All-Star Celebrity Apprentice star Donald Trump fired La Toya Jackson from the franchise's first-ever all-stars edition during Sunday night's third episode of the celebrity reality competition's sixth season on NBC.
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Trump fired the singer after her "Power" team lost the season's third task, which required "Power" and the opposing "Plan B" team to each write, direct and act in a five-minute mini soap opera that dramatized Crystal Light's new customizable liquid product. Jack Wagner and Susan Lucci were each assigned to a team to consult with and star in their scenes.
"[Omarosa Manigault], is the most evil person I have ever met. She's a conniving, scheming, cut-throat -- probably pulled the chord on Michael Clarke Duncan. I thought Mr. Trump was falling for that fake cry. 'Michael, Michael' -- such a lie. When I met her, I knew she was a snake. I should've handled her a little bit differently. They will always bite you," La Toya said following her ouster.
La Toya and actor Stephen Baldwin opted to serve as their teams' project managers this time around.
The teams were ultimately judged on live audience reaction, creativity, execution, and brand messaging.
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Trump revealed the winning project manager would receive $20,000 for his or her charity, but then Crystal Light executives noted they'd add $30,000 to that total.
Throughout the planning and executing process, La Toya and Omarosa, who originally competed on the first season of The Apprentice, went at it. La Toya told her to be quiet and then Omarosa flipped out about the way she had been spoken to. The rest of the team had La Toya's back because Omarosa was considered a villain and the person weighing the team's energy and spirit down.
At one point, Omarosa got a call from home warning her that a tabloid news magazine was going to air the 911 tape from the night that Duncan, her late fiance, had a fatal heart attack. She discretely removed herself from the task to take care of the issue. Omarosa's departure left her "Power" team without a lead character in the production.
"Omarosa's fiance passed away no long ago. He had a heart attack. I'm sure she gave it to him," La Toya told the cameras.
Omarosa ended up returning to the theater just in time for the performance and served as the stage manager. La Toya's team deemed Omarosa the weakest link because not only had she left them cold turkey but she was also "disruptive" and a "distraction."
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Once in the boardroom, advisor Ivanka Trump revealed La Toya's team had put on a very creative, funny skit but the performance was rushed and chaotic and the brand messaging was haphazard. Advisor Arsenio Hall, who won The Celebrity Apprentice's fifth season, said he would've liked to see Omarosa on the stage performing rather than behind-the-scenes.
In the end, Stephen's "Plan B" team won $50,000 for his breast cancer charity after performing a soap opera that connected Crystal Light with heightening romance.
La Toya's team then battled it out and the project manager said it was very difficult to do the task with Omarosa missing so late in the game. However, Omarosa argued she had personal problems to deal with and her absence did not reflect her dedication to the task or her position on the show. Omarosa then broke down into tears and attempted to explain her situation further.
La Toya then surprisingly picked retired NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman and former Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick to stay in the boardroom with her despite her team's obvious issues with Omarosa. She picked Brande because the product hadn't been placed and utilized properly, which was her job, and Dennis because he wasn't as aggressive as everyone else when it came to work tactics.
When asked why Omarosa wasn't selected, La Toya insisted it was because she thought Trump was giving in to Omarosa's sympathy cry. Trump assured her that he wasn't buying into it and probably would've fired Omarosa because she deserved it had La Toya brought her back into the boardroom.
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Trump then decided since everyone had said Brande was a star in the task earlier, he'd keep her around. Everyone, but La Toya, agreed the project manager had avoided going head-to-head with Omarosa in the boardroom simply because she was afraid of her and wanted to stay out of "the villain's" line of fire.
Arsenio noted Brande was La Toya's "sacrificial lamb" in the place of Omarosa, but La Toya kept to her stance in that she believed Trump was sympathetic to Omarosa's personal incident.
"You brought the wrong people back... It is a pretty easy choice. I hate to do it La Toya, I mean, you made a terrible choice when you didn't bring back Omarosa, because I think I probably would've fired Omarosa. La Toya, you're fired," Trump said.
"Thank you Mr. Trump," La Toya stated quietly.
On her way out, La Toya asked Dennis and a teary-eyed Brande to do their best to get Omarosa out of the competition, and the two contestants said they would certainly try.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski