Well, that didn’t last long. Arnold Schwarzenegger is stepping down from his role on NBC’s “The New Celebrity Apprentice.”
The host, who made his mark on the show with a classic “You’re terminated” catchphrase, announced his departure on Friday, following a highly criticized first season.
“I loved every second of working with NBC and Mark Burnett. Everyone — from celebrities to the crew to the marketing department — was a straight 10, and I would absolutely work with all of them again on a show that doesn’t have this baggage,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
What baggage, you ask?
Schwarzenegger was the target of tweets sent out by the show’s former host, President Donald Trump.
Commenting on the show’s poor ratings back in January, Trump wrote, “Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got ‘swamped’ (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings matching, DJT.”
Schwarzenegger responded by wishing Trump “the best of luck,” adding, “I hope you’ll work for ALL of the American people as aggressively as you worked for your ratings.”
After the news of Schwarzenegger’s departure from the show, Trump weighed in on Twitter yet again — saying it wasn’t a voluntary decision but that “he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings.”
Schwarzenegger hit back on Twitter: “You should think about hiring a new joke writer and a fact checker.”
The seven-episode first season ended on Feb. 13 and is available for streaming at nbc.com.
