My Final Celebrity Apprentice Blog
Well, I have spent the last couple of days trying to figure out what I was going to say about the finale. But it turns out that you all have said it so much better than I ever could through the outpouring of comments on this website. Pretty much every thought in my head has been said with amazing passion and eloquence by all of you and I would never try to top that. Thank you! The only thing I can really add to what you have already said is that I wish Trump had polled more of the contestants who had made it very deep in the competition, like Jesse, about who they would pick as the winner.
My biggest regret about the finale is that the show never actually showed my whole space during the charity auction. When Trump delivered the task to us I understood we were doing a high end auction to raise money for charity, in my case Refugees International. To that end, I integrated the charity into my decor so that about 60% of the decor was devoted to that. When my guests walked in the room not only did they have no doubt what charity they were donating too but they also could educate themselves about RI though the videos, pamphlets and posters around the room. This was a high priority for me in producing the event and I won the charity integration part of the challenge with practically no contest. I think they made the choice not to show the whole room because the show tried to paint me as the black hat in the competition. I regret that the wide shot of my space didn’t make the edit because I believe the images of refugees throughout the space would have been a powerful platform for RI and I think that was a huge lost opportunity for them.
With the help of Elaine Martyn and Ken Bacon from RI, I created these 3 by 5 foot double sided poster boards that hung from the ceiling in the room and they never really showed this on TV. I was really proud of those boards and happy to find out last week that Elaine and Ken had rescued them after the auction (the contestants were shooed out). When I went to the Italian Embassy in DC last week for the Refugees International 30th anniversary gala, those boards were hanging from the ceiling as part of the decor of the event! I was stunned and completely taken aback.
I also had the video of Darfuri refugees playing on many of the Kodak frames placed throughout the room. I am hoping that anyone who cares enough to read this blog will watch this video so you can see why I am so passionate about the refugee issue.
I also want to thank everyone who came out and donated over the course of the show. Erik Seidel, Shelly Maxwell, Scott Ian, Andy Bloch, Perry Friedman, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Ray Bitar, Beth Shak, John Hennigan, Nick Schulman, Erik Brooks, Rafe Furst, Kim Scheinberg, Mori Eskandani, Todd Rubenstein, John Moonves, Cliff Josephy, Mark Kron, Mike Murray, Tracy Scala and the inimitable Phil Hellmuth. (If I left anyone out I really apologize). Just as important as donations are the people who helped me out during the show to put the event together. Tony Luisi, Yshai Simkhai, Sara Csillag and Mark Birnbaum deserve a HUGE thank you for coming to the rescue when disaster struck.
I also want to thank the people who generously donated some incredible auction items for the finale so that my donors would have some cool stuff to buy: Matt Damon, Ray Romano, Brad Garrett, Hulk Hogan, Pamela Anderson, Perez Hilton, Thomas Lennon, Natalie Gulbis, Judith Ripka, Arik Kissling, Mark Birnbaum (again!), Sen. Al D’Amato, Rep. Robert Wexler and Herschel Walker. Auction items were a judging criteria that didn’t get discussed in the finale so these guys never got their due. Thank you!
My Apprentice experience was almost completely a positive one. During the course of the show I, with the help of the poker community, raised over $700K for amazing charities. I made some incredible friends, not just with some of the other contestants (Brande, Herschel, Jesse and Natalie) but also with some of the producers who worked tirelessly putting up with me for weeks on end! I think, most importantly though, my faith in the poker community, my second family, was completely affirmed. This community stepped up in such a huge and selfless and giving way. Poker players deserve the biggest shout out of all.
In reference @TheBongShow: Leave Jesse James out of this. Ms. Duke did a fine job raising money for her charity but she was REALLY lucky that drew the task that allowed her to RAISE money for her charity. The majority of the tasks INCLUDING the one that TheBongShow referred to about Jesse James only gave $20,000 to the winning teams charity. Numerous Apprentice blogs commented about the fact it was unfair that some tasks allowed this and others didn’t before the final challenge. It gave some contestants (Ms. Duke for example) a truly unfair advantage.
InnerJuju writes: “In reference @TheBongShow: Leave Jesse James out of this.”
Then why are you bringing it back up? lol
InnerJuju writes: “Ms. Duke did a fine job raising money for her charity but she was REALLY lucky that drew the task that allowed her to RAISE money for her charity. The majority of the tasks INCLUDING the one that TheBongShow referred to about Jesse James only gave $20,000 to the winning teams charity. Numerous Apprentice blogs commented about the fact it was unfair that some tasks allowed this and others didn’t before the final challenge. It gave some contestants (Ms. Duke for example) a truly unfair advantage.”
