Joan Rivers Wins 'Apprentice' After Bitter Battle

NEW YORK — Comedian Joan Rivers was hired and poker champ Annie Duke was fired on the final faceoff of "Celebrity Apprentice."

Rivers beat out Duke on Sunday's finale by planning a better fundraising gala _ and, maybe, by launching better zingers at her rival.

Rivers won $250,000 for her chosen charity (God's Love We Deliver, which brings meals to the seriously ill who are homebound). She also won sweet revenge against her bitter adversary, with whom she swapped many less-than-charitable words as the season wore on.

NBC's over-padded three-hour broadcast eventually led to Duke being summoned to the decisive boardroom session, aired live from Manhattan's Museum of Natural History. There, she heard the dreaded verdict from series host Donald Trump: "You're fired."

But before that, as she and Rivers sat across the boardroom table from Trump, the fur continued to fly.

"You are a two-faced person," Rivers railed at Duke. "You have said I'm a cancer. You said you hoped I would die. You never said it to my face!"

"For six boardrooms," said Duke, holding tight to her composure, "I sat here and acted professional."

"Professional-ly," Rivers corrected her.

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"And there's only so much a girl can take," Duke continued.

"You're not a girl anymore, darling," Rivers shot back. "You're a woman."

Rivers and Duke were the last of 16 celebrities who started the season vying for the title of Celebrity Apprentice.

In its eighth season, "Celebrity Apprentice" has displayed remarkable stamina as a reality-show infomercial whose mission, in the form of a contest, is to plug brand names. Last week's challenge called for the celebrity contestants to come up with the winning jingle to promote a certain brand of tuna. Sunday's finale was built around a photography brand piggybacked onto product placement for a popular theater production.

"Celebrity Apprentice" is also dedicated to breathing new life into the brands of the celebrity participants themselves, who, as this season began, included Olympic figure skating gold medalist Scott Hamilton, comedian Andrew Dice Clay, former "Monster Garage" host Jesse James and TV personality Khloe Kardashian.

For the final task, dueling project managers Rivers and Duke were assigned to create a pre-theater party and silent auction, sponsored by Kodak, for patrons attending Cirque du Soleil's "Wintuk."

Project teams were composed of previously fired contestants including former football great Herschel Walker, Playboy pinup Brande Roderick, country music performer Clint Black, former NBA basketball bad boy Dennis Rodman, comedian Tom Green and TV host Melissa Rivers, reunited with her mom, Joan.

Difficulties (and enmity between the teams) spiked when Rivers tangled with the design firm that had been hired to assist both teams. The company pulled out on Rivers' team _ and Duke's team, too.

"This woman needs to die," Duke seethed as she tried to fix a problem she blamed on Rivers.

But now that the game is over, can the rift between them heal? In the show's final seconds, Rivers rose to her feet and gave Duke, still seated beside her, a hug.

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NBC is owned by General Electric Co.

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On the Net:

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Comments

[cheryandcracker]

This is for Donald Trump...I will never watch your celebrity apprenticeprogam ever again after watching Joan Rivers disrespecting you and walking off your show. She is the rudest and most arrugant women! She should have never been picked as an apprentic, I feel you did it because of her age not for her witts. Annie Duke was way more professional in every way.

P.S. I'm am not from the poker world I'm just an average every day woman that enjoys watching t.v. at night....and your show won't be one of them! Oh and your decision on miss california was right.. cheryl

[G-guy]

I can think of nothing more embarrassing, than being reduced to a point in life,
where you would feel the need to humiliate yourself by bottoming out,
and appearing as a contestant on "Celebrity Apprentice".

What the H@ll went wrong in their lives?
Even the "Dice Man"woke up and realized "what was I thinking?"
"Fire me, please".

And I thought Joan Rivers on the "Red Carpet" was pathetic.
Now, she's totally bogus. Being judged, and winning a Trump fiasco?

[Ohsherri]

Donald Trump decided the winner by imagining who would look better topless.

[VOTER]

ROFL........................

[Ohsherri]

Dirty Donald Trump decided the winner by who would look better topless.

[newyorkjoe]

Just when you think TV can not possibly get any more vulgar... here comes Joan. Again.

