A former producer on “The Apprentice” has come forward with allegations against former United States President Donald Trump, accusing him of using the N-word during the show’s first season. Bill Pruitt, who worked as a producer on the hit NBC show in 2004 and continued to work on it for several years, detailed his claims in an article published on Slate.
Pruitt alleges that Trump used the derogatory word while discussing a Black contestant. According to Pruitt, Trump made the remark while deliberating over the finalists for the first season, which included Bill Rancic, the eventual winner, and Kwame Jackson, the runner-up.
Pruitt recounted the incident, stating that he, Carolyn Kepcher (who oversaw Trump’s hospitality units at the time), and Jay Bienstock (the showrunner of ‘The Apprentice’ at the time) were gathered to discuss the final two contestants in a recorded moment.
According to Pruitt, the situation was intended to be filmed as a lead-up to Trump’s final decision, and as the team briefed the former President on their recommendation, he allegedly showed discomfort at the suggestion of considering Kwame as the top candidate. Pruitt recalls Kepcher expressing her belief that Kwame would be a valuable addition to the organization, to which Trump reportedly reacted with a grimace. Trump then questioned why Kwame hadn’t fired Omarosa after encountering some issues, with his team defending Kwame, explaining that he lacked the authority to dismiss her.
Allegedly, Trump then made a controversial statement, questioning whether America would accept a racial slur being used to describe a winner. Pruitt claims that Kepcher appeared visibly shocked upon hearing this, while Trump continued to display discomfort as he pondered the situation, indicating a serious reluctance to have Kwame as the winner. Bienstock purportedly redirected the conversation to George Ross, one of Trump’s attorneys, who was also allegedly part of the discussion.
Following this exchange, Pruitt asserts that no one addressed Trump’s remark, and the recorded moment, along with other purportedly unsavory instances involving Trump, never surfaced publicly. Trump has consistently denied making such statements, and there has been no concrete evidence to support the allegations. Nevertheless, this is the first detailed account of the alleged incident.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign has responded to the accusation, dismissing it as a fabricated and baseless story that resurfaced in 2016. The spokesperson emphasizes that the claims lack credibility and are being brought up by political opponents in an attempt to discredit Trump.