Spare me (and the rest of us) from listening to this pathetically naive and weak argument. First and foremost, nothing stopped anyone from raising their hands, taking ownership and wanting to be project manager. Jesse was project manager ONE TIME and that was toward the end of the show in week #9… and that was because he was practically forced to do so since EVERYONE else left on the show had already been PM at least once.
Secondly, it is BLATANTLY obvious to anyone who watched the show that Jesse (while certainly business competent) had no desire to give his full effort to raise money for charity. Do you get it… well obviously not so I’ll spell it out for you: It is for C-H-A-R-I-T-Y.
How exactly is it that people like Herschel, Annie, Brande, etc were able to raise money for OTHER people’s charity’s, but Jesse did basically nothing? Do you get it yet? They are raising money for CHARITY! Jesse’s charity certainly wasn’t the only worthy charity on the show.
Now why don’t you stop and realize that Jesse’s net worth is greater than Annie and Brande’s COMBINED! In fact, he “might” be worth more than Annie, Brande, Herschel and Rodman combined. Yet Jesse couldn’t raise money for charity?
So yes, Annie had a “truly unfair advantage” over a guy that is worth 1/10 of a billion dollars. Seriously… great argument. LMAO
***
I missed the finale of apprentice but just caught a rerun…I was in SHOCK that you did not win. You were very professional and composed when you were being ambushed by Joan. It was obvious Trump had is mind made up Joan was the winner before hand. If it was based on money raised and tasks won there was no question you were the clear winner.
The people who complained about Annie were the ones who weren’t able to fight her. She is intimidating, but she’s still a great team player. You just need to speak up when you want to say something instead of passive-aggressively whining about it when you don’t get your way. The weak can’t fight the strong, so they belittle the strong. Pathetic. Annie was robbed!
AND!!! Did anyone notice during the auction for Joan’s team, no one was going to bid on the second item, but ANNIE’s FRIEND showed some mercy and bid on Joan’s item! Then later, Joan trashes Annie’s friends.
I would rather hang out with Annie over Joan any day. You know what you’re getting with Annie. You know she’s aggressive and intelligent. But Joan pretends to be one thing and behind your back she will do something else. Annie plays smart. Joan plays dirty.
What a bunch of crap. Annie doesn’t even want to acknowledge the fact that there were an equal amount of viewers (I suspect greater) that despised her and wanted nothing more than for the fabulous JOAN RIVERS to get her deserving win. Joan was on QVC the very next day selling her boardroom collection and the outpouring of support was there for her as well. It is obvious that Annie will never learn the lesson that she needs to learn from this experience………people don’t like her because she is a two-faced manipulative bitch that people DON’T warm up to. If you had learned that then this experience would have been a learning lesson for you and not just a way to make money for your charity………which frankly……what the hell, that charity is obviously a black hole of red tape and beaurocracy.
Yes…the very next day Joan Rivers was using her Celebrity Apprentice experience on QVC to make money for herself by hawking her jewelry. I was in Boston the very next day raising $550K for Childrens Hospital of Boston. If the only part of the experience I came away with was a way to make more money for the charities that I believe in then I would be truly proud that I was able to leverage whatever light shines on me to shine it on those causes.
although this is a late response, I just discovered your website and have to let you know that I, like so many others, will never think of Joan Rivers the same way. I commend you for looking pass her horrific comments and for holding your head so high. I have the upmost respect for you and personally I will never watch CA again as I have lost a great deal of respect for Mr. Trump! Hats off to you Annie, your the winner for the majority of people!
Cry me a river, Boo Hoo for you. Get a grip, your foul mouth was annoying, don’t you have any other words in your vocabulary? I have never heard so many bleeps as when you opened your mouth.
Did you watch all the clips where your “pal” Brandie said you talked to much? I can’t believe during that cooking segment you bragged about blow jobs on national television, what a slutty thing to do. Don’t you care about how that comment affects your kids? All you did was brag away the entire season about how wonderful you were – only insecure people have to beat you over the head with how wonderful they are.
Branding of your charity was NOT the only criteria for winning and you clearly blew it on product integration. Joan did a terrific job on that part of the task and Kodak was very pleased with how well she translated that into her space.
You came across like a foul mouthed bitch the entire season. So stick to what you do best and move on, the show is over and you lost and didn’t even have the good grace to attend the party afterwards. Talk about a sore looser!
