NBC Should Cancel 'Celebrity Apprentice'

When it comes to its dealings with Donald J. Trump, NBC has never exhibited much in the way of a backbone. Despite slumping ratings, "The Apprentice" remains a profitable television show for the network and that's enough of an incentive to motivate NBC to choose money over ethics every time the businessman-turned-reality-TV-star-turned-politican acted in a way most rational people would consider to be unethical.

Trump toyed for years with a presidential run while he remained a host of "The Apprentice" and used the promotion of the show as a platform to float his various political ambitions. Despite some spineless anonymous grumblings to the trade press, NBC never made an attempt to halt his comments, even when he dived into the murkier waters of "birtherism." Even more distressing, NBC rewarded Trump with a prized "Saturday Night Live" hosting slot during the hard-fought Republican presidential primaries.

Like all of his business dealings, it's nearly impossible to know what relationship Donald Trump has with "The Apprentice" franchise and the show's new host Arnold Schwarzenegger. While he apparently renegotiated his deal with producer Mark Burnett in the month's leading up to the launch of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump apparently still has some sort of management interest in the show. Which is a problem as the businessman prepares for the Presidency.

News broke yesterday that Donald Trump will have an executive producer credit on the episodes of the upcoming season. He's admitted in interviews that he had some say in the choice of the new host and based on the comments from a close advisor, he seems to be expecting to have some continuing connection to the show.

Aside from the unsettling prospects of having a sitting President devoting scarce free time to a reality TV show, there are some very real reasons why NBC should strongly consider pulling the already completed season of "Celebrity Apprentice" from its schedule.

Let's not forget that Trump's behavior during his time as host of the show sparked a lot of allegations of sexual misconduct and use of the 'N' word during off-camera conversations. These are allegations that would not just end the TV career of most people,  but would prompt the network to cancel the show. And yet because NBC can make a few bucks and want to retain a relationship with Trump and Burnett, they participated in the dubious contract shenanigans that gave the show a new host while leaving Trump with some sort of financial interest in the franchise.

Not that new host Arnold Schwarzenegger has a better history when it comes to his relationship with women. As I reported in October, Schwarzenegger has a long history of inappropriate behavior towards women:

A former Schwarzenegger employee recalls another incident from the T2 days. At the time, director James Cameron was married but having an affair with one of the film's stars, Linda Hamilton. One evening, while riding in a limo with Cameron, Hamilton, and others, Schwarzenegger suddenly lifted Hamilton onto his lap and began fondling her breasts through the very thin top she was wearing. The witness says, 'I couldn't believe Cameron didn't have the balls to tell Arnold to get off his girl. The whole thing made me sick.'

A female producer on one of Schwarzenegger's films tells of a time when her ex-husband came to visit the set. When she introduced the man to Schwarzenegger, the star quipped, 'Is this guy the reason why you didn't come up to my hotel room last night and suck my cock?'

Given all of the likely criticism of the show, most rational network executives would swallow hard, take the lost of production costs and cancel the show for good. Yes, the show will get a lot of attention and it might even do okay in the ratings. But in a season when NBC is riding the good buzz from shows like "This Is Us," why would it willingly continue on a path that will lead to a season's full of complaints from viewers and critics of Donald Trump?

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