What happened after the last boardroom
I know people are wondering how I could go from saying I respected Joan in the last boardroom to the private interview where I said she was not a nice person and she had made the fight personal for me. I am aware it seemed like a weird juxtaposition from the boardroom to the final private interview last episode but here is what happened in between. I tried to extend some sort of “good game” to Joan. Just tell her I respected her for getting to the final two. And the video below is what a got in return. I particularly love where she says “I won’t allow America to hear it.” Makes that last interview of mine make more sense, I think.
Annie you showed a tremendous amount of class and self restraint. The “honorable” lady was and is you. We never watched Apprentice before this season and will never watch again. Trump made a bad decision to select that vile woman. It was unbelievable how he allowed her bad behavior to penetrate every board room discussion. I have no respect for the Trump organization – never did for Rivers. GOOD JOB! I hope you boycott these creeps. They are BENEATH you!
Nancy…who ever you are.
It’s obvious you didn’t watch the show.
ANNIE KICKED EVERYONE”S ASS!!!!
She worked extremly hard and was ripped off.
She deserves to be disppointed.
Millions of people are disappointed over Trumps ridiculous choice.
I haven’t read all the blogs here…but just wanted to add my two cents.
I feel that Annie played the game well and should have been the celebrity apprentice. joan shouldn’t have been there in the first place, she left, she quit.
Regardless of what Annie did or didn’t do, it did’t warrent the very personal attacks. I wouldn’t have been able to hold it together for as long as Annie did while someone was speaking to me and about me the way Joan was speaking to her.
Also, the fact that Joan kept telling Annie that she was lying about what happened with the event planner was annoying. Annie told the truth, the event planners quit because of Joan, and there was no reprimand for Joan’s behavior. She shouldn’t have gotten rewarded for that!
You won. The Don obviously favored his old friend…very unbiz like!. Never played poker but now I think highly of its players. They all stuck by you.
It would have been interesting to see what had happened if the finaly had actually been fair. I don’t see how anyone can say that you lost fairly when it was clearly Joan’s fault that you had to take time from other planning in order to find a design team. Also, one of the criteria was related to Celebrities at your event. It was never said they had to be Celebrities that would be recognized by the masses. Absolutely and completely an unfair competition.
Hitler? Mafia? And Trump doesn’t give a word to it. $450K vs 150K? Talk about the FIX. I will NEVER watch the show again. When Annie talked about actionable offenses, she hit the nail on the head. NO BOD would ever be conducted like that without defending a lawsuit. It is very interesting that there is no way to give NBC feedback without going thru a long survey and signing up for a consumer panel. I guess they don’t want to know. Joan and Melissa were disgusting human beings, gave gays and Jews a bad name if you ask me. Annie you were already too cool, this just makes you better.
Saratoga Fan, that’s hilarious. joan wouldn’t be allowed to post in their forum. I hope they don’t tell her it’s a family channel or she’ll be filling her airtime with searching out 9 year olds to call them Nazis and whores. LOL
the next celebrity apprentice will be audrina, Burnett has signed a deal to develop a show for her.
Annie, I just wanted to tell you that I thought you played the game really well, and you definately should of been the winner. You did a awesome job for your charity and should really be proud. I truly believed the deck was stacked against you from the minute you stepped into the boardroom. NBC probably knew from the beginning they were going to pick, Ms. foul mouth, low class Joan Rivers, and I’m sorry for that. She’s supposed to be a comedian, but the comments she made about poker players were totally out of line. She insulted me and my family to the core. My 79 year old mother took the show to heart and she was so upset all day. I had to remind her all day that it was just a television show, we come to Atlantic City every summer, and she already said she’s not stepping into one Trump Casino ever again, and of course she’s not watching NBC or the Apprentice anymore. I guess Bally’s it will be. Good Luck! (Your friendly neigborhood poker player.)