[TheBrobdingnagian]

Consider:
1. Joan Rivers is on the board of directors of Gods Love We Deliver, the Celebrity Apprentice's "winning" charity. Know who else works for them? Blaine Trump, Donald's very own sister-in-law.

2. Mark Burnett, the executive producer of Celebrity Apprentice is also the executive producer of "How'd You Get So Rich," a reality show on TV Land starring Joan Rivers. The show premieres this August.

And people wonder why she won the Celebrity Apprentice...... It's all about the money, people. The show was rigged.

I have to say I'm most appalled that BOTH Joan and Donald had the gall to imply that Annie has Mafia ties on national television. They're the biggest crooks in town.

[newyorkjoe]

Rigged? Ya think?

Everything we see on TV is rigged and a lie very carefully calibrated to keep you tuned in from one commercial to the next. Everything. Bar none. Take it from me. I'm a television producer. I make the stuff.

[TheBrobdingnagian]

You say that like it's something to be proud of. I'm in film and television myself, and let me assure you: I understand how these things work. That doesn't mean I don't think it's disgusting.

[fanifesu]

I'm happy Joan won, but if what you say is true then the show is truly rigged.

[Dannydel]

It doesn't matter that Joan was once a headlining comedian, it's what she and her freakish daughter have mutated into that I'll remember. Aside from looking like a physical abomination (mother AND daughter), she came across like a spiteful, poisonous fishwife. If this is what american television has come to, blow it up and start over.

[Diana]

Well said. You're right on target!

I think, actually, that Joan winning was probably contractual. Really find it hard to believe anything the exhaulted donald does is honest and above-board. And stop the man 'Mr. Trump.'

Time to demystify businessmen--they're ruining america and the donald is sure part of the degradation.

[111]

I've been reading some of the comments posted here and on Annie's website and I am struck by this all being like a schoolyard fight. Neither woman showed her best in this competition.

Joan was over emotional and said terrible things about Annie.

Annie was unemotional and she said terrible things about Joan.

While I thought Joan was inappropriate and annoying at times, I found Annie calculating and conniving and generally unpleasant to watch. She reads people, she plays them and never shows herself to other people.

I got the impression that she really thinks she has friends but it seemed to me that what these professional gamblers were doing was playing her for some unknown benefit to themselves. Money donations mean little in terms of measuring friendship. Afterall, when someone has millions, what's a hundred thousand dollar donation that will be written off at tax time?

There are posts about Joan Rivers going on Larry King blah, blah, blah ... Well Annie had a few things to say on her own website and the Poker world is awash in Joan and Melissa hate and Annie is wonderful love.

I really grew to dislike Annie because she is so calculating and hateful. She should have been on Dynasty.

[Jesse rogers]

And when did Annie say terrible things abt Joan??

After Joan's vile behavior caused the Party Planner to quit.


Don't think Joan was the cause??

I re-post another bloggers post:

Today on "the View", BW said she had the Party Planner on her radio show last night and he called you "a monster." He said he had being doing Party Planning for 23 years and he had never been treated like you treated him in all that time. He said he wld never work with you ever again.

[1sparrow]

joan is a living legend... i remember her breaking up carson to bits. you must give value to humor. i know joan has had enough grief to balance the humor... humor won... it's a beautiful thing.

[Jesse rogers]

She was horrendous and did herself harm.

[VOTER]

Carson, also, wouldn't hire her and ended up not liking her, at all.

Don't you remember how vicious Joan was she didn't get Carson's
show?
She was a vicious self-serving B i - c h.
At 75, she is only older but still the same B i - c h with one difference,
she has her tag along and do nothing daughter to do her bidding.

[petphotos]

I agree. Never could stand her. I didn't blame Johnny at all for blowing her off. I don't watch Trump's crap either.

[fanifesu]

I agree wholeheartedly. I think Joan is terrific, she's a character, and even if somebody does not like her for her abrasive nature, Annie Duke is no saint.

[111]

Joan won three out of five criteria - she beat Annie.

The shows are so heavily edited it is hard to know what really happened between Joan and the planner, David Tutera. I've seen a few episodes of his show, "My Fair Wedding" and he does nice work.

