Highlights
- Donald Trump was criticized for outing a gay contestant on The Apprentice and making homophobic comments.
- Trump displayed double standards and had issues with female contestants on the show.
- Contestants and crew faced Trump’s racist remarks on The Apprentice.
Donald Trump has never been one to mince words. This characteristic was one that worked well for network television when Trump was on The Apprentice. While entertaining, there were times that some felt that Trump crossed the line, including when Trump violated the golden rule of TV. One time in particular was when Trump outed a gay Apprentice contestant out of the blue.
When the show aired decades ago, no one thought anything of it. But after late-night talk show clips of the segment have resurfaced, it is clear that Trump’s words did not age well. As such, we will discuss how Donald Trump got called out for outing a gay Apprentice contestant during an interview with Conan O’Brien. Then the way females on the show were treated will be looked at, followed by derogatory comments Trump made on The Apprentice as well.
Donald Trump Outed Clay Lee As “Homosexual” On The Apprentice
Part of why viewers tuned into The Apprentice every week was to marvel at Trump’s behavior. Many initially thought that Trump’s over-the-top bravado was an act. However, the way he acted on the competition reality show was how Trump acted in both the business world and when being interviewed on both morning and late-night television shows.
During a visit to Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Trump was full of stories to tell. When the topic of conversation moved to The Apprentice, there was one particular scene that O’Brien wanted to focus on, which was where Trump outed contestant, Clay Lee as gay. There was no build up to the question. It was surprising, direct, and to the point.
“Are you a homosexual, Clay?”
Lee answered that he was.
Instead of letting the subject drop, Trump went on to make certain that Lee did not find any of the female contestants attractive. While Lee said that they were “beautiful women” but ultimate were not Lee’s “thing.”
Perhaps in a way to show that Trump was okay with there being a gay contestant on the show, he made a comment that compared choosing a partner to choosing an item on the menu at a restaurant.
“I like steak, somebody else likes spaghetti and that’s why they have menus in restaurants.”
As the clip ends, it comes back to Trump looking happy with himself. O’Brien tries to navigate the conversation to make it lighthearted, versus how Jimmy Kimmel bashed Trump to his face on Jimmy Kimmel Live, while calling out Trump for how he handled the situation.
“Are you a homosexual?” O’Brien says, imitating Trump.
Trump went on to explain that producers wanted to know if he wanted that segment taken out and he said he did not.
“I don’t think we’re allowed to shout that at people or coworkers,” O’Brien said.
Even the comments from the YouTube clip of Late Night were not all flattering of Trump, calling him out for how he behaved as well.
“What he said was an absolute disapproving insult about homosexuality.”
The critic went on to say, “Equating it to eating off a menu is his way of saying he’s against it and doesn’t understand.”
Another critic questioned if Trump could be considered “pro-LGBT” if he was calling out a contestant for being gay during a “tense interrogation-style scene.”
The UK version of The Apprentice, which Trump is not a part of, has also had contestants outed while on the show. The results of doing so have been disastrous for the contestants. Fortunately, Trump calling out Lee did not include the press coming after him or his parents finding out on national television that he was gay like the UK contestants.
But with that said, Trump has had plenty of other issues revealed that happened on set and behind the scenes during his time on The Apprentice and not surprisingly, they are not flattering of the former president.
Donald Trump Had Double Standards And Inappropriate Interactions With Female Contestants On The Apprentice
Over the last several years, the way that Trump has treated women has come to light. The most notable women to date have been Stormy Daniels with her hush money trial and E Jean Carroll with the assault and abuse trial, who sued Trump and won for his actions and behavior.
But, there was a history of inappropriate behavior that preceded that, some of which occurred on The Apprentice, as has been documented by the AP and Slate as reported by Vox.
Some of the comments made by Trump during his time on The Apprentice that were offensive to women, per the publications, include:
| Woman Targeted |
Comment Made By Trump |
Publication That Reported Incident |
| Female contestants at large |
Trump would talk to crew about women he would like to sleep with |
AP |
| Female contestants at large |
Trump would not know names but would describe by chest size |
AP |
| Female camera operator |
Trump compared her to Ivanka Trump and asked her to do a twirl |
AP |
| Female contestant |
Trump mentioned her chest looked bigger when cast and blamed her cycle for the difference in size |
Slate |
Trump was also described as having issues if women acted in the manner that he did when on The Apprentice. While it was fine for women to be in powerful roles, according to former contestant, Nicole Chiu-Wang, Trump expected them to “act in a way a woman should.” When women deviated from the role that Trump thought they should, that is when problems would start.
“And that’s when he gets into trouble, when a woman acts the way he does — somehow it’s acceptable for him but not acceptable for a woman.”
With the inappropriate comments that Trump made in addition to the double standards that he had, things became difficult for those who were working behind the scenes and those who were contestants on The Apprentice. But, there was even more controversy behind the scenes of The Apprentice, which led to reports of Trump making racist comments as well.
The contestants and crew who worked on The Apprentice had to sign non-disclosure agreements to participate. As such, many wonder if Trump has been able to get away with everything from homophobic comments to harassment, and disrespectful comments as a result.
In June 2024, Gene Folkes came forward about his time on The Apprentice in 2010. During the season he was on, Folkes found himself on the receiving end of Trump’s catchphrase, “You’re fired.”
While Folkes did not want to be fired, that was not why he came forward to tell his story. Instead, it was because of the comments that Trump made not only during the boardroom meeting but after the show was done filming as well.
Folkes was one of two Black contestants chosen to be on The Apprentice during his season. When he was being fired, according to Folkes, Trump stated that Folkes was “illiterate and inarticulate.”
As Folkes was sitting at a bar with a crew member, Trump came in and wanted to know if the two were a couple because they were both “of the same background.”
The crew member reminded Trump that she worked for him, and that was when, according to Folkes that Trump used a derogatory word, the same of which he used in the boardroom when Folkes was being fired.
“He said again, ‘It’s not like I used the N-word,’ and then he walked off, and that was that.”
Trump has denied that he ever spoke this way via his spokespeople. He also denied another recent report bu the AP that he used a racist and derogatory comment about Season One contestant, Kwame Jackson. Jackson has not spoken out about the racial slur that was allegedly said.
There were clearly issues going on behind the scenes of The Apprentice that some contestants and crew alike experienced. With NDAs in place during the season and for years after it ended, it is only now that stories about what occurred is coming out. Whether these are the only contestants who had these experiences or if there are more, remains to be seen.