I knew halfway into the season that Joan was going to be the winner. You could tell by the treatment she was given in each boardroom session, with Trump constantly talking her up as if she had actually done something. I have no doubt that had Joan and Annie performed the final task in reverse, Trump would have still named Joan the winner, citing her tripling the donations of Annie, and having a classier venue (no annoying transvestites) with better celebrities (no Kathy Griffin). Oh, where in business school do they teach that DECORATIONS, and CELEBRITIES outrank bottom line (funds raised) and pleasing the client (Kodak) in analyzing the success of the business. Annie, this was deck was stacked before the first cards were dealt. So long as any of the criteria was subjective, there was no way you could win…
You got Robbed!!!
You were by far the best overall canidate for the celebrity apprentice. I found it funny how Joan had no come back when you asked her if she had ever met your friends she had insulted. When you throw logic at people that are insane they simply don’t understand. It’s like playing a 10 person sitNGo against 9 donkeys. You know you are the best but hard to overcome those odds.
I also think Trump looks really really bad having his own sister-in-law run the charity Joan works for. Looks like the fix was in from the beginning.
You definatley got a bad beat with no bad beat jackpot payout.
From an amatuer poker player to the por, keep smiling
Matt in Vancouver BC Canada
You go girl!! Seriously…I will NEVER watch Trump’s nonsense again! You won, period!! Joan and her spoiled brat of a daughter were an embarrassment to themselves and their families. You held your head up high, and as a fellow Poker Player living in Vegas,,,thank-you for your grace under fire. You did your charity proud and I will find a way to donate in the future! It is too bad that Trump had it rigged from the onset…you deserved better! We know the truth!!
After complaining in my last post about NBC having no decent feedback mechanism, I decided to let QVC know how I feel about Joan Rivers and her venomous attitude. If you follow the “contact us” links at qvc.com, you will find an easy trip to an email form. Let them know what you think about Rivers and ask if they really want to be associated with someone accusing Annie of being both Nazi and Mafioso.
It bothers me how I’ve let this bother me so much! I keep wanting to say “it’s just TV”, but somehow it isn’t. If that’s reality, I guess I’d rather live in a dream world. Annie I know you don’t need to hear it from the likes of me, but still…Chin up! PS. my husband beat you once on Poker Stars (or whichever one it was). The thought makes his day almost every day
Annie, you showed tremendous self control in the face of unbelievable and unfair attacks like I have never seen before. Joan Rivers is the most horrible vicious person. You are the honorable decent one. You kicked ass at everything you did and should have won! You handled yourself with such dignity. I will not watch Apprentice again in your honor. You go girl! You are fabulous!!!
It’s just overwhelming. Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, all of the old school greats would be mortified to know what a freakin’ bimbo JR turned into. Anyone that shares that old school feeling, representing respect, simple manners in public, ought to boycott this womans career permanently.
Hitler? Damn, Rivers…..what a thoughtless spoiled person you are.
The money should have been the only criteria. Annie, ya won “hands down.”
Love ya.
Annie, I am truly disgusted not only with Joan but with Donald himself. We have watched every Apprentice and we will no longer watch the show. If you ever need two upper middle class Canadians please contact us anytime!
You lost – no arguing around that
This show represents business in a TV entertainment context. Look at business leaders especially in our economic situation… Donald made a smart choice. This is neither competitive sport such as Poker nor real business (Don did not have to hire the winner).
You showed some weaknesses in leadership (in this situation!), while Joan (instinctively/luckily) outperformed you (hurting you with personal attacs, showmanship, deception, threat of being a relatively larger problem to Don). I have often seen people being rewarded for negative behavior in business… e.g. people who always complain.
Based on individual effort, character, integrity, competitive result, etc. you won by far.
In real business (such as any large company looking for an apprentice), you would clearly have won against Joan. She would have been eliminated based on performance, but more significantly for her behavior (sander, harrasment, violence, lying).
You were a great competitor, the top performer and you have earned my respect (as well as your friends).
You also did an outstanding job representing the poker community and Las Vegas and especially the US.
Thank you for your support of a great charity. I found Joan’s comments regarding charities (“hers has the best volunteers, her’s is a US charity and therefore better”) reflecting her overall bad character and lack of knowledge.
Best wishes
Markus
nice posts mertz
Rivers may be 75 (after all that surgery who can tell) but she acted like a spoiled little child. She couldn’t beat you and resorted to name calling like the over grown brat she is. And Trump is a joke for falling for it and allowing it. I gained immense respect for you (I’m reading your book right now) and lost a great deal of respect for Trump and have no respect left for Rivers.
