra design for the can. Marlee finally decided to narrow everything down to a focus on the disco ball and came up with “7 Up, feel the love” as their motto.

Star admitted to having a crush on John and flirted with him often. As John was telling the camera that she told him that she would date him if he were not married, a frame fell off the wall simultaneously and eerily and John broke into laughter.

Ivanka’s visit with the teams made her feel worried that Marlee would let Meat Loaf over power her. She thought John’s team was very organized. She liked both can designs. The men were panicking because they did not have a concept for the commercial until hottie McGrath came up with one involving a Madonna and other 80’s icon look-alikes and a hair metal guy at a music video audition. Genius. They asked Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister to play the metal guy who becomes “Twisted Sister” once he drinks the uncola. Again, brilliant.

For Marlee’s team, Meat Loaf wanted to have the 7 Up 12-pack box look like a boom box. Richard changed the design of the box to the same design as that of the can while Meat Loaf was out. When Meat Loaf objected, Marlee said the boom box does not work for her charity because the charity provided assistance for deaf people. She obviously missed the big picture that the box was intended for the mass public. For the commercial, they contacted Jeffrey Holder, an iconic actor who represented 7UP in the 70’s. But for the concept, Meat Loaf was once again all over the place with ideas and Marlee was too busy being in the commercial as an actress than paying attention to Meat Loaf. Their commercial included La Toya as a superhero, Richard as a disco guy and Meat Loaf as himself.

Def Leppard’s manager threw a monkey wrench into John’s plans. He called John and said his drummer won’t play kick drums. Instead of working things over the telephone, John told him he would deal with him in person once they got there. Marlee’s team was having problems too. Jeffrey Holder’s lawyer refused to let Jeffrey sign the release. Meat Loaf called Jeffrey’s manager, Chuck, in an effort to resolve the issue but when he could not get a hold of him, he totally lost it and screamed, “I am gonna throw this f*cking phone across the room.” And with that, the show ended and we got a preview of next week’s finale episode and looks like NeNe and Gary Busey will both be baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Celebrity Apprentice Full 5/8 Episode

Celebrity Apprentice on May 8, 2011 resulted in three celebrities being fired: Star Jones, La Toya Jackso and Ne Ne Leakes (sort of).

You can also watch the full episode here.

There is so much Celebrity Apprentice content on this site, so, look around! Thanks for the visit!

Celebrity Apprentice Recap 5/8: Who Was Fired & Why Did Meat Loaf Cry So Darn Much?

The May 8th episode of Celebrity Apprentice started an hour earlier and by the time the episode was done, three celebrities were fired. Well, two were fired and one just quit.

