The Apprentice (American TV series) season 11

Template:Infobox Television The Apprentice The Celebrity Apprentice 4 (also known as The Apprentice 11) is the eleventh installment of the United States version of the reality television series, The Apprentice. On May 16, 2010, NBC announced that the show would be returning to its Celebrity Apprentice format after returning to its regular version for the tenth season of the show. The season premiered March 6, 2011.

Candidates

The candidates are divided into two teams, males versus females. The women named their team A.S.A.P, an acronym for Artists, Singers, Authors, and Professionals for a Purpose. The men named their team Backbone.

Candidate	Background	Original team	Age	Hometown	Charity	Result	Raised
Hope Dworaczyk	Playmate of the Year	A.S.A.P.	26	Port Lavaca, Texas	Best Buddies		$20,000
John Rich	Country Star	Backbone	37	Amarillo, Texas	St. Jude Children's Research Hospital		$646,908
Lil Jon	Rapper & Entrepreneur	Backbone	40	Atlanta, Georgia	The United Methodist Children's Home of North Georgia Conference		$40,000
Marlee Matlin Communication assistance by Jack Jason	Oscar Winning Actress	A.S.A.P.	45	Morton Grove, Illinois	The Starkey Hearing Foundation		$1,000,000
Meat Loaf	Rock Star	Backbone	63	Dallas, Texas	The Painted Turtle		$20,000
Nene Leakes	Real Housewife of Atlanta	A.S.A.P.	43	Athens, Georgia	Atlanta Union Mission: My Sister's House
Star Jones	TV Host / Author	A.S.A.P.	49	Badin, North Carolina	American Heart Association		$169,372
La Toya Jackson	Entertainment Entrepreneur	A.S.A.P.	54	Gary, Indiana	AIDS Project L.A.	03 Fired in week 8 (4-24-2011)	$65,000
Gary Busey	Actor	Backbone	66	Goose Creek, Texas	The Center for Head Injury Services	03 Fired in week 7 (4-17-2011)	$40,000
Mark McGrath	Rocker / TV Host	Backbone	43	Hartford, Connecticut	Save the Music Foundation	03 Fired in week 6 (4-10-2011)
Richard Hatch	Reality Star	Backbone	49	Newport, Rhode Island	Grassroot Soccer	03 Fired in week 5 (4-03-2011)
Jose Canseco	Baseball Star / Author	Backbone	46	Havana, Cuba	Baseball Assistance Team (B. A. T.)	04Quit in week 5 (4-03-2011)	$25,000
Dionne Warwick	Music Legend	A.S.A.P.	70	East Orange, New Jersey	The Hunger Project	03 Fired in week 4 (3-27-2011)
Niki Taylor	Supermodel	A.S.A.P.	36	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	American Red Cross	02 Fired in week 3 (3-20-2011)	$35,000
Lisa Rinna	Actress	A.S.A.P.	47	Medford, Oregon	Entertainment Industry Foundation's Women's Cancer Research Fund	01 Fired in week 2 (3-13-2011)
David Cassidy	Teen Idol	Backbone	60	New York, New York	The Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation	00 Fired in week 1 (3-6-2011)

Weekly results

Candidate	Original team	Application result	Record as project manager
Hope Dworaczyk	A.S.A.P.		1-0 (win in week 7)
John Rich	Backbone		1-1 (win in week 8, loss in week 5)
Lil Jon	Backbone		1-0 (win in week 4)
Marlee Matlin	A.S.A.P.		1-0 (win in week 5)
Meat Loaf	Backbone		1-0 (win in week 2)
NeNe Leakes	A.S.A.P.		0-1 (loss in week 4)
Star Jones	A.S.A.P.		1-1 (win in week 1, loss in week 8)
La Toya Jackson	A.S.A.P.	Fired in week 8	1-0 (win in week 6)
Gary Busey	Backbone	Fired in week 7	1-1 (win in week 3, loss in week 7)
Mark McGrath	Backbone	Fired in week 6	0-1 (loss in week 6)
Richard Hatch	Backbone	Fired in week 5	0-1 (loss in week 1)
Jose Canseco	Backbone	Left in week 5
Dionne Warwick	A.S.A.P.	Fired in week 4
Niki Taylor	A.S.A.P.	Fired in week 3	0-1 (loss in week 3)
Lisa Rinna	A.S.A.P.	Fired in week 2	0-1 (loss in week 2)
David Cassidy	Backbone	Fired in week 1

