Finally free to speak with the media now that he was fired in last week's broadcast of NBC's The Apprentice 4, Markus Garrison has gone on the warpath over what he considers to be "intentionally libelous" editing that has "decimated" his reputation.
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Seeking to make it clear that he's not a motormouth, Markus continued to speak out in a story published in Wednesday's New York Daily News. "My reputation has been decimated," Markus told the paper, adding how he'd also vented his frustration in an "angry email" to Apprentice staff psychologist Liza Siegel. "The intentionally libelous method of editing has resulted in the public's belief that I am an idiot... not to mention mentally ill," Markus reportedly stated in the message. "I do not intend to be cannon fodder without a spirited fight."
According to the report, Markus claims to have identified at least two examples of broadcast footage that support his charges of "dishonest" editing. The first instance allegedly involves the show's editors falsely combining his answers to numerous conference call questions to make him appear "windy and disjointed." The second allegedly involved the broadcast of an out-of-sequence clip that showed him playing with a yo-yo -- making it appear as though he was "bored and disengaged" during a presentation for last week's The Learning Annex task.
When contacted by the paper, The Apprentice star Donald Trump and executive producer Mark Burnett both refuted Markus' claims that the show misrepresented him. "I dealt with him a lot during the course of the show, and you see a lot of difficulty with Markus from the standpoint of talking too much. He seems like a nice guy, but, boy, he just wouldn't stop." said Trump. "I don't do the editing.... [but] my opinion is that Markus was treated accurately."
Burnett declined to address Markus' two specific allegations but did issue a rebuttal statement of his own. "Essentially Markus was fired for talking too much, and clearly he hasn't shut up yet," Burnett wrote in the statement. "I have never commented on the editing of my shows, but having seen all the footage we have of Markus, it could have been a lot worse."
Still hoping for another chance to get in the final word (or hundreds of words) with Trump, Markus has also challenged The Donald to a public debate -- on anything. "I'm issuing a public challenge to Trump to have a debate -- anywhere, anytime and on any subject, for five minutes, 10 minutes, on Dr. Phil, Oprah, whatever. I'll bury the guy," Markus told TV Guide.
Dr. Phil, The Donald, and Markus all in the same place? Could a single room possibly hold all that hot air?