We started the episode with the team in the suite congratulating La Toya Jackson for talking her way back on the show. She tells everyone, “I really fought in his office….I’m a force to be reckoned with.” Marlee Matlin said to the camera that it was not fair to allow La Toya back.
Star Jones and NeNe Leakes returned to the suite. La Toya hugged NeNe. Star admitted to the camera that she only told NeNe she would discuss her outburst only to get herself out of that situation. “I had no intention of talking.”
NeNe on the other hand tells everyone “I actually told Star I need to have a conversation with her.” She later told the camera that Star is no where to be found, which “means she can’t stand the heat. I get it, you’re scared. We’ll be fighting ’till the end. Game on. I thought you were strong Ms. Jones. Come back and play with the big girls honey.”
WHY SOMEONE QUIT
At the task assignment, Trump said he had really hoped NeNe and Star could have worked things out. Trump asked Star if things can be worked out between the two and Star said no. So, Trump made Meat Loaf and NeNe switch teams. 
Trump then asked Star “Do you feel better now?” When Star said she did, NeNe was surprised. She told the camera afterwards, “I am not in a good place right now. And I just need to be alone and that’s all I know to do right now. As I walk out of the comedy club, I am not sure what I need to do, I just know that I need some time.” We then cut to team Backbone, NeNe’s new team, and they have no idea where NeNe is. “Where the hell is NeNe at man, for real,” asked Lil Jon. They frantically try to call her but no one can get a hold of her, so, they started the task without her.
John Rich made a cute little diddy called, “Where the hell is NeNe” In the hopes that the song would conjure her up and get an extra person making calls for donations. It went something like this, “NeNe, NeNe, where the hell did you go? Guess you don’t wanna work today with your new team Backbone!”
Team Backbone told Ivanka that NeNe had disappeared who must have alerted her father. The Donald called NeNe on her cell phone and said he has never called anyone before but called her because she has “great ability.” He also warned her, “You should not quit. If you quit, it’s gonna follow you for the rest of your life.” NeNe shot back. You accommodated Star. You have seven talents that are still left. You can’t just accommodate her, that’s not fair.” NeNe then told the camera that Trump bought Star’s “Bullshit” and that she did not have to stay and put up with BS to raise money for her charity. “Best thing to do is for me to walk away.”
Trump told her, “You got this far, for you to quit at the end is stupid. It’s stupid.” Meanwhile, Team Backbone keeps calling NeNe and they only get her voice mail until NeNe texted La Toya to say she quit for good because Star brings out the worst in her. John Rich said, “Star beat her, Star ran her off. That is so amateur, I can’t say I have a healthy amount of respect for that…NeNe is so disappointing to me. You can’t just leave your team and abandon us. She didn’t even say good bye. We didn’t do anything to her.”  Lil Jon added, “She was on a losing team,” John Rich interrupted, “Now she is now on a winning team and didn’t show up.”

WATCH NENE LEAKE’S EXIT VIDEO, IT’S VERY INFORMATIVE!

TASK ASSIGNMENT # 1 – THE COMEDY SHOW

Back to the first task at hand. Trump asked the teams to produce a comedy show and told the teams they each would be able to select three comedians to perform. They also had to sell 50 tickets for charity and the team which made the most money would win. La Toya chose to be team captain for Team Backbone and Meat Loaf for Team A.S.A.P. 

Both teams faced a problem right out of the gate: The had tapped out all their resources on previous fundraising tasks, so, they were having problems raising more money this late into the competition. Team Backbone got Jimmy Fallon to perform at their show, so, they thought that would help bring in an audience.
On Team A.S.A.P., Marlee volunteered to do a 20 minute piece called “Deaf Comedy” to relay funny things that happen to her in real life. Star got Tracy Morgan to do a short video clip for the show. 
The teams auditioned the comedians for their shows and as soon as that was over, the teams went back to calling their friends and contacts for more fundraising. La Toya had a hard time reaching out to her wealthy contacts due to the time difference and when she did reach someone, she would not push them too hard. She was disappointed that she could not land the million dollar donor she had thought she could. Instead, she had raised about $18,000 so far. Jimmy Fallon helped a bit by donating $10,000 to the cause.

MEAT LOAF CRIES AND HAS A MELT DOWN
Meat Loaf on the other hand was rocking the donations for Team A.S.A.P. but felt really deflated when it hit him that all the money he’s raised would go to La Toya‘s charity instead of his “kids” if he loses. And that’s when his meltdown started. He started crying, “I cannot gamble that money that was meant for that camp to play this game.” Star told Meat Loaf that she would call Trump and ask if the losing team could keep its own donations. That calmed Meat Loaf down a bit.
Star called Trump and told him about Meat Loaf‘s emotional attachment to the funds he was raising and asked if they could keep the earnings if they lose. Trump said, no, because that would take the incentive away from winning. Since Trump was on speaker phone and Meat Loaf could hear every word, he started to cry again. Meat Loaf told the camera later, still crying, “I can’t gamble the money for the kids. My heart won’t allow that.”