Elimination chart
Candidate	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Hope	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IN
John	IN	IN	IN	IN	LOSE	IN	IN	WIN
Lil Jon	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	IN	IN
Marlee	IN	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	IN
Meat Loaf	IN	WIN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN
NeNe	IN	IN	IN	LOSE	IN	IN	IN	BR
Star	WIN	BR	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	LOSE
La Toya	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	FIRED
Gary	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	BR	FIRED
Mark	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	FIRED
Richard	LOSE	IN	IN	IN	FIRED
Jose	BR	IN	IN	IN	QUIT
Dionne	IN	BR	IN	FIRED
Niki	IN	IN	FIRED
Lisa	IN	FIRED
David	FIRED

  The contestant was on the losing team.

  The contestant won the competition and was named the Celebrity Apprentice.

  The contestant won as project manager on his/her team.

  The contestant lost as project manager on his/her team.

  The contestant was brought to the final boardroom.

  The contestant was fired.

  The contestant lost as project manager and was fired.

  The contestant withdrew from the show.

Episodes

Episode 1: Pepperoni Profit

Task 1

• Airdate: March 6, 2011
• Task scope: To sell pizzas for earning money as much as possible.
• Backbone project manager: Richard Hatch
• A.S.A.P. project manager: Star Jones
• Judges: Donald Trump; Ivanka Trump; Donald Trump, Jr.
• Dramatic tension: On Backbone, Jose Canseco was put off by Richard Hatch's leadership, and when Richard felt that David Cassidy was being a distraction, he practically pushed him out of the way at one point. Richard eventually apologized for the incident, even though touched David more than once. On A.S.A.P., Star Jones and Lisa Rinna did not get along, and Dionne Warwick was slow while she was manning the register. Lisa and Marlee Matlin struggled making all the deliveries that Star had made due to New York City traffic, and they were not able to make a $35,000 delivery that was personally arranged by Curtis Stone. In the boardroom, Star blamed Lisa for not making Stone's delivery, and even called Lisa a "little girl". Also, Jose spoke out against Richard, calling him a liar, a bully, and even claiming that Richard struck David.
• Winning team: A.S.A.P.
  • Reasons for win: Despite the fact that they didn't make the $35,000 delivery from Curtis Stone, they earned $115,268 regardless, and had a large amount of celebrity donors. Trump then decided to give Stone's check of $35,000 to Niki Taylor, because the women on A.S.A.P. all thought she was the star performer on this task.
• Losing team: Backbone
  • Reasons for loss: Although they had received celebrity donors from Richard Hatch, Lil Jon, John Rich, Mark McGrath, and Meat Loaf, the men only earned $54,104 and lost by $61,164.
  • Sent to boardroom: Richard Hatch, David Cassidy, and Jose Canseco
• Fired: David Cassidy - for not putting up a fight and being as passionate about the task as Jose Canseco and Richard Hatch. Trump was unhappy with Richard's leadership, but fired David for not contributing enough to this task and for being unable to defend himself, relying on Jose to back him up against Richard in the boardroom. Although Richard was disrespectful to him, David did not take responsibility for his own actions which led to his dismissal.
  • Cameo appearances by Russell Simmons, Wendy Williams, Katie Cassidy, Bob Saget, Marc Ecko, and Jenna Morasca.
• Notes:
  • Lisa Rinna did not like the women's team name (A.S.A.P.) because she felt it was too complicated to remember--and explain--the acronym.
  • Although La Toya Jackson came up with her team name, she fumbled with their acronym in the beginning.
  • Gary Busey's cellphone went off during the initial boardroom and Trump jokingly "fired" him.

