There may be footage of Donald Trump using the N-word during his time at The Apprentice but show producer Mark Burnett is not ready to hand over the tapes.
Burnett, an ardent Trump supporter, has allegedly threatened staffers to refrain from leaking damaging footage from the show’s archives, Buzzfeed reported. Chris Nee, a writer and producer who says she has signed contracts with Burnett before, but not worked on The Apprentice, suggested that snitcher could be subject to legal and financial penalties. Despite not having worked on Trump’s show herself, she learned about a possible $5 million penalty for anyone who doesn’t heed to Burnett’s warning from a source. (Someone already set up a crowdfunding page to pay the fee.)
Burnett is an Emmy award-winning producer who also backed popular shows like The Voice, Shark Tank, and Survivor. He has time and again denied the media’s requests for original raw footage from The Apprentice for review during this election season, the Associated Press reported. A former crew member on the set told the AP that Burnett guarded the show’s footage to avoid spoilers from leaking before the show aired. Contacting NBC, which broadcast the reality TV show, was also to no avail since the network said it was unable to legally release any videos, even if it had any stored, since Burnett owns them.
Ex-Apprentice crew members have already blasted Trump for his lewd and sexist behavior while hosting show in various anonymous interviews. They narrated tales of him rating women by breast sizes and discussing who he would like to sleep with.
A month before what is perhaps the most anticipated election in the US, The Washington Post released a video showcasing Trump’s despicable vulgarity from the 2005 Access Hollywood shoot. First, the candidate tried to dismiss the description of sexual assault as “locker room banter.” Later, Trump issued an apology, but he also made sure to note that the controversy was just a “distraction” and that Bill Clinton has said worse. Although the comments may have done little to move the needle on the polls, the Grand Old Party readied to dump Trump and many Republican leaders have since withdrawn their endorsements.
After Trump’s embarrassing attempt at the first presidential debate on Sept. 26, he has a huge comeback to make. But instead of bulking up his knowledge on policies and other national issues, the Trump campaign has been seeking opportunities to target Hillary Clinton by taking potshots at Bill Clinton’s sex scandals. However, his plan seems to be backfiring, raising questions not only about his fidelity in marriage, but about his general disregard for females instead.
Some people don’t even need to see or hear these tapes to believe it. They expect racism from the man who, despite vindicating DNA evidence, heralds the Central Park Five as guilty.
And if his never-ending deprecation of Mexicans isn’t proof enough, maybe hearing him say the N-word will prove his bigotry to all his believers and compel him to drop out of the race. Or maybe, it’ll strengthen his support for being “a real man” instead.