Following news reports that Donald Trump will remain an executive producer of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” the president-elect tweeted that he will not spend time working on the show during his presidency.
It was first reported in Variety on Friday that Trump will still benefit from the show’s production when it premieres on Jan. 2 as “The New Celebrity Apprentice” with host Arnold Schwarzenegger. CNN later published an article stating that Kellyanne Conway said Trump will continue to work on the show “in his spare time.”
Trump took to Twitter on Saturday in an attempt to debunk the CNN report.
“Reports by @CNN that I will be working on The Apprentice during my Presidency, even part time, are rediculous & untrue – FAKE NEWS!” he wrote.
The CNN article was accompanied by a video of a call with Conway, in which she says, “presidents have a right to do things in their spare time.”
Prior to tackling the CNN report, Trump tweeted that he has “NOTHING to do with The Apprentice except for the fact that I conceived it with Mark B & have a big stake in it. Will devote ZERO TIME!”
Although Trump’s spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed that Trump has a financial interest in the show, it’s unclear how much the president-elect will profit from the production. In the past, Trump has said he’s held as much as a 50 percent stake in “The Celebrity Apprentice.” Trump will be paid by MGM, the producer of the show, not NBC, Variety said.
As of Saturday morning, Trump’s name still does not appear on “The Celebrity Apprentice” website.
With Nicole Brown