SHOW TIME
“It’s killing me, it’s absolutely destroying me,” Meat Loaf continued until the ladies made him concentrate on the show but he seemed lost and disoriented. La Toya on the other hand was so excited and could not wait for the show to start. Once the show started, Meat Loaf totally changed and took command of the stage as the emcee.
Team Backbone did great during their show as well, with Jimmy Fallon singing his song about the life on Celebrity Apprentice. He started with, “Sitting in the boardroom, The Donald staring into my eyes, his hair, staring into my soul! Just hoping. Just praying the two words don’t come out of his mouth. ‘Ye’r fired, ye’r fired, take that rolling suitcase out the door, ye’r fired ye’r fired, you son of a bitch you’re fired and don’t you mess with Team Backbone’….” 
THE BOARDROOM
Meat Loaf started crying again in the boardroom. “I have such an emotional attachment to my charity.” He then compared what he is doing to a father taking rent money to Vegas and gambling it away. Meat Loaf then gushed over his new team, and they gushed over him. Marlee said, “He is a gem….he is a keeper.”
Donald then said let’s talk about NeNe. “The fact is, she left. She quit. She gave up…We’ve had this happen before and those people have always called me and said it was the worst decision they’ve ever made because everyone calls them a ‘loser, a quitter.’ So, to you NeNe I say, ‘You’re fired. You’re a quitter and Star Jones kicked your ass whether you like it or not.” Ah, well said Donald, but you realize NeNe was NOT in the room, right? And you realize that can’t fire someone who’s quit…just FYI…
Donald then started gushing about La Toya. He said he didn’t know much about her before but he thought she was “Solid,” and that she had totally transformed her image on the show. “It’s really brought you to a new level.” Her teammates agreed. “This girl’s got a lot of fight than I’ve ever seen,” said John Rich.
John also admitted his team missed Meat Loaf tremendously. And then, there was the ‘Oh my God moment’ of the show: John Rich told Meat Loaf that if his team loses, John would pay Meat Loaf’s charity out of his own pocket in the amount matching what Meat Loaf had raised. John said, “I will do it as your friend. That’s how much you mean to me brother. You are the man, you are great, so you don’t need to worry. I got you on that.” So, of course, Meat Loaf started crying again. “Working with John and watching Marlee…I tell you Donald what you have done for me. This show has made me want to be a better person and has taught me things I did not know I knew. So, thank you very very much Mr. Trump.” Ah, that’s all sweet and dandy Meat Loaf, but you wanna thank John too? That was an incredibly nice gesture.

WINNER OF TASK ONE – AND WHO WAS FIRED?
Now, as to the winner, Team A.S.A.P. raised $102,080. Team Backbone lost as they only raised $82,500. And Meat Loaf cried yet again. And I am sure John Rich took a sigh of relief as his pocketbook was left intact. Meat Loaf giddily ran out of the boardroom and called “baby” and told her he had raised $192K for his charity, The Painted Turtle. He then said three of his best good-feel moments in life were his children and winning this task.
When it came time to a firing, John Rich said he raised the most money. La Toya said she had nothing bad to say about anyone on her team and said they were both equally good. When asked, Lil Jon said he’d fire the ‘project manager’ if they were the one raising the least amount in funds which La Toya had. Donald told La Toya that she set a record by being the only celebrity ever allowed back after being fired. But he quickly followed that by saying she set another record, being the only person fired twice on the show. La Toya took the news well. “You are fired, but we love you.” And with that, La Toya walked off Michael Jackson Billy Jean style into the cab…If you missed that, you must watch it. I have the full episode coming soon.


WATCH VIDEO CLIP OF LA TOYA BEING FIRED TWICE!
TASK # 2 – ON STAR COMMERCIAL
On Star is now available for sale for any existing car at Best Buy. Our stars were tasked with creating a commercial to introduce this new product on the market. John Rich volunteered to be the project manager for Team Backbone. Marlee Matlin agreed to lead Team A.S.A.P. which made for a rematch between the two, Marlee having won round 1.

During the task, John Rich felt sick with a possible case of a bad sinus infection and he was in charge of writing the commercial – that made life real tough on the guy and he was not able to concentrate well. That left Lil Jon as the one feeling the most pressure since he was the only healthy person on the team. Somehow John came up with the commercial concept despite the torture he was going through. Lil Jon starred in the commercial and he brought his full energy to it.