**Scott writes: “Get a grip, your foul mouth was annoying, don’t you have any other words in your vocabulary? I have never heard so many bleeps as when you opened your mouth.”
Apparently you haven’t seen Dennis Rodman, Andrew Dice Clay, Tom Green, etc.
**Scott writes: “I can’t believe during that cooking segment you bragged about blow jobs on national television, what a slutty thing to do.”
I can’t believe that you are so sexually repressed. Next time your boyfriend/wife gives you a blow job, make sure to call him/her a slut.
It is because of people like you why this country is so behind the curve when it comes to talking openly about sex. People in this country still see sex as “dirty” when in fact it is a natural part of the human existence. In places like Europe, sex is shown on “regular” television channels during the middle of the day and yet the children that watch it there “magically” seem to adjust fine.
In Alaska, the governor preaches abstinence as the best means of talking to teens, especially since it worked out so well with her own daughter. God forbid that we actually openly talk about sex with the youth of this country and EDUCATE them about reality.
The United States which brags about “equality” for all is still so sexually repressed that we can’t even allow women to go topless at the beach. It is fine for a man to show his breasts, but not for a woman. That isn’t equality, but rather discrimination based on fear and ignorance. And it certainly isn’t a size issue since many fat men on the beach have much bigger breasts than some smaller endowed women.
**Scott writes: “Branding of your charity was NOT the only criteria for winning and you clearly blew it on product integration. Joan did a terrific job on that part of the task and Kodak was very pleased with how well she translated that into her space.”
If you are being unbiased, you’d realize that the show clearly didn’t show an adequate amount of visual detail to the viewers in regard to who accomplished what with the final criteria. We learned most of the information based on second hand communication. The fact that this detail was hidden visually from the viewers could be seen as an indicator that it wasn’t necessarily one sided. To the best of my recollection, in all of the past seasons of The Apprentice, the final task criteria was shown in far greater detail to the audience.
**Scott writes: “You came across like a foul mouthed bitch the entire season.”
And Melissa and Joan came across as Mother Teresa. That “foul mouthed bitch” raised the most money for charity out of any of the 30 Celebrity Apprentice contestants. That’s pretty amazing considering that someone like Lennox Lewis makes more money in a 30 minute time span of a fight than what Annie is probably worth in aggregate.
Anyway, I wonder how much money you raised for charity this year.
In the end, I find it pretty ironic that you are on here ripping Annie for a foul mouth and then you turn around and call her “slutty” and a “bitch.” I find it ironic that you call her “insecure” and then you come on her site to rip on her… I guess she isn’t the only insecure one. I find it ironic how you think you know more about the criteria than Annie does (who actually lived it), especially considering how the show left this entire portion extremely ambiguous. And so on and so forth.
**Scott writes: “So stick to what you do best and move on”
How about you do what you do best and go pick up your Bible and go thumping with your concept of morality somewhere else.
**Scott writes: “Talk about a sore looser!”
LMAO
***
I agree the poker community really came through BIG TIME. Its a shame Joan is still living in the 1920′s and cannot see the extraordinary amount of money these gracious people ponied up for a great cause. Their money is blood money??? My God, don’t look now but here comes Al Capone. What a witch. (I knew Phil Hellmuth was a softy deep down. Way to go Phil!)
Annie – I was rooting for you. But I knew the short-fingered vulgarian, aka Donald Trump, had his mind made up long before hand. The “5 criteria” judging of the finale was the giveaway. Supposedly Joan won 3 criteria, but the name of the game is raising money and awareness, and you clearly won both of those. The criteria should have been weighted, say… 40% for fundraising, 30% awareness, etc. Give Joan the 3 categories and she still loses. Even Don Jr knew who should have won. Ivanka just toed the party line.
Joan’s behavior in the “boardroom” was ridiculous. I would bet Trump’s fortune that he doesn’t put up with any of that crap in a real meeting. Don’t even get me started on Melissa, a 40 year old child who has done nothing of note in her life.
Look, I know this show is about ratings, and editing, and personalities. However, when the decision is so clear cut the right decision has to be made or Trump loses any semblance of credibility that he had. Trump chickened out. As far as the partisan crowd in the theater, did they hand out free facelift coupons to the first 1,000 Joan supporters or something?
Trumphatah… I agree with your concept regarding the 40%, 30%, etc. However, it was incumbent upon Annie to make that argument on behalf of herself. Her failure to do this was her downfall. Annie spent too much time focusing in on Joan and not enough time stating her own merits.
