The real estate mogul famous for his toupee is coming back to television this Sunday. The eighth season of The Apprentice premieres this Sunday night, giving Donald Trump another chance to boss around a few other rich people.
Given the popularity of the first Celebrity Apprentice (Piers Morgan was the eventual winner), it only makes sense that the Donald would decide to do The Celebrity Apprentice 2. As with last season, the celebrity power of the candidates varies considerably in the sequel. Who’s going to win this time? Let’s have a look at the participants.
The Celebrity Apprentice 2 – Men’s Team
As with the first Celebrity Apprentice, Donald Trump and the production team decided that Celebrity Apprentice 2 would also split the 16 initial contestants into two teams based on gender. The eight male participants are shown above. From left to right, they are:
- Tom Green: I am proud to be Canadian, so I should be cheering for the lone Canuck in the competition, but somehow I don’t think that Tom Green has it in him to take this challenge seriously. He’ll be too busy putting live mice on his tongue.
- Andrew Dice Clay: Perhaps known best for his profanity and misogyny, comedian Clay probably won’t get along very well with the women. Thankfully for him, the teams don’t merge for a few weeks, so he may be able to survive until then.
- Brian McKnight: Will this singer find himself back at one? I’m sure he’s got some connections in the entertainment industry that will certainly come in handy. McKnight has managed to have a long and successful career, after all.
- Clint Black: To my knowledge, this Grammy Award-winning artist hasn’t put out a studio album for a few years, but like McKnight, he has a following and he’ll have a good contact list. He’s also a bigger name than Trace Adkins, I’d say.
- Dennis Rodman: Throughout his NBA career, Rodman was known for being a great player but also a man who was difficult to work with. He’s controversial and unmanageable (unless they get Phil Jackson), but he’ll surely be entertaining.
- Herschel Walker: These days, football enthusiasts are more interested in guys like Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress, but Walker had his day in the sun too. He may have some useful sports contacts.
- Jesse James: Some people say that the CEO of West Coast Choppers could have a serious shot at this. He’s got connections, business savvy, and Sandra Bullock. That’s got to count for something.
- Scott Hamilton: Unless they have a competition involving triple axels and backflips, I think Scott Hamilton will just come off as a nice guy. And it’s hard for nice guys to succeed in business.
The Celebrity Apprentice 2 – Women’s Team
Jumping to the women’s team, we find actresses, a poker player, and a professional briefcase-opener. From left to right:
- Tionne Watkins: Better known in as “T-Boz” from TLC, this songstress is a champion for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. Diagnosed with the disease herself, she’ll be really motivated to support her charity.
- Brande Roderick: I don’t have the highest of hopes for this former Playboy Playmate and Baywatch actress. She may have more experience than the Playmate who competed last season, but she’ll need more than the Hugh Hefner card to win.
- Natalie Gulbis: This professional golfer also happens to be quite the looker, providing a little bit of eye candy for the show. Gulbis has already posed in men’s interest magazines, so she is not adverse to using her sex appeal to her advantage.
- Khloe Kardashian: I don’t know very much about this lesser known Kardashian and I have a feeling that a lot more attention will be paid to her sister Kim. Khloe may be forgettable at best.
- Joan Rivers: While I’m not exactly a fan of hers, I feel that this American icon is a frontrunner here. She’s got plenty of business savvy, a long list of wealthy and influential contacts, and a huge drive to succeed. Her massive ego may make for a difficult team chemistry though.
- Annie Duke: If you enjoy playing poker, you probably know about Howard Lederer’s professional poker-playing sister. It’ll be interesting if Annie can call people like Daniel Negreanu and Doyle Brunson to her aid.
- Claudia Jordan: As far as I’ve seen, the only real skill of this Deal or No Deal model is her ability to open briefcases. Oh, and she can model products on The Price is Right too.
- Melissa Rivers: This has got to the first time that we’ve seen a mother-daughter duo on The Apprentice. Melissa’s got a chance, but I’d put much more money on her mom to win this competition.
If You’re Not Hired, You’re Fired
With nearly everyone suffering all sorts of financial woes, The Celebrity Apprentice 2 may be able to offer some guidance in creating and sustaining successful businesses when the economy is down. Further still, we can learn the true meaning of success, seeing how all of these celebs are playing for charity. Well, I’m sure they’re playing for their time in the spotlight too.
In terms of my early predictions, I see Clint Black and Jesse James emerging from the men’s team, Joan Rivers and Annie Duke for the women’s team, and Joan Rivers being the eventual winner. Who do you think will win The Celebrity Apprentice 2? Who will be the first to hear “You’re fired!” from the Donald?
I’ll be cheering for Tom Green! I hope the Rivers ladies get fired very quickly. They’re very annoying!
I have to go with Jesse James for the men and as my longshot winner Annie Duke for the ladies. If I have to pick the first one off, it would be Kardashian because she has no brains from anything I’ve seen on her sisters show.
As Chris says, I hope the Rivers ladies just annoy Trump so much that he fires them real soon.
I loved the first Celebrity Apprentice but this is a weak cast. These are celebrities? They should be on Sureal life. What have they ever done
Gotta agree with you there Al. There are too many Celebrity shows on TV and the good ones do Dancing with the Stars. Can we call this the The Celebrity Apprentice B List?
I can’t believe they brought back Omarosa from season 1 of The Apprentice last season for “Celebrity Apprentice.” She’s no celebrity!
She was in her own mind.
I was stunned at Joan Rivers, that’s normal behaviour for a 70 year old business woman??? She was plugging her ears when someone was speaking, she compared Annie to Hilter. What???
Donald and his daughter repeatedly praised Joan for her work as team leader and then fired the golfer, when it was the Joan who made the decisions. The Rivers behaviour is embarassing and someone on that show say something. I can’t watch anymore of their child like antics. The Hilter comment to me was unacceptable.