Meat Loaf decided for Team A.S.A.P. to have their commercial be about a police officer using On Star to find a donut shop. Cliche muchStar freaked out when she realized Meat Loaf had no script for the commercial and wanted to improvise. Meat Loaf said it was Star’s job to come up with Script and she was just stalling. He then became worried that she was stalling on purpose to sabotage him. Star, as one of the stars of the On Star commercial for her team, kept messing up her speech and blamed Meat Loaf for not having a proper script. At the end of the shoot, Meat Loaf and Marlee wanted to film a shot of the On Star box but Star insisted that they already had the shot and they should instead move on to editing (THIS becomes a big issue in the boardroom.)

Both teams had a hard time during editing phase of the task. Team Backbone had too much special effects to fix and John Rich put a lot of “blind trust” in Lil Jon to get the visuals correct. On Team A.S.A.P., Star said to the camera that her strength is not editing so she said if they do badly in that department, it’s their fault. Both teams were able to finish their videos in time.

The teams presented their commercials to the execs and to me, the execs did not seem thrilled with either effort. They met with Trump and told him that Team A.S.A.P.’s commercial had a great theme which told an entertaining story. They also said that although this team had a more ambitious concept, the commercial was softer on the message that this was a new way of getting On Star in your car. They said Meat Loaf did not get what the On Star brand message is about and that he made the police officer comical whereas to On Star, police officers are heroes.  About Team Backbone they said Lil Jon had great energy and did a great job identifying the news that this was a new way of getting On Star. They did say he may have been a bit over the top. But they agreed that Team Backbone sold the idea that this was a brand new way to get On Star. They were disappointed that in one of the driving shots, the driver was not wearing a seatbelt which renders On Star unusable.

IN THE BOARDROOM FOR TASK #2
John and Lil Jon sang each other’s praises, with John saying the show has allowed the two diverse performers the opportunity to work in harmony together and has broken down a lot of barriers.

Trump then moved on to Team Backbone. “You look good tonight, Meat Loaf, you look good. You are so much more handsome, you know, I am not a gay man, I think gayness is wonderful frankly, but I am not a gay man. You seem so much more good looking, what the f#@ck did you do?” Meat Loaf said Celebrity Apprentice has kept him in shape. Trump then questioned why Meat Loaf did the vignettes and not Marlee the project manager.

After watching Team A.S.A.P.s commercial, John said they had missed the main point that On Star is now available at your local retail store and that you can buy it. “I may be deaf, but I think I heard it at the end of the commercial,” Marlee snapped back. “I would put it at the end and the beginning,” John rebutted.

They then watched the men’s commercial. Marlee said the men’s commercial was not as warm and as personal as theirs was. Star admitted she enjoyed their commercial but didn’t like theirs any more. Neither women seemed too convinced of themselves. Team Backbone did not like the other team’s commercial at all and the execs agreed with them: Team Backbone won the task.

WHO GOT FIRED?

I personally think without NeNe around, there was no longer a need for Trump to keep Star around either for ratings purposes based on the drama the two were able to create, so, that is why Star heard the famous, “You’re fired” motto. But not before she put up a fight.

Marlee said Meat Loaf brought a different style to the team and even if it is a brilliant style, it may have caused the loss. Meat Loaf defended his choice of a comical police officer. Star said she felt Meat Loaf’s idea of humor was something they had not tried before and she felt Meat Loaf had said he would take responsibility for it.

Marlee said she would fire Meat Loaf because they were not accustomed to his off kilter style. Star said she would fire Meat Loaf because the commercial was not what the execs were looking for. Meat Loaf said as far as branding was concerned, that was Star’s job. Star said yes, the branding was her responsibility but not scene selection. She also said she is the one that put the ending brand logo (and not the box) into the commercial. Star said Meat Loaf, “Tell the truth. You had a shot of the box why didn’t you use it?” Meat Loaf asked, “Why didn’t Marlee? Why didn’t you?”