It sounded like he had his own ideas of what should be done for Joan's fund raiser and he did not seem to have available some of the things she asked for, e.g. she could only have red drapes if the editing is to be believed.
Joan had other ideas which he did not seem to be willing to entertain. His website states that Joan was more concerned about integrating her corporate sponsor into the decor than she was about benefiting her charity. http://www.davidtutera.com/ He may know how to do a wedding but Joan does know how to run a charity event.

Regardless, his problems seemed to be with Joan and not with Annie. We don't know if there were other circumstances that led to his not working with Annie but a true professional would have contacted Annie and told her that he could not / would not honor their agreement and he was not at liberty to discuss the reasons why.

Unfortunately, Annie seized upon his childish behavior and added her own.

[trinity29]

I agree with you. Besides, I am not sure that I am buying the idea that Joan did not care about her charity at all when she seemed to be able to get her charity to come and help her out in the last minute. If Joan was just a corporate hack without a heart then the charity people would not have come and helped out in one phone call if the editing is to be believed again. On the advertisement for the charity, Joan showed one of the tiles she had in her charity of her best friend who died of AIDS. I think Joan had a personal connection with her charity and David is also not telling the whole truth about the circumstances that made him quit.

Having said that, no matter what happened between Joan and David, I cannot see why he didn't want to work with Annie. And even if he didn't want to work with Annie for whatever reasons, he should have been professional enough to have contacted her to let her know of this decision when she was counting on him. The fact that he did not contact Annie is undisputed despite the heavy editing. On that basis alone, I find his story suspicious.

[quietreader]

Joan Rivers comedy acts definitely do not give Joan Rivers any room to criticize other for their lack of social graces!

Those Joan and Melissa Rivers do not seem like mentally healthy women.

Annie Duke was way too nice to them both.

[Simon Templer]

Oh, Joan! You called Annie a l!-ar for saying that the Party Planner quit over you.
Repeatedly called her a l!-ar.

Ha.Ha.Ha Joanie. You hve now been outed as the l!-ar.

Today on "the View", BW said she had the Party Planner on her radio show last night and he called you "a monster." He said he had being doing Party Planning for 23 years and he had never been treated like you treated him in all that time. He said he wld never work with you ever again.

And then BW had you on the phone to respond and all you did was spew your hate and bile again.

What a loser you and your daughter are.

[trinity29]

Given that none of us have any direct information to what happened with the event planner I find it surprising how certain people are as to what happened. The show revealed that the event planner was overwhelmed and could not meet Joan's needs. The conversation they showed was not that insulting to the event planner, although I am sure there may have been more said than what was aired. What prompted the event planner to quit the entire show is unclear.

But if one client insults you and you quit the other client, I think that is unprofessional, especially since you didn't even inform the second client that you are not working with them until they came to your office. I don't doubt that Joan can indeed be rough and harsh on people or could insult people. But they did have an obligation to Annie's team and if they chose to quit, they should have informed her earlier instead of letting her find out on her own. That to me is completely unprofessional behavior and therefore anything they said about Joan Rivers reduces in credibility and worth.

[trinity29]

I don't think either of these women were nice to each other and they both said pretty mean things about/to each other. Joan said it openly, while Annie, informed by some game theory principle or whatever chose to do it outside of the boardroom for the most part. Tom Green was right that Annie did let Joan get under her skin. So what if Joan called her friends white trash or mafia. That didn't make them so if they aren't so in the first place. That's actually a pretty lame insult that kids in the playground could use. If Annie was such an expert on Game Theory, then she should not have been insulted, or demonstrated how she let Joan's words get to her. Her game went down when she concentrated on Joan and not on the game.

What Annie underestimated was that Joan has been in the entertainment business for eons. She understands what is good TV, what gets ratings, and how she can maximize her air time. Game theory without the understanding of Joan's skills in using the media was where Annie came up short. What the viewer saw was Annie saying behind Joan's back that she wished she would die and Joan saying to Annie's face that you are two-faced, or like Hitler, but justifying such insults by saying hey I said it to your face, didn't I? That kind of strategizing really hurt Annie and she should have said what she wanted to earlier.

[Lucille]

I've not been a fan of Joan Rivers for long time, however, I did find myself routing for her to win as I think, surprisingly, Joan was much more of a real person on this show, while Annie Duke was a complete fake and would be a nightmare to work with. Congratulations Joan!