WTF Lorenzo? – Celebrity Apprentice

The second task on January 19th on Celebrity Apprentice involved making a viral video for Chock Full o’ Nuts Coffee. The video was supposed to focus on the coffee prince’s new single serve coffees. (Well? Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group is the king that owns the brand). The key factors the teams were being judged on were creativity, brand messaging and ultimate entertainment value with $40K going to the winner’s charity.

Team Infinity won the last task so their membership remained intact. Leeza Gibbons took over the project manager role for this Chock Full o’ Nuts assignment. The rest of her team: Kenya Moore (who headed up the last task), Ian Ziering, Johnny Damon and Brandi Glanville.

Director man Lorenzo Lamas took the project manager role on Team Vortex, admitting that he has never directed a video. After losing Shawn Johnson, Vortex was left with Vivica Fox (losing manager of the last task), Kate Gosselin, Sig Hansen and Geraldo Rivera.

Geraldo came to their war room singing the well-known Chock Full o’ Nuts song and Lorenzo decided then and there it would be in their video. Geraldo laid out a whole “it’s not your mother’s coffee anymore” concept, starting from black and white and bringing it up to the present time, making the song hip hop. Lorenzo hopped on the idea and decided to make Geraldo the star. And we were like, WTF, Lorenzo? Do you really think you’re going to win by dressing Geraldo up in a tux with a top hat and cane? He’ll look like the monopoly man– Rich Uncle Pennybags! Geraldo said that Lorenzo knew he was born to play this role. And he was sure the company would be thrilled. “I’ve been offered a lot of money for this kind of endorsement that I gave Chock Full o’ Nuts for free.” Lorenzo did find Geraldo to be a little challenged in the rhythm department “for a Latin.” Kate played Geraldo’s wife in the black and white segment and Vivica gave her some flack over how long getting her hair done was taking. In the color segment, the ladies danced around Geraldo in Washington Square Park with Sig and Lorenzo getting the footage.

Over on Team Infinity, Ian Ziering came up with a black and white start too, only his involved King Kong hanging off the Empire State Building. And we were like, well, if they go with that, maybe Lorenzo’s got a shot after all. Fortunately for them, that idea was overruled in favor of a video showing Kenya and Brandi in a catfight over a taxi while Ian and Johnny watch from a Chock Full o’Nuts coffee truck and have a fantasy that they are in bed drinking coffee with the two ladies. Liza did have a few qualms about the provocative factor. Mortal enemies, Kenya and Brandi put their differences aside in the best interest of the team. Oh, the sacrifice of it all.

After Brian, the Chock Full o’ Nuts executive, watched the videos with the Trump kiddies, Eric and Ivanka, the teams met in the boardroom to learn the outcome. Donald Trump professed a lot of disbelief when Kenya retaliated against Brandi bringing up her personal life. Big sport Kenya shared that she has never stooped to such tactics or she would have thrown it up in Brandi’s face that her husband left her for Leann Rimes, a younger and prettier woman. Ouch, Kenya! But Donald loved it and was still talking about it even after the firing.

Oh yes, Team Vortex lost again. The executives were happy with their focus on the product but they felt that the video was more like a commercial and that Vortex had “played it safe.”

Infinity’s video, on the other hand, was very creative and entertaining, even if it did push the envelope a bit. They thought it had the bigger capacity of going viral just because of that. So the prize money went to Leeza Gibbons’s charity, Leeza’s Care Connection

Lorenzo just could not bring himself to name two people to bring back to the boardroom. And once again, we were like, WTF, Lorenzo? Throw Sig and Uncle Pennybags under the bus! But no, Lorenzo fell on his sword and he was out the door as quick as Trump could say, “Lorenzo, you’re fired!”

Lorenzo Lamas and Shawn Johnson appeared on the Wendy Williams Show today to discuss their Celebrity Apprentice experiences, as well as the cause of Lorenzo’s 2-year rift with his son, A.J. Lorenzo has a fuller beard now than when the show was taped. Shawn is still saying she’s only 22. Actually, the show aired on her 23rd birthday! Happy Birthday, Shawn! How cool is it to get fired on national TV on your birthday? And, no kidding, today is Lorenzo’s 57th birthday. Happy birthday, Lorenzo!

Previous pink slips:

• Shawn Johnson
• Terrell Owens
• Jamie Anderson
• Gilbert Gottfried
• Kevin Jonas
• Keshia Knight Pulliam