Trump asked the three to leave the boardroom. During their conversation outside, Meat Loaf called Star, “sweetie” and Star hit the roof. “Don’t ‘sweetie’, I am a grown woman. I hate that.” The two then went back and forth on whose fault it was that the commercial lacked a shot of the box.  Meat Loaf said Star may be an attorney but he can argue as “good” as she can. Star walked away as she often has and said, “Stop, I don’t even want to talk anymore. You have to come to me with my credentials to get me to debate with you. Enough. Enough.” Meat Loaf said, “Don’t you cut me off, how dare you cut me off young woman.”

Back to the boardroom. Trump asked Meat Loaf what was going on outside. He said Star was not arguing back and would not look Meat Loaf in the eye so she must have been lying. Star said there was never a script. She said she begged Meat Loaf for a script and he said all ideas were in his head. Trump then got on Marlee’s case for not having overruled that.  She said Meat Loaf said, “Trust me.”

Trump asked Star why she got offended by being called “sweetie” and said he was tired of this politically-correct crap. Star said in a debate calling a woman “sweetie” diminishes a woman’s status.  Trump then challenged her and said that she had refused to debate Meat Loaf outside so, there was no debate. Trump then said Star didn’t get along with NeNe and now she was not getting along with Meat Loaf either and everyone gets along with Meat Loaf (Guess Trump forgot Gary Busey). “What’s wrong with you Star?” Trump asked.

Trump asked Marlee who was in charge of branding – and Marlee said Star was in charge of branding message. Star said she could not tell Meat Loaf what to put in the commercial. Trump said the On Star people said the branding missed the mark. “You were in charge of branding, you’re fired Star.” Marlee let out a loud sigh of disbelief.


Bye bye Star….Watch the video clip of her being fired:

BONUS: Watch Star’s exit interview not shown on the show:



NeNe Leakes Lets Star Jones Get The Best Of Her And Quits Celebrity Apprentice

The May 8th episode of Celebrity Apprentice left everyone with a big question: What happened to NeNe Leaks? The short answer is that she got offended that Donald Trump switched her to the men’s team (and La Toya Jackson) when Star Jones told Trump she and NeNe could not work things out. NeNe then disappeared and quit on her new team Backbone. Here is how it went down:

We start with Star and NeNe returning from the boardroom to the suite. La Toya hugged NeNe. Star admitted to the camera that she only told NeNe she would discuss her outburst only to get herself out of that situation. “I had no intention of talking.”

READ MORE: FOR A FULL RECAP AND EPISODE VIDEO OF THE 5/8 SHOW, CLICK HERE!

NeNe on the other hand tells everyone “I actually told Star I need to have a conversation with her.” She later told the camera that Star is nowhere to be found, which “means she can’t stand the heat. I get it, you’re scared. We’ll be fighting ’till the end. Game on. I thought you were strong Ms. Jones. Come back and play with the big girls honey.”
At the task assignment, Trump said he had really hoped NeNe and Star could have worked things out. Trump asked Star if things can be worked out between the two and Star said no. So, Trump made Meat Loaf and NeNe switch teams. Trump then asked Star “Do you feel better now?” When Star said she did, NeNe was surprised. She told the camera, “I am not in a good place right now. And I just need to be alone and that’s all I know to do right now. As I walk out of the comedy club, I am not sure what I need to do, I just know that I need some time.” 
We then cut to Team Backbone, NeNe’s new team, and they have no idea where NeNe is. “Where the hell is NeNe at, man, for real,” asked Lil Jon. They frantically try to call her but no one can get a hold of her, so, they started the task without her.
John Rich made a cute little ditty called, “Where the Hell is NeNe” In the hopes that the song would conjure her up and the team would then get an extra person making calls for donations. It went something like this, “NeNe, NeNe, where the hell did you go? Guess you don’t wanna work today with your new team Backbone!”
Team Backbone eventually told Ivanka that NeNe had disappeared who must have alerted her father. The Donald called NeNe on her cell phone and told her he has never called anyone before but called her because she has “great ability.” He also warned her, “You should not quit. If you quit, it’s gonna follow you for the rest of your life.” NeNe shot back. “You accommodated Star. You have seven talents that are still left. You can’t just accommodate her, that’s not fair.” NeNe then told the camera that Trump bought Star’s “Bullshit” and that she did not have to stay and put up with BS to raise money for her charity. “Best thing to do is for me to walk away.” 
Trump told her, “You got this far, for you to quit at the end is stupid. It’s stupid.” Meanwhile, Team Backbone kept calling NeNe and they only got her voice mail until NeNe texted La Toya to say she quit for good because Star brings out the worst in her. John Rich said, “Star beat her, Star ran her off. That is so amateur, I can’t say I have a healthy amount of respect for that…NeNe is so disappointing to me. You can’t just leave your team and abandon us. She didn’t even say good bye. We didn’t do anything to her.”  Lil Jon added, “She was on a losing team,” John Rich interrupted, “Now she is now on a winning team and didn’t show up.”