Episode 2: Child's Play

Task 2

• Airdate: March 13, 2011
• Task scope: Create a children's book and perform it to a group consisting of four to five year olds. The story must also revolve around at least one team member. The teams will be judged based on three criteria: originality, age appropiateness, and creativity.
• Backbone project manager: Meat Loaf
• A.S.A.P. project manager: Lisa Rinna
• Result: A.S.A.P came up with a story revolving around La Toya Jackson about a lion who couldn't roar. Backbone came up with a story based on Lil Jon about him becoming a superhero.
• Judges: Donald Trump; Eric Trump; Donald Trump, Jr.
• Winning team: Backbone
  • Reasons for win: John Rich and Mark McGrath were able to effectively organize their book and performance, and despite setbacks from Gary Busey and Jose Canseco, guest judge Holly Robinson Peete thought their concept was very original, age appropriate and entertaining.
• Losing team: A.S.A.P.
  • Reasons for loss: Even though they gave a stellar performance on stage and had showcased their actual book to the audience (unlike Backbone), Holly Robinson Peete thought that their theme of "being yourself" was too sophisticated for children. In addition, the font on each page in the book was way too small for children to read.
  • Sent to boardroom: Lisa Rinna, Star Jones, Dionne Warwick
  • Fired: Lisa Rinna - for having poor leadership skills, inability to control her team, losing the respect of her entire team, and for acknowledging that she crumbled under the pressure.
• Notes:
  • NeNe Leakes admitted in an interview that the team knew Lisa Rinna would not be able to handle the role as project manager and that they were setting her up for failure.
  • Donald Trump, Jr. noted that A.S.A.P.'s story lacked originality, which could have contributed to their loss.

Episode 3: Unhappy Campers

Task 3

• Airdate: March 20, 2011
• Task scope: The celebrities must create an outdoor camping experience.
• Task sponsor: Camping World
• Backbone project manager: Gary Busey
• A.S.A.P. project manager: Niki Taylor
• Result: The men selected the two bigger tour buses, while the women picked two RVs that were more family oriented.
• Judges: Donald Trump; Ivanka Trump; Donald Trump, Jr.
• Winning team: Backbone
  • Reasons for win: Even though their interiors paled in comparison to A.S.A.P.'s, they had dynamic exteriors, along with team members such as John Rich (who sang a song) and Jose Canseco (who tossed around a baseball with onlookers) contributing to the presentation. Overall, they showcased the company's image and a more outdoor camping experience better than A.S.A.P. did.
• Losing team: A.S.A.P.
  • Reasons for loss: Despite terrific interiors for the campers, their exteriors were bland due to an absence of greenery and signage.
  • Sent to boardroom: No final boardroom - Niki humbly took responsibility for her team's loss, saying that all the other girls worked very hard and did an amazing job. She said she couldn't blame anyone else, even though she didn't get along with Dionne. Trump admired Niki's integrity, but fired her on the spot.
  • Fired: Niki Taylor - for losing the task as project manager and taking total accountability for her team's failure.
• Notes:
  • Gary Busey and Lil Jon butted heads throughout the entire episode and even though Lil Jon said he respected Gary as an actor, he thought Gary was not a good project manager.
  • A.S.A.P.'s loss could have been influenced by the fact that the clients felt aimless on their tour of the women's 21st century themed RVs, while the men had made a more genuine camping feel to their buses.
  • Gary acknowledged that he had help from Marlee Matlin on getting hearing aids, after struggling with hearing in the past. Trump claimed he was proud of Gary, even though he strongly insinuated that Gary would be fired if the men had lost.
  • Although Marlee had wished for Niki Taylor to defend her place in the competition, she called her a class act for taking responsibility for the loss, as opposed to throwing her teammates under the bus.

Episode 4: Off the Hook

Task 4

• Airdate: March 27, 2011
• Task scope: To produce a commercial for ACN's new video phone the 'IRIS 5000'.
• Task sponsor: ACN Inc.
• Backbone project manager: Lil Jon
• A.S.A.P. project manager: NeNe Leakes
• Judges: Donald Trump; Ivanka Trump; Donald Trump, Jr.
• Winning team: Backbone
  • Reasons for win: The men earned 53% of the vote of the ACN Representatives.
• Losing team: A.S.A.P.
  • Reasons for loss: They had earned only 47% of the vote of the ACN Representatives, losing by a 6% deficit.
  • Sent to boardroom: No final boardroom - Trump immediately fired Dionne after he deemed it was "too late" to defend herself.
  • Fired: Dionne Warwick - for implicating herself in the boardroom, saying that she would fire herself and hinting to Trump that he should, which insulted him (he believed Dionne was challenging him).
• Notes:
  • After she was fired, Dionne Warwick called NeNe Leakes a coward once she left the boardroom, which resulted in a very heated argument right before Dionne left Trump Tower.
  • La Toya Jackson had problems with her eyesight in this particular episode, due to a laser eye surgery prior to the show.

