Kate Gets the Gate: Celebrity Apprentice

In the second task of Celebrity Apprentice on 1/26/2015, Donald Trump asked Vortex members who they would like to grab from the other team to bring their number up to four. Leeza Gibbons and Johnny Damon were named but they got Kenya Moore, much to Brandi’s delight.

The task they were presented with was to create an interactive, themed environment for the luxurious Trump National Doral in Miami. The judging criteria: creativity, branding and overall guest experience. Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump got to pick the winner.

Ian Ziering took on the project manager role for Team Infinity, leading Brandi Glanville, Leeza Gibbons and Johnny Damon. Kate Gosselin stepped up for Vortex, leading Kenya Moore, Geraldo Rivera and Vivica Fox.

On Vortex, Kenya was equally delighted to get away from Brandi but she wasn’t happy about being sent shopping with Vivica. Geraldo talked about the course called the Blue Monster and they capitalized on that for the kids’ area as well as a signature drink. While Kate worked with the set designer, the shopping trip wasn’t going so well. They had one last stop to make when Kenya insisted they go straight back and began texting Kate with complaints. Then she called Kate to complain about Vivica right in front of Vivica. How would you react to that? Despite all the Kenya drama, Kate was pleased with the way the project came together, but Kenya thought it looked like crap compared to what she could have done.

On Infinity, Leeza suggested an experience they could touch and feel, and Johnny was all for a golf focus. He knows Tiger’s teacher but ultimately failed to deliver a golf pro. Luckily, Ian still thought it was a great idea and got a guy with a program that analyzes a guest’s golf swing. Johnny ended up giving neck massages. Ian was super-impressed with the overall effect. They even had a big sketch of Donald Trump in a book Leeza used to showcase the resort’s features. Ian got a Doral sign made out of marigolds just like the one at the resort, only he stuck it at the back of the golf area. Brandi decided to move it to a more prominent spot and that pissed Ian off. When the judges came by, Ian couldn’t tell them the size of the ballroom but Brandi saved his bacon because she had been up studying all night.

In the boardroom, Kate told Trump about their Blue Monster theme. She had to admit to the struggle between Kenya and Vivica, and Kenya pulled out the Miss USA card. You can’t win Miss USA without knowing how to manage everything. A disgusted Vivica said all Kenya ever talks is herself and it’s supposed to be a team. Then Kenya began buttering up the Trumps big time, to the point where she said they were the real first family in America!

Ian bragged about his Doral sign only to be told by Trump that it was wrong. It’s supposed to start with “Trump National.” When pressed, Ian said he thought Johnny should get fired if they lost pointing out the golf pro promise.

The teams then learned the decision of Don Jr. and Eric. Infinity nailed the resort’s luxury and was stellar on the interactive aspect. They were weak on the kids’ experience. Vortex, on the other hand, was stellar on the family and kids’ part. They loved the Blue Monster mascot so much, they would even use it at the resort. But Vortex totally failed to reflect the resort’s luxury and were weak on the interactive side. Eric explained just how awful it was that they neglected the luxury. The Trumps have sunk $250M into this resort and it is really high end. So it wasn’t even close. Vortex lost for the fourth straight time!

At the firing squad, when pressed, Kate said Vivica was a more valuable asset than Kenya. Kenya quickly retorted that she was the winning project manager when Vivica lost her task. It was a little hard for Vivica to make her points because Kenya would not shut up, but Vivica did manage to get in a few shots when Kenya bought up plastic surgery and Vivica’s face. She said Kenya was sitting over there with a “badonkadonk” and she had them boobs done and had on 7 packs of fake eyelashes.

Ultimately, Donald Trump felt it was Kate’s fault they missed the mark on luxury and Kate was fired. Stunned, Kate said never saw that coming. It didn’t make sense for her to get fired, she thought, but it really did. Even if Kenya and Vivica had not fought and came back from shopping arm-in-arm, Kate still would have lost.

Also canned:

• Sig Hansen
• Lorenzo Lamas
• Shawn Johnson
• Terrell Owens
• Jamie Anderson
• Gilbert Gottfried
• Kevin Jonas
• Keshia Knight Pulliam