Martha Stewart had two words for Donald Trump: “You’re fired!”
But she never got to use them.
The lifestyle diva reveals in Newsweek magazine this week that she was hoping to open her first “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart” episode with a startling announcement: that Trump’s rival program, the original “The Apprentice,” was getting the ax.
“Having two ‘Apprentices’ was as unfair to him [Trump] as it was to me,” Stewart said. “But Donald really wanted to stay on.”
And Mark Burnett, who produced both shows, said he wasn’t sorry.
“Thank God that didn’t happen,” said Burnett, who confirmed the plan to have only one “Apprentice” – Martha’s – had been floated.
Perfectly coifed ex-con Stewart told the mag her show failed because of “Apprentice” overload.
Burnett said Stewart’s show was simply unable to “ignite viewer interest.”
Viewers may have been turned off by her habit of writing thank-you notes to the contestants she fired – strangely nice behavior for the reputed ice-queen.
“That was all Martha’s idea,” said Burnett. “Maybe Martha was a little concerned about coming out of jail, getting a second chance, and she softened a bit.”
(p. 11 in metro)