The Celebrity Apprentice star Donald Trump has teased how big of a role Joan Rivers will play in the upcoming seventh season, which premieres January 4.
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Trump compared Rivers' gameplay to that of an athlete's, for example, insisting Rivers was a superior contestant. He said athletes can be strong, physical and powerful yet they don't tend to last very long in the competition.
"She had an amazing mental strength," he said. "Physically, she was great, but she had an amazing mental strength. And she's on two episodes of this show as a judge. She takes [Ivanka Trump]'s place on two shows, and she was fantastic."
Trump apparently thinks very highly of Rivers, who died from brain damage due to a lack of oxygen at the age of 81 on September 4 following a routine throat procedure at an outpatient clinic in Manhattan.
"I saw her a few days before she passed away, and I want to tell you, I said, 'She's going to live forever!' You look at her, she was so strong and so vibrant. She was so great on the show. So, we have two shows with Joan in it," Trump explained.
Rivers will be shown serving as a celebrity guest advisor on the show in addition to previous winners Piers Morgan, Bret Michaels, John Rich, Arsenio Hall, and Trace Adkins.
Trump admitted producers had considered re-editing The Celebrity Apprentice episodes featuring Rivers, but executives ultimately decided against making any changes.
"There was [consideration], and we decided in memoriam, we're going to do something and honor her during those two shows. She was so good and I think she would've liked it that way. She was terrific," Trump said on Today.
In lighter news, Trump gave viewers a few hints as to what they can expect from the 16 new celebrity contestants. With a cast full of big personalities, the contestants allegedly hate each other more than any prior edition.
"I think that's largely true, but I think I might've said that for other casts also. But that's probably true," Trump said.
Two people in the cast really stir things up, according to the show star.
"[Geraldo Rivera] is terrific, I have to say, he's a vicious guy and a smart guy. And [Gilbert Gottfried]... he's a piece of work. He's a sick individual. There's no question about it," Trump noted, adding that "some of the women, the way they fight, unbelievable!"
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In addition, Trump revealed he has occasionally called celebrities himself looking to cast them on the reality competition series.
"I do every once in a while, but we have many more people that want to come on the show than we have slots," Trump explained.
"I mean, we probably turn down at least 15 or 20 people who want to come on. So, we don't have any problem with that. But there are certain people that you really want on, like, Terrell Owens was great. He's a wild man and he was great. We have just a great group of people."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