So, there you have it…just like that, we last see NeNe in a New York cab to …only NeNe knows where…But that did not stop Donald from ‘firing’ NeNe. In the boardroom, without NeNe present, Donald said let’s talk about NeNe. “The fact is, she left. She quit. She gave up…We’ve had this happen before and those people have always called me and said it was the worst decision they’ve ever made because everyone calls them a ‘loser, a quitter.’ So, to you NeNe I say, ‘You’re fired. You’re a quitter and Star Jones kicked your ass whether you like it or not.'” Ah, well said Donald, but, you realize NeNe was NOT in the room, right? And that you can’t fire someone who’s quit, you know that right?…just FYI…


WATCH NENE LEAKE’S EXIT VIDEO! NOT SHOWN ON THE SHOW!

Celebrity Apprentice 5/8: Who Was Fired Tonight?

Celebrity Apprentice May 8, 2011 was a special three-hour episode (and started one hour earlier) which had lots of drama including La Toya’s return to the show, Meat Loaf crying, and a rumor that NeNe Leaks has quit because of Star Jones.

Want to know who got fired tonight on Celebrity Apprentice? Well, THREE stars were fired tonight, look below.
The celebrities had to accomplish two tasks tonight. The first one was to produce and sell tickets to a live comedy show. La Toya Jackson was the project manager for Backbone. Meat Loaf and NeNe Lakes switched teams so Meat Loaf served as project manager for Team A.S.A.P. 
Surprise guests Jimmy Fallon and Tracy Morgan assist the teams in this task.

For the second task, the teams had to produce a 60-second commercial for On Star.

LIVE UPDATES: 
– MEAT LOAF HAS A MELT DOWN
NENE LEAKES DISAPPEARS AND THEN QUITS ON HER TEAM. READ FULL STORY BY CLICKING HERE.
– TEAM A.S.A.P. LEAD BY MEAT LOAF WINS FIRST TASK
– LA TOYA JACKSON IS FIRED!
– SECOND TASK HAS STARTED
– MARLEE MATLIN IS PROJECT MANAGER FOR TEAM ASAP SECOND TASK
– JOHN RICH IS PROJECT MANAGER FOR TEAM BACKBONE SECOND TASK
– TEAM BACKBONE WINS SECOND TASK
– STAR JONES IS FIRED!


YOU CAN WATCH THE FULL EPISODE FROM 5/8 HERE.

VIDEO: ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ Full May 1 ‘Sheer Madness’ Episode Video

Did you miss Celebrity Apprentice Sunday May 1? 

No need to panic!

No need to pray for a re-airing of the “Sheer Madness” episode which aired Sunday May 1 but which was interrupted by news of the death of Osama Bin Laden.

WATCH: STAR JONES CALLS OBAMA’S INTERRUPTION OF CELEBRITY APPRENTICE A “PIMP MOVE!”

You can watch the full episode here! See below.

OR, click here to read my recap – which is pretty descriptive.