Quick Update: Aubrey O’Day was fired by Donald Trump in the first episode of the finale.
With two weeks to go in the 12th overall season of The Apprentice, singer Clay Aiken, TV host Arsenio Hall and singer Aubrey O’Day are still alive. After one more firing next week from Donald Trump, the final two will battle for $250,000 for charity.
The first episode of the Celebrity Apprentice finale will take place on Sunday, May 13, 2012. On that episode, Donald Trump will fire one contestant right away and then proceed to the task for the final 2. Odds are that Aubrey O’Day will be fired. In the interview for the top 4, John Rich and Marlee Matlin told Trump that Aubrey seemed nervous. In addition, John said that Aubrey was trying to fool him and gave a terrible answer when she said she was going to raise more money for charity if she makes the finale. He said she should have raised the money already if she has the ability to do that.
If Aubrey is fired at the beginning of the May 13 episode, then Clay Aiken and Arsenio Hall will select team members from eliminated contestants to help them for the final task. The winner gets $250,000 for his chosen charity.
All things considered, this is a relatively weak crop of contestants for this season of Celebrity Apprentice. No one has raised even close to the amount of money raised last time by Marlee and John. In terms of creativity, Lisa and Aubrey have lots of ideas. But they are not team players, and their approach to the creative process was to throw a bunch of stuff on the wall and see what sticks. That is why both lost so many challenges with the ideas they kept trying to brag about.
While Clay and Arsenio do not seem as creative, they do seem like better team players. For the most part, they will also probably be respected by their team members. The same cannot be said for Aubrey, who would alienate people and fail to properly utilize the team. If I were one of the finalists, I would rather have Lisa because she is a bit more of a team player with the stronger players even though she disrespects anyone she perceives as a weak member.
Who wins the Celebrity Apprentice 12 finale may also depend on how much money each contestant raises. There is still a possibility that Arsenio can raise a boat load of money from Jay Leno. It is not clear from whom Clay can raise money, but he will have a tough time keeping up if Leno comes through with a big check for Arsenio. However, if it comes down to creativity and general leadership, I give the edge to Clay Aiken.
The second episode of the finale will take place on Sunday, May 20, 2012. The last boardroom will take place in that final episode. Check out NBC at 9 Eastern to see who wins.