On the second episode of “Celebrity Apprentice 3,” comedian Sinbad became the first man fired by Donald Trump. Sinbad was chosen as project manager for the men’s team, named “Rock Solid.” The challenge was to promote Kodak by creating “memorable moments.” The guys team put on a great event – the people who came into their store really enjoyed getting pictures with their favorite celebrities.
The girl’s team, “Tenacity,” led by WWE Diva Maria Kanellis, did an equally good job with the people who stopped in, but their group showcased the Kodak products, and had Olympian Summer Sanders explain the products to the people.
Sinbad and his team forgot to promote the products, instead, simply leaving them on a table with no explanation and no one to demonstrate how they worked.
Sinbad participated in a conference call with collegiate newspapers the day after he was fired.
When asked what he thought was his mistake, he responded, “I couldn’t man the equipment and have people enjoy the store. Maybe I should have, but we couldn’t. No one looked around and thought about that.”
He went on to describe his experience on ‘The Apprentice.’
“I didn’t have any expectations. I was familiar with the format and I thought it was one of the best run reality shows. Personalities are 80% to 90% of the show,” Sinbad said.
“Celebrities have very distinct personalities and it works very well for what we do. But sometimes you clash – you play in your own little world. As you’re finding out with Cyndi Lauper and the girls, some of them have a problem with her.”
Sinbad also referred to a clash he had with Bret Michaels during the project.
“Bret just wanted to be told what to do. Others just jumped in and helped out but he needed to be told,” he said.
“I gave him something to do, but he said he didn’t know how to do it. He didn’t end up doing anything, but I got criticized. I think you’ll find each episode that Bret is always gonna be like this. I don’t know what happened that day – he just went off. I gave him stuff to do with the graphics. He was busy some of the time.”
Sinbad commented on what it was like working with such a diverse group of celebrities.
“I wish I could’ve stayed longer – it was a fun group of people to work with. This year is a very strong year. I liked Cyndi Lauper – it was really fun getting to know the real Cyndi.”
Regarding the men’s team, Sinbad singled out Celebrity Chef Curtis Stone and former WWE Star Bill Goldberg as two teammates he found “interesting.”
Sinbad also explained how he became involved with Celebrity Apprentice 3.
“I got a call from my agent who said Mark Burnett’s people wanted to talk to me about ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’ At the time I was like ‘man, I don’t know…you can end up looking pretty bad on the show if you don’t do it right.’ But the charity part of it is so strong — you can raise a good amount of money for charity — and I just said ‘hey, if I go in and be myself, I never have to be ashamed of what I did.'”
Sinbad’s charity is the Omega Boys Club / Street Soldiers. The Omega Boys Club sets a goal to send inner-city kids to college and helps them succeed within the inner city by keeping them focused on school, as well as by stopping the violence through their Street Soldiers program.
Sinbad weighed in on which celebrity will win it all.
“I know that if they mess around, Holly (Robinson) will be hard to beat. I don’t think the women see that yet. You get all these strong personalities on the women’s side. Everyone is focusing on Sharon and Cyndi, but if you watch it, it’s Holly – she’s making that show run. When I walked in and saw her, I thought, ‘There she is’ – she’s clever, she’s organized. Curt (Stone) is a very smart guy, too.”
He offered advice to those still in the game.
“Avoid being project manager for as long as you can! Everyone always says they need something to do!”
When Sinbad was asked what is next for him, he responded, “Right now I’m putting this tour together including some comedy and music…looking forward to putting the finishing touches on a couple of movies, and doing some TV projects…just to even walk on some shows that I like. Do some dramas along with some comedies.”
It’s probably a safe bet that Bret Michaels will not be part of his upcoming comedy and music tour. The Celebrity Apprentice 3 airs Sundays at 9-11p.m.
Rick Jackson is a student majoring in theater arts. He can be reached at RJ689070@wcupa.edu.