I am so glad to see so many of you had the same feels as I.. Annie should of won!!! She played the game as it should be played… Just because Joan is older and probably will never do any show like this again….You go Annie… you rock!!!
My boyfriend and I were very disappointed about Joan winning..
Let’s see, a foul-mouthed old lady with a fake face who made her living essentially belittling people has the temerity to level all those ridiculous charges against you and poker players! What a hypocrite! This is the first time I ever watched this showed and the last–and I sincerely mean that! I thought you conducted yourself with class and dignity and who could blame you for your expressed disdain towards Joan at the end. Dork-old Trump is to have me believe that he’d hire that witch over you! Are you kidding me? What planet do I live on? Just remember, sweetheart, that in the “objective” criteria such as fund-raising you won, whereas only in the “subjective” areas did Rivers supposedly win. In my book, you won hands down!
Joan Rivers is an old Has-been. She’s low-class with money. She’s evil and obnoxious. Annie was high-class and didn’t stoop to her level. Annie was the winner in every aspect. I wouldn’t walk across the street to see Joan Rivers, but would walk miles to see Annie Duke. Hold your head high Annie, you’re a “Class Act”.
me!
I’m sure won’t get posted but you are an egotistical big headed bitch. You said you had 15,00 positive comment…not many considering how many millions watched the program AND you said you wanted Joan Dead. How nasty and heartless is that, Your Charity should have helped those in this country that are hungry and homeless. You made alot of enemies. I am so glad Trump Fired You and it was so hysterical when just before he did you thought you won LOL
Donald Trump is horrible at decision making. I am not surprised because Joan Rivers is his best friend. Mr. Donald Trump I am sorry, but I have to tell you that you are horrible and your show is horrible.
Annie,
You got robbed. You played the game beautifully, but Trump clearly set it up for Joan to win. The criteria for the final task, except for the fundraising, were completely subjective, and there were 5 categories instead of the 4 that were used in the final last year. Trump made it so he could choose the person he wanted, and that person was Joan. Shameful.
Trump never called Joan on any of her outrageous behavior, her ridiculous comments, and her downright bitchiness. Surely he saw the tapes (unedited) where Joan alienated the design company. Why was that ever open to interpretation?
The fact is, Joan (and her awful daughter) should have been eliminated weeks before. It broke my heart to see your hopeful look just before he fired you.
The whole thing was sickening–really upsetting. It’s weird to be upset about a TV show, but I am. I watch little television–don’t even have cable. But, in the past, I have enjoyed the Celebrity Apprentice. No more. My wife, children, and I all agree–we’re through. It was just too awful to see Trump taking care of his little agenda. You deserved to win. By any objective standards, you did win. Sorry you had to take such public abuse at the hands of the awful Rivers family. Good luck to you.
I have never missed an apprentice show and enjoy Donalds fair treatment of people. I never watched between the lines until this last episode and watched how most of the CA’s seem to be reluctant to be honest except for Annie. I am a supporter of people like Pierce Morgan,Simon Cowell and Annie as I see these are straight shooters and it seems most people would rather be surrounded by people telling them what they want to hear and not causing any waves. I actually feel sorry for Joan as she seems very bitter about something, not sure what it is. I think she won because of the old boys school and it was to appease all of the old hacks and old money that still seem to control the world. Two thumbs up Annie and one day if your ever in Canada to see your fans I will be there. Have a good one.
Annie, you where the outright winner of the competition, even if the Donald picked differently.I believe that the choice was made who would win way before the end of the season. Joan and Donald travel in the same circle, and I did not think he was going to break it. Poker players have donated more to charities than Joan Rivers would see in 75 lifetimes,and I hope that continues to be the case.
Don’t let it bother you, just shake it off like a bad beat at the table. Best of luck to you and Howard in the upcoming WSOP.
Oh I’m not saying we shouldn’t help people in other places, but we have children right here in the United States that are worse off then some of those children. I right now in this time and age I would rather MY MONEY stays here and help my own. When things get better here then we can help others. I don’t see them knocking down our Boarders to help us!!!!!!!
