A running joke during the Emmy Awards last month was how realty show producer, Mark Burnett, creator of the reality show, The Apprentice, was responsible for the rise of Donald Trump. Burnett, who also produces The Voice and Survivor, joked during the broadcast that Voice coaches Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys are set to become the next Supreme Court judges.
The Apprentice, which Trump helmed for 14 seasons, depicted the New York City real estate developer as a decisive and smart Master of the Universe. As reality shows usually are, the narrative was a fiction. But your average Joe watching the series didn’t necessarily catch that nuance.
In any case, the laughter surely died for Burnett earlier this week when the Associated Press reported lewd and inappropriate behavior from Trump on set, as detailed by crew members both on and off the record.
Burnett as producer holds the keys to The Apprentice footage. The AP’s attempts to acquire clips from the show has been met by a wall of silence from Burnett:
Via the AP:
Footage from Donald Trump’s appearances on the set of his long-running reality TV show “The Apprentice” remained locked away from public view on Saturday, despite allegations by cast and crew that the Republican presidential nominee frequently used lewd and sexist language while shooting the show.
The Associated Press again attempted to contact the executive producer of “The Apprentice,” Mark Burnett, after Friday’s release of a separate recording on which the Republican presidential nominee brags about aggressively groping women.
That separate recording of Trump was made in 2005 by a different show, “Access Hollywood,” as Trump prepared to appear on a soap opera.
Burnett and NBC tolerated Trump’s reportedly boorish behavior, despite unease from the crew, so it’s no wonder they’re keeping the video vault locked up tight. Consider that Burnett is a born again Christian–overall, it’s not a good look. Also, NBC claims that only producer Burnett has the legal right to release footage.
Interestingly, it was the AP story that lead Access Hollywood to dig up footage of the Republican nominee making lewd remarks and boasting about sexual assault in 2005 with with host at the time, Billy Bush.
AP had previously asked “The Apprentice” producer, Burnett, to provide the original “The Apprentice” footage for review earlier this year. Those calls were not returned.
Burnett’s office would not take messages Friday afternoon and directed calls to a public relations firm, which did not return multiple calls from the AP requesting comment and access to unedited footage and audio files from “The Apprentice.” Burnett’s office made the same referral last week when AP sought reaction to its original story about Trump’s behavior on the set of “The Apprentice.”
“I’m just answering their phones. They’re all out to lunch. Can you call later?” said a woman who answered the phones Friday afternoon at Burnett’s office.
The Access Hollywood scandal has caused a wave of prominent Republicans to disavow the candidate, including The NEW Celebrity Apprentice host, Arnold Schwarzenegger. From 2003, when he won a special recall election as a Republican, until 2010, Schwarzenegger was the governor of California. Here is the statement he released on Saturday regarding Trump.
As proud as I am to label myself a Republican, there is one label that I hold above all else – American. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/biRvY8S3aZ
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) October 8, 2016
Tonight, Trump will face off against the Democratic nominee, Hilary Clinton, in a town hall style debate. We’ll be live blogging the carnage beginning at 9 pm. Do join us.