My earlier comment here spells it all out in detail:
http://www.annieduke.com/2009/05/my-final-celebrity-apprentice-blog/comment-page-11/#comment-5824
Just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed watching you on The Apprentice (the only time I’ve ever watched it) and thought you got totally robbed. I can’t understand why so many people reacted to you in such a hostile way when Joan and Melissa were obviously the culprits in every way. The Donald was so transparent in his favoritism toward Joan it was laughable.
I wrote a couple of columns on Examiner.com about the response to the show and your the responses to you in particular. If you would be interested in reading them go to examiner.com/national and type in poker/women. You will find the columns and some responses, some good some bad, some unintelligble. Those were the Joan fans.
Best regards,
Rebekah
Hey Annie, you are the true winner. Donald Trump will not see me watching his shows from now on, it was so clear that he had it all planned from the beginning Joan was going to be the winner. She does not deserve it, she didnt work as hard as you did, she lied and was obnoxious throughout the show, her joker face scares every one, her child Melissa is a spoiled rotten kid, she has not grown to her 40 years old. From start when I heard that mother and daughter were going to be on the show compiting I knew there was going to be trouble, never thought it was going to be a display of sillyness, name calling and racist remarks as we all saw, but there they were. You cant blame them, I blame it all on Trump he should have fired them from start when they wanted to do the Diva stunt all the time. You will do great in life, you do not need this apprentisse title, maybe working for Trump will be as deceiving as his show is. Good Luck
Hi Annie,
Was very proud of the job u did on the show up to the point i watched it. After Trump fired the girl for having a DUI i stop watching she made a mistake and was paying for it, so it should of had no effect on her participation in the show. As for Joan Rivers had anyone else walked off the show and came back trump would of fired them on the spot, so in my eyes u won.
I agree with Connie. I vowed myself when I saw Joan win that Id never see celeb Apprentice(or any trump stuff again). I personally think the show was rigged but thats jst me.
I really admired how sweet and cool at the same time u were. I mean ppl think that because u didnt react to Joan’s comments that didnt hurt. But I know its not like that. I know that it takes a lot of effort and a very smart person(which u undoubtfully are) to keep calm and not smack the old lady in the head
I had never met u, played with u, or even seen u on TV be4, but from what I saw in celeb apprentice I jst wanted to say:
ANNIE YOU ROCK
PS: Ill probably switch from stars to UB jst to play with u once in a while
I live in Australia and we just viewed the final of the Celebrity Apprentice. Annie, I just want to say that you got a raw deal. Trump showed favoritism toward Joan all show long and purely on merit, you should have won. Sadly, it’s not game with clearly defined rules and goals and Trump has a way of imposing himself into the middle of everything.
You handle yourself well. Hold your head up.
Hi Annie, greetings from Australia!!! My husband and I watched the final tonight, we were gobsmacked at the result! I did find it entertaining how Joan lied about her involvement in the event planner pulling the pin when it was shown clear as day in the show. Bizzare! Anyway I suppose Mr Trump had a soft spot for the old lady, think to a degree she reminded him of himself. Bottom line you deserved to win! Well done on all the awareness and $’s raised for RI, great job!
Well!
The finale has just aired here in Australia and I am simply dumbfounded. The final result was a disgrace to Donald Trump and those involved in the show. As stated above it was clearly a decision based on networking and as I feared from about 4 or 5 weeks out from the finale a decision that was a forgone conclusion.
I knew very little of Annie befor the show.. probably just knew her name and that she was a poker player. Joan Rivers… obviously I knew… didnt really have an opinion of her. But now… I find Joan Rivers and her daughter to be repulsive. How on earth Donald and his daughter could call Joan a role model amzes me.
Well done on a fantastic job Annie… you were the true winner!
Like Nate, i just watched the finale last night as it finally aired here in Australia…..
All i have to say is that when i watch the celibrity apprentice, i want to watch … the celibrity apprentice.. not “who does donald trump favour’./….. i can’t believe how donald ALWAYS friggin takes the side of Joan and Mellissa.. whom have completely disgraced themselves and my opinion of them is just….. well we won’t go there. And ‘role models’… is “The Donald” seriously kidding us?