Episode 5: The Art of the Deal

Task 5

• Airdate: April 3, 2011
• Task scope: Celebrities must create their own work(s) of art and sell them for charity.
• Backbone project manager: John Rich
• A.S.A.P. project manager: Marlee Matlin
• Judges: Donald Trump; George H. Ross; Donald Trump, Jr.
• Winning team: A.S.A.P
  • Reasons for win: Despite setting up the gallery 5 minutes prior to opening, the team raised a total of $986,000.
• Losing team: Backbone
  • Reasons for loss: They raised over $626,000, but ended up losing by $360,000.
  • Sent to boardroom: No final boardroom - Trump had even let the women's team stay during the internal review and advise Trump on whom to fire.
  • Fired: Richard Hatch - for being unable to raise any money over his teammates.
• Notes:
  • Jose Canseco had to withdraw from the show when his father was battling cancer. Before he left, Trump gave $25,000 to his charity.
  • This was the third time on The Apprentice that a male celebrity decided to leave the show on the fifth episode. The first being Vincent Pastore on Season 7, and the second being Michael Johnson on Season 9.
  • Meat Loaf had a near-violent encounter with Gary Busey. He believed Gary had stolen his art supplies, which were later found in a bag on the floor. Meat Loaf eventually apologized to Busey who accepted his apology.
  • Before announcing the results, Mr. Trump allowed both John Rich and Marlee Matlin to decide if they wanted to let their competitor keep their actual earnings from the task, regardless of the result (an Apprentice first); both project managers agreed.
  • This is the first task in Apprentice history where Mr. Trump kept the winning team in the Boardroom and allowed them to advise him on the firing.
  • Trump asked the women if they wanted to save the men from undergoing the firing process since both teams raised so much money. The women declined the offer, since they had lost three weeks in a row and were down one member. Trump then said that he wouldn't even have considered firing anyone had they all performed well, but since one of the men (Richard Hatch) had turned in an exceptionally poor performance, a firing did take place.
  • Over one million dollars was raised in this task alone, which is more than has been raised on any season in the show's history.
  • Because Marlee let John Rich keep the $626,000 that he raised, Trump decided to level Marlee's earnings to an even 1 million dollars, instantly giving her the record for the most amount of money ever raised by a single candidate. The previous record holder had been Piers Morgan, who raised $754,000 in the first Celebrity Apprentice. This also made Marlee the first person to ever earn a million dollars on the show.
  • La Toya Jackson won the "best hat" competition, which earned her $25,000 for her charity. Her hat was dedicated to her brother, Michael.
  • John Rich made an Apprentice record by raising the most money from a single transaction by selling his guitar for $470,000. His team's defeat would have been far worse had it not been for this sale, because it accounted for three quarters of the men's overall revenue.
  • This was the third consecutive week with no final boardroom.
  • Two-Foot Fred of the MusikMafia makes an appearance.
  • Trace Adkins makes a $5,000 donation to John Rich's team via his wife

Episode 6: Australian Gold

Task 6

• Airdate: April 10, 2011
• Task scope: The celebrities must create a promotional experience for Australian Gold suntan lotion
• Task sponsor: Australian Gold
• Backbone project manager: Mark McGrath
• A.S.A.P. project manager: La Toya Jackson
• Judges: Donald Trump; Ivanka Trump; Donald Trump, Jr.
• Winning team: A.S.A.P.
  • Reasons for win: Even though the executives thought the team did not utilize their team as well as they could have, specifically not having Hope Dworaczyk as their model, which would better promote the product and draw a larger crowd, they liked the integration of different sports and seasonal themes, along with the company theme ("live the gold life") and their live mascot, Sydney the Koala.
• Losing team: Backbone
  • Reasons for loss: Despite liking a song that the men created, and the draw of crowds to their booth, the executives felt that the main theme of the company were not brand messaging enough, and they disliked their themes of pirate and treasure which they didn't want in the executive meeting. Also, they disliked the fact that Gary Busey offered to be a pitchman for the company when they visited the booth which they felt was inappropriate.
  • Sent to Boardroom: Mark McGrath, Gary Busey
  • Fired: Mark McGrath - for taking full responsibility for the pirate concept, which primarily caused the team to lose. Although the team unanimously felt that Gary should be fired, Mark could not defend himself enough to reverse his actions which ultimately caused him to be fired.
• Notes:
  • During Backbone's discussion with the Australian Gold executives, Gary Busey commented that the product "gives you a sexual feeling", and his teammates felt the comment was inappropriate. They brought the matter up to Trump in the boardroom as a reason to eliminate Gary.

