The three hour NBC finale of Celebrity Apprentice had comedian Joan Rivers and poker player Annie Duke vying for the top prize, a $250,000 check for their favorite charity. Donald Trump held court in New York City at the American Museum of Natural History, with the show going back and forth between a live broadcast and tape of the two women planning and executing their final event.
The women had to plan a VIP party and silent auction that would showcase Kodak’s picture frame technology. They were also tasked with telling 80 tickets, at face value, to a performance of Circus de Soleil. Paying customers got the added perk of attending the VIP celebrity party and a bus ride to the circus.
As in past seasons, several castoff celebrities were brought back to assist each woman with the task. Annie Duke picked her BFF Brande Roderick, Dennis Rodman and comedian Tom Green as her team. Joan Rivers chose Herschel Walker, Clint Black and her daughter Melissa Rivers.
The two teams were judged on raising money, Kodak product integration, charity integration, celebrities in attendance and overall guest experience – all equally weighted.
Event planners from the same company were assigned to each team. A female planner clicked immediately with Duke, who seemed to have no trouble coming up with a scheme to decorate her half of a huge open space. A curtain separated Joan Rivers’ space. She worked with David, the owner, who appeared to be overwhelmed by the task and was not able to embrace the vision that Joan had for the space. Eventually Joan suggested that she bring in her own planner to work with him, which caused him to quit.
Annie and Brande suddenly couldn’t reach their event planner and in desperation went to the planner’s office complex. They were informed that the business would no longer be working with them because the owner had found it impossible to work with Rivers. Annie Duke took the opportunity to share the sordid details with everyone she encountered (see video).
It seems likely that this fiasco was planned behind the scenes to throw both teams into a tailspin, in order to gauge their react. It was 5:00 p.m. on a Friday night and most businesses of the type they required were closed. With their VIP event scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, both women switched to Plan B.
Joan called in her friends and members of her charity Gods Love We Deliver to help pull her space together. Brande and Annie manned the phones and called every planner in NYC until they found one who owned a stock of items to ‘dress’ their space.
Herschel and Melissa headed out to sell the 80 tickets in Time Square. Walker decided to phone a friend, who donated the money to pay for all of the tickets. Then Melissa and Herschel were able to give away the 80 free tickets, making their task fairly seamless. Dennis Rodman and Tom Green managed to sell all of their teams tickets as well.
Joan’s theme had guests walking through a giant Kodak picture frame. They brought in several well known celebrities, including Kathy Griffin but relied on a group of female impersonators to liven things up and create some fun. Every guest who bought a Kodak picture frame was able to pose with their favorite celebrity for a photo op. Annie’s team had Dennis Rodman dressed up in flamboyant drag to pose with guests.
Back in the boardroom there was an immediate squabble, with Joan Rivers becoming indignant. Annie claimed Joan had been abusive to her event planner, causing the company to pull out. Joan said, “That is an out and out lie. Just stop it. I will not be berated.”
Annie told Donald that in any ‘real’ boardroom, Joan’s comments to her would be actionable. Donald pointed out that Annie had flung a pretty good threat herself by saying, “This woman needs to die.”
Duke won the charity fund raising hands down by securing $465,725 for Refugees International. She also won the charity integration task, doing a better job of showcasing her charity within the event space. Rivers netted $150,830 for Gods Love We Deliver, which brings lunch to the needy in NYC. Joan also won the celebrity integration, Kodak branding integration and overall experience.
In the end, Donald cited the 75 year old comedian’s incredible energy and awarded the $250,000 to her charity as well as naming her this season’s Celebrity Apprentice.
Check out Annie Duke’s firing below.