This is about raising money for charity, and i believe they just had to change the task so all the subjectivity could be added to give Donald what he wanted, for his freind Joan rivers to win. It was just pathetic, and several of my freinds just stated they aren’t going to watch the celibrity apprentice any more because its just a big hoax. I don’t understand how Annie can raise more money, win more tasks, be better as a project manager and still lose? results speak louder than words Donald…. Annie shoudl have won by a long shot.. long long shot.. and Joan shouldn’t even haev been there in the final, it shoudl have been Brandi. However, its all about the rating for trump.. so i understand that move. But annie losing, especially with the crowd supporting jane like that as well? TOtal farce … total farce.
Annie – thanks. Before this i had no idea who you were, but you truly are an inspiration. WEll done on it, i think most of the world knows who the tru winner shoudl have been.
Hi Annie, I’m also from Australia and saw the final last night. Woke up this morning and still am in shock of the outcome. Trump has lost his mine. It surprised me in the final how he defended Dennis against Jesse calling him Stupid. (which Dennis was) He didn’t defend you once against Joan’s comments.
Joan a role model, what a joke! You are a true role model.
Keep up the great work and good luck.
Did she really need to go on national television and talk about her blow jobs?
Hello Annie,
I am also from Australia and have just found your website. Joan and Melissa Rivers are a pair of conniving, manipulative “women” and it was clear that Joan was favoured to win. Piers knew that sometime during the show as he said that the purpose of this show was to raise money for charity, which you did, by a long shot.
Please do not let anyone of your poker friends be a Celebrity Apprntice after the treatment you received and yes, I am not going to ever watch any of The Donald’s shows. Hopefully he is taken on TV.
Jan
Hi Annie,
You rocked on the Celebrity apprentice! Add me to the list of those that won’t watch another Trump show.
You were very funny, were a great worker, and have a great mind. You certainly deserved the win. The Rivers ladies are straight crazies.
Best of luck to you in the future!
Alex
Hi Annie,
greetings from Shanghai.
I just watched the Celebrity Apprentice on DVD.
I did not know Joan Rivers before but I liked Donald Trump.
Oh my God what did I have to see!
I am German and in Germany Joan Rivers would never be taking part in any public event anymore if she would have made that Hitler statement there. She would have been shut out from everywhere.
Apart from that this woman and her daughter are mentally sick. It is even more sick to allow her and to support her to constantly offend other people in her sick way. I think Donald Trump did just this.
It is far beyond what one can accept.
Even if she had been fired at least, a firing alone would not be enough to make up for everything.
Why could you not win Annie?
You were supporting a group of people who help moslems to enter the US. This was clearly shown in the film. Don`t you think the average American is rejecting the idea of supporting that people from Iraq and other poor and islamic countries can get visa for the States? To give some starving kids a little food in Sudan is ok but you showed that film of bringing them in the country. That was just too much for them…
Ok..I know this is a bit after the fact, but I’ve been living in Thailand and the show was just aired here.
Annie, you showed quite a bit of restraint in the face of Joan’s incessant, venomous, defamation of your character and your friends and associates (I think even Ghandi might have gotten up and slapped that bitch Joan).
Joan and her spawn are dispicable people who make my skin crawl. To be fair, it really is a shame that Melissa, being raised by her mom, never had a chance to develop her own personality and values (I thought I saw a glimmer of something in her eyes that was just dying to break free a few times).
As far as ‘The Donald’ goes, well, I’ve lost any respect i had for the man. He played his hypocricy hand on that show for sure! In any other show he would have immediately fired anyone that displayed such utter lack of decorum in the boardroom, let alone throwing a tantrum and walking out. In the past he has said that when it comes down to it, it’s “about the money” (apparently until it suits his fancy and decides there are other factors). You raised what? About 3 times the money Joan did in the final task? Also, though Trump knew the truth about the event planners and could of (should have) put Joan in her place, he would never lend any credence to an individual/company that had the balls to say they won’t work with him! LOL
Previously, as much as I disliked Piers, and have the most respect for Trace Adkins, Piers constantly outperformed everyone and raised amazing amounts of cash for a deserving organization. I applaud and respect him for that.
I will NOT watch another episode of celebrity apprentice. (unless you come back for a rematch..and Joan stays home..or in a home…where she belongs)
Click my name and follow me on Twitter if you like anything I wrote..If you already follow me and support Joan or Trump..please unfollow me at your earliest convenience..if you even know what twitter is and can figure out how to do so..
I love Sandra. She is’s such a funny and talented actor. She will come back from this!
I have said it before I will say it again……..annie duke is a low life CARD PLAYER from vegas……the lowest of the low………no class, no talent, and she deserved to lose!