Episode 7: Raising the Steaks

Task 7

• Airdate: April 17, 2011
• Task scope: The celebrities must create a 20-minute live cooking demonstration for Omaha Steaks. They were additionally tasked with creating and naming an original Omaha Steaks variety pack.
• Task sponsor: Omaha Steaks
• Backbone project manager: Gary Busey
• A.S.A.P. project manager: Hope Dworaczyk
• Judges: Donald Trump; Ivanka Trump; Donald Trump, Jr.
• Winning team: A.S.A.P
• Reasons for win: The executives felt the women's presentation was more cohesive and that their "Poker Night" variety pack was well done.
• Losing Team: Backbone
  • Reason for loss: The executives much preferred the women's presentation, and they felt that Gary's stories had been rambling and occasionally incomprehensible. The executive also felt that their "Variety Pack" lacked focus, and they didn't like having audience members come up to actually eat the meals.
  • Fired: Gary Busey – for his lackluster performance as a team leader and his inability to function well with his team members.
• Notes:
  • Meat Loaf was praised for his part in Backbone's presentation.
  • When LaToya Jackson's hamburger caught fire on the grill, NeNe characterized the incident as LaToya "doing a Michael Jackson" (likely referring to the 1984 incident when the late singer's hair caught on fire while filming a commercial for Pepsi).

Episode 8: Bitter Suites

Task 8

• Airdate: April 24, 2011
• Task scope: The teams must create a four-page pictorial and an advertising campaign for the Trump Hotel Collection.
• Task sponsor: Trump Hotel
• Backbone project manager: John Rich
• A.S.A.P. project manager: Star Jones
• Judges: Donald Trump; Eric Trump; Donald Trump, Jr.
• Dramatic tension: The executives from the Trump Hotel Collection disliked both pictorials and their ad campaigns. They felt both teams did a mediocre job and didn't think there was a winner amongst both teams. It was up to Trump's decision as to which team had "lost", and who had a better presentation and sales pitch.
• Winning team: Backbone
  • Reasons for win: Despite the fact that they had a lousy ad with various typos, Backbone had a better sales pitch and a smaller list of errors.
• Losing team: A.S.A.P.
  • Reason for loss: The judges felt that their presentation was too rehearsed and their information folder had multiple flaws with their graphics.
  • Sent to boardroom: Star Jones, La Toya Jackson, and NeNe Leakes
  • Fired: La Toya Jackson - though Trump did not feel she performed significantly better or worse on the task than the other team members, he took into account the sense among the women that La Toya was their overall weakest link and felt firing her would give A.S.A.P. a more fair chance to compete against Backbone.

Episode 9: Shear Madness

Task 9

• Airdate: May 1, 2011
• Task scope: The teams must put on a live hair show featuring products and stylists.
• Task sponsor: Farouk Hair Products
• Backbone project manager: Lil Jon
• A.S.A.P. project manager: NeNe Leakes
• Winning team:
  • Reasons for win:
• Losing team:
  • Reason for loss:
  • Sent to boardroom:
  • Fired:

US Ratings

Episode	Rating	Share	Rating/share (18-49)	Viewers (millions)	Rank (Timeslot)	Rank (Night)
1	4.9	8	2.8/7	7.93
2	5.0	8	2.8/8	8.13
3	5.1	8	2.8/8	8.17
4	5.4	9	3.0/8	8.58
5	5.2	8	3.1/8	8.65
6	5.0	8	3.0/8	8.23
7	4.7	7	2.6/7	7.66
8	4.8	8	3.0/8	8.26
9
10
11
12