Trump Fires Sanders on "Celebrity Apprentice"
Unable to demonstrate that she is a valuable competitor, Olympian Summer Sanders was the latest contestant fired by Donald Trump on Sunday night's episode of "The Celebrity Apprentice."
This week's job required the star teams to produce three 30-second radio commercials for three unique services -- electricity, plumbing and air conditioning. Two executives from Clockwork Home Services Inc. were the judges for the competition. Both teams were judged on originality, brand integration and live performance.
Photos: "Celebrity Apprentice"
Sanders was the project manager for her team Tenacity and Rocker Brett Michaels stepped up to the lead role for his team, Rock Solid.
Even though the two conservative corporate executives advised each team to step away from using too much humor, Michaels was determined to push the envelope and insisted on using a catchy jingle that said plumbers "crack" a lot of jokes.
His teammates Sharon Osbourne and Maria Kanellis were weary at first but eventually followed his lead after he assured them that he would take ownership and accept the blame if the team lost for it.
On the contrary, Sanders took the advice of the executives seriously and followed a more methodical and conservative approach. She heavily micromanaged her teammates, except for her partner in crime, Holly Robinson Peete.
Fellow teammate Curtis Wilson disagreed with Sanders' direction and said his team was too copy-heavy and could be a more edgy, even though the commercial he wrote was later trashed by his team for final use because it lacked anything substantial and was considered too dry itself.
Determined to keep teammate Cyndi Lauper focused, Sanders gave her the appropriate task of producing the jingles for the commercials. But right when Sanders and Peete discovered that Lauper was recovering from laryngitis, they were reluctant about letting her sing during the live performance. Luckily, the team made the right call and allowed Lauper to sing. This turned out to be the only element the executives liked.
While in the boardroom, Trump introduced his second son, Eric, as the new guest judge and later confirmed that team Rock Solid was the executives' favorite.
Although they commented on how they were disappointed about the "crack" humor, Michaels won them over with his originality and excellent sales presentation.
After Rock Solid left, Trump continued to grill the losing team and asked Sanders who deserved to stay. Not surprisingly, she picked Peete over Lauper. It came down to Sanders and Wilson, who both went back and forth on providing weak reasons of wanting to stay, but it was Sanders who failed to stand on her toes against the judges and was fired.
This week's episode was dedicated for the second time to Michaels, who is recovering from a brain hemorrhage. Michaels, who has proven to be a consistent competitor, is a fan favorite and viewers hope to see him recovered and healthy by the May 23 finale.