Donald Trump and Omarosa Manigault (who just goes by the name Omarosa) are two of the most controversial stars of reality TV. Trump gets tons of criticism for how he expresses his conservative political beliefs and his objections to Barack Obama being president of the United States. Omarosa’s main claim to fame is being a reality TV villain and her association with Trump’s reality shows. She was on the first seasons of “The Apprentice,” “The Celebrity Apprentice” and “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice.” And she was “fired” by Trump all three times. Trump and Omarosa have a symbiotic relationship in which they openly admit that they feed off of each other for publicity.
Not surprisingly, with her “villain” reputation, Omarosa has several enemies, including her former “Celebrity Apprentice” cast mates Piers Morgan, Claudia Jordan and La Toya Jackson. In March 2013, Omarosa sued Jackson for defamation because Jackson said on “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice” that she thinks Omarosa caused the September 2012 heart-attack death of actor Michael Clarke Duncan, who was Omarosa’s boyfriend at the time. Since then, Omarosa has been described by her enemies as a gold digger who is out to use Duncan’s name get more fame and fortune for herself. On April 1, 2013, I caught up with Trump and Omarosa at an “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice” junket at Trump Tower in New York City. Omarosa responded to her harshest critics with some fighting words of her own.
Interview With Donald Trump
You’ve “fired” Omarosa three times now. How was the third time different from the rest?
I think this was a really good one. By backing Dennis [Rodman, who was saved over Omarosa], we were backing someone who deserved to be backed.
Piers Morgan obviously dislikes Omarosa a lot, and he was your adviser in the episode where she got fired. How much of an influence did Piers have in your decision to fire Omarosa this third time?
I wouldn’t say he was a big influence because I think I had the same basic feeling as Piers.
Which was …?
It was her time to go.
Why do you think Claudia Jordan and La Toya Jackson passed up their chances to get Omarosa fired by declining to take her back into the boardroom with them? And as we know, Claudia and La Toya got fired instead.
I’ve never understood why they never brought Omarosa back. She might’ve been gone earlier.
There’s a rumor that “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant Lisa Rinna might be joining “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” What do you think about that?
I think it’s great. I think Lisa is fantastically well. I hope she does. I think she’s terrific.
How do you think Omarosa would do if she joined any of the “Housewives” reality shows?
Omarosa would do great.
What kind of “Celebrity Apprentice” adviser is Joan Rivers?
Joan is an amazing adviser with tremendous stamina. At her age, she’s unbelievable. As a person, she’s unbelievable. Joan Rivers is a great adviser, and you’re going to see something very interesting.
Interview with Omarosa
How does getting “fired” by Donald Trump the third time compare to the other times you were fired by him?
I said, “If I could just raise money for my charity, I’ll be happy.” I raised money for my charity by the second episode. It was funny because the contestants were so terrified! I’ve been very effective in the past with my strategy, but this season was just ridiculous. I avoided the boardroom three times by intimidating the other contestants with my strategy.
Did you start to think you were untouchable?
No, never. I thought in Episode 3 [of “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice”], I was going home with La Toya [as the project manager. And in Episode 4, I thought I was gone with Claudia [Jordan as the project manager].
And in Episode 5, it was me against Piers, me against Dennis [Rodman], me against Lil Jon. That’s a lot to go up against. It took a whole bunch of men to bring me down. Did you notice that? [She laughs.]
Can you talk about what you have coming up next?
I’m going to be on the Oprah Winfrey Network [on “Oprah: Where Are They Now?” on April 2, 2013]. She picked her most memorable guests. And I was one of them 10 years ago. She did a special on me. She comes to my home, and she comes to my church. You get to see me as a pastor in the pulpit preaching.
What’s your response to Claudia Jordan …?
Who is she again? Oh, you mean the little girl who walks around with a suitcase?
Claudia is saying in interviews that on “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice,” you talked more about Michael Clarke Duncan’s money than you talked about missing him now that he’s gone. She also said that the footage never made it on the air because you got a lot of favorable editing. And she’s also been saying that you turned his funeral into a crass media event? What’s your response to that?
I don’t respond to sore losers. You noticed that she didn’t start talking until after she left. I think she was very, very embarrassed that she got outsmarted by the baddest chick in the boardroom.
The funeral was months and months ago. If she was so appalled, you’d think she’d talk about those things before. [Her badmouthing of me] didn’t happen until she got fired. I don’t know how to respond to sore losers but to ignore her and tell her there’s a brand-spanking new suitcase that she can model out on Fifth Avenue.
What about her claim that you talk more about Michael’s money than you talk about missing him?
It’s ridiculous! That’s not something I would do. People make up things when they’re jealous, when they’re envious. This is a woman who’s never been married, never been loved. I think she’s jealous of what my life was with Michael. She wants that. She envies it.
Of course, you attack the thing that means the most to a person. La Toya and Claudia know that Michael means the most to me. They should’ve been battling in the boardroom, but they would’ve gotten fired [anyway].
What would it take for you to drop your lawsuit against La Toya?
It’s simple. A retraction.
There’s a rumor that “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant Lisa Rinna might be joining “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” What do you think about that?
I hope she does. She’s smart, she’s a good friend, I’ve known her for 10 years.
Would ever consider being on any of the “Real Housewives” shows?
I don’t know if you noticed, but I don’t really do well in ensemble casts. I’m more of a leading, starring role. The reality show I co-produced and co-created with Donald Trump was called “The Ultimate Merger.”
I’m the only contestant to ever have a spin-off from “The Apprentice.” I still have Donald’s sponsors through his production company. And I was the star of [“The Ultimate Merger”], so that’s kind of how I roll.
Donald Trump said on “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice” that you helped make him a star. He was famous before he did the “Apprentice” shows, so why do you think he said that about you?
Most people, when we stood here 10 years ago, didn’t think “The Apprentice” would last. They thought it was a flash in the pan. Then we pulled in 28 million viewers, and we knew we had a hit. A lot of that was because of the stuff that I did in the boardroom.
And soon, people realized that Donald and I were a partnership, that we were making great TV together. And so it’s a partnership that is really unusual and has sustained for 10 years. I’m grateful to him, and he’s grateful to me, and it’s sincere.
For more info: "All-Star Celebrity Apprentice" website
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