The Apprentice: Los Angeles, Episode 7 Extras – Putting the Go-Cart Before the Horse

And while we’re on the subject of Trump’s idiocy, I must address the issue of Derek’s unexpected firing. Up until this week, both my husband and I were consistently impressed with Derek for a number of reasons: he was smart, hard-working, creative, cool under pressure, and had a great sense of humor. He seemed to work well with his fellow teammates and interacted well with customers and clients on the various tasks. Truth be known, we predicted he would be in the finals, if not the winner of the whole enchilada. Why, then, has he made an unexpectedly early departure?

Throughout the course of the Boardroom, Derek was identified as the one who came up with the idea of go-carts, an idea that was panned among his teammates and the Lexus executives. Derek himself wasn’t all that big a fan of the idea, and admitted it was just something he suggested off the top of his head. Unfortunately, Trump was in “a mood” and this didn’t sit well with him. Apparently unfamiliar with the concept of brainstorming, Trump criticized Derek simply for coming up with something off the top of his head. The fact that Derek himself admitted it wasn’t that good an idea and in fact, agreed with his teammates that it didn’t gibe with the Lexus luxury theme, was lost on Trump. The fact that Jenn made an executive decision to go with the go-carts despite unanimous disapproval from her team was lost on Trump. What Trump latched onto was something Derek said in jest – a self-deprecating remark that showed a character flaw which cannot be tolerated in Trump’s world – humility.

Let me clarify one thing—I loathe the term “white trash.” To me, it implies that were it not for the addition of the word “white,” that all minorities are, by default, trash. This kind of thinking is inexcusable. However, as is the case with many questionable slang terms, it has become a part of the vernacular and, like it or not, people use it frequently. Was it the best choice of words for Derek to use? No, not at all. Could people have been offended by his remark? Perhaps. Was it his intention to disrespect anyone? Absolutely not, and to cause him to be fired is, in my opinion, ridiculous.

Anyone who watches police or legal dramas knows that the difference between manslaughter and murder has to do with intent. Yet despite the most benign of intentions, Derek was fired simply because Trump didn’t like hearing that Derek referred to himself as “white trash.”

Perhaps if Trump ended the love affair between his voice and his ears, he would have been able to grasp what Derek was saying: that, as someone who grew up in a small town and was, by his own description, unsophisticated, he was therefore not the typical Lexus owner. In the clip, Derek demonstrates a healthy self-esteem in his ability to poke fun at himself by joking that he only eats in restaurants with deep-fried appetizers. His fellow teammates laugh at his remarks, but Trump isn’t having it. When Derek tries to explain that it’s a joke, Trump attacks him further, telling him not to joke about that and telling him it was a “pretty stinkin’ statement.” Trump blasts Derek, saying he thinks it’s stupid to say such a thing, and Derek is fired. You want to know who I think is stupid? I’m not mentioning any names, but it rhymes, fittingly, with “chump.”

To conclude this week’s Extras, we see exit interviews from both Derek and Jenn. Since he was fired first, we’ll start with Derek. In his interview, he reveals that he is the Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs for a motion picture studio. He feels he could have been the apprentice because of his brains and personality. As a lawyer, he doesn’t get to do much in the creative vein, but he realizes after doing these tasks, he’s more creative than he thought. He feels it’s kind of cool to expand his skill set.

He says going to the Boardroom was weird; he didn’t see it coming. He felt he made great signage and thus was safe. Once in the Boardroom, he claims Trump “lost it, completely lost it, and went all ‘Mr. Cranky Pants’ on me!” Derek feels that going out like that was exactly the way he wanted to go out – it’s who he is: a jokester, a smart ass. He adds that if people can’t appreciate that, he doesn’t want to work for someone like that anyway. He says he had a good experience, he’s proud of what he did, and that he went out the way he wanted.

In Jenn’s exit interview, she says she tried out because she thought it would be an insane experience and she wanted to see what it would be like to actually compete for a job. We see lots of footage from this week’s task, and in a voiceover, Jenn says that going into the Boardroom, she had a feeling she would be fired. As the Boardroom progressed, she felt like Trump was screaming at her, saying, “you’re terrible!” and “you suck!” At this point, she thought to herself, “Just send me home, baby!!”

She feels you have to have a sense of humor and realize that regardless of the outcome, it’s such a great opportunity. She had a great experience, working so hard and wanting to win, but when you lose and feel like crying you know you can’t because Trump hates crying! She loved being there and being part of the process. She feels fortunate because she can say to people that she had a chance to be Donald Trump’s apprentice!

And with that, we conclude this rather lengthy recap. Thanks to those who sent in their opinions of Apprentice candidates of yore. If you have not already done so, it’s not too late to submit your nominees for the best and worst candidates. I will publish the findings in the next few weeks. Until then – see you Tuesday night after American Idol!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent Apprentice articles:

Kathy Lonergan is a teacher of high school students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. She is proud to say that none of her students demonstrate the current emotional instability and poor judgment of Donald Trump. They also have better hair and fewer shiny objects in their homes. If you’d like to donate a shiny object, you can contact Kathy at kathy.lonergan@yahoo.com.

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look at the rest of the site. You can find all of our recent articles on this show at our The Apprentice page and take a look at our sections on Survivor: Exile Island and American Idol 5. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about The Apprentice, be sure to check out SirLinksALot: The Apprentice!