They also said Joan’s event was better attended. But, if you add all the cross dressers that’s why. Joan said it herself when driving to their event I don’t think we have enough people to show up. That’s when Joan called her cross dressing friends.If you count actual attendees and count out the cross dressers Joan had about half of what Annie had.
The fix was in, Trump is a big pussy. You showed a lot of restraint by not lowering yourself to that bitch and her daughters level. And the bottom line is you brought in the most money. Now when are you going to do the playboy spread?
Annie lost. Deal with it. She couldnt buy the final, so she lost. Quit crying.
How can you live with yourself? I have never seen anybody that was more self-centered than you. Beaten by a 75 year old lady must hurt.
Jon Rivers rocks! As I can see from all of the comments only positive comments get posted.
Thank you Annie. You put yourself out there for charity and even such personal attacks, you never gave up. I and my husband thought you should have won, and reading all the comments on this site and NBC’s, and our personal friends, we all thought you should have won. Sadly, I felt that it was all big publicity stunt, even when the events coordinator quitting the show because of Joan R, it felt it you were sabotaged and knowing, you will react to it. The old hag should not even be considered back in the show, she walked out and her daughter treated the staff horribly. But in light of all this, you gave you were able to give your charity a huge donation and brought such awareness. Thank you again.
I was only gonna post once in one of the other threads but I am with most all of you 10,000%. Annie got RIPPED OFF. Some hateful guy up top has it in for her and some “Nancy” chick did not watch the same show we all saw.
No offense to the cast of “Chicago”, but outside of the fact that Richard Gere was in the Movie edition, can anyone outside of their own Family Members name anyone in that cast??..Yet Joan got credit for her ‘Celebrities’ when most of them were impersonators and won that category..How??..Wel obviously because it was fixed.
And did anyone else notice that the Kodak said nice things about Joan’s stuff but then RAVED about how Annie utilized the Charities in her Kodak stuff and how he was all over that…Yet somehow, Joan won the ‘Kodak’ category or whatever it was called. 3-to-2??. Should’ve been 4-1 Annie. Plus she KILLED her in Fundraising but a few Hundred Thousand but of course that didn’t count for much and they made sure of that.
The whole thing was an absolute travesty and I am with all of you who actually had trouble sleeping Sunday Night. We all knew it was fixed after reading the fact that Burnett had signed Joan for a new show and everything else, it made a little more sense as to why they fixed it.
Joan was kept on there for drama and ratings but should not have even made the Finals. It should’ve been Brande vs Annie. Anyway, glad to see I am not the only one with common sense. Annie, you WON. Period. You raised a gazillion dollars for Charity and gained Millions of fans in the process including me.
Annie you are the hands down winner. However I think you may have missed one point on Joan. Hasn’t she made a lot of money from the evil people in Las Vegas over the years?? The word hypocrite keeps ringing in my ears.
How can you live with yourself? I have never seen anybody that was more self-centered than you. Beaten by a 75 year old lady must hurt.
Jon Rivers rocks! As I can see from all of the comments only positive comments get posted…
Did you watch the show Mark? Think not.
You should have won – I’m guessing that Joan Rivers had a deal with “the Donald” that she would win if she appeared on the show.
You earned it and deserved it and “the Donald” made a big mistake choosing Joan.
You did a lot of great work and raised so much for charity. I only wish the money could have benefited a charity in the U.S., but it’s all good.
Thank you for making Sunday evenings entertaining, if only for awhile
Annie, not only did you play a great game you looked fn HOT!
Trump had this set up from the get go. It was clear weeks in advance that they were keeping/firing people based soley on the shows rating. In some wyas that is understandable. What acceptable is that comb-over had it preplanned from the start for lose lips to be the winner.
I highly expect the show to see a drop in ratings after this season. IT jumped the shark and may mark the end.
Good for you ANNIE YOU CLEARLY WON AND AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED JOAN AND HER PRINCESS NO TALENT DAUGHTER ARE JEASLOUS BECAUSE THEY NO THEY ARE HATED,AND DONALD ONLY PICKED JOAN OUT OF PITTY FOR THE WASHED UP NASTY OLD LADY!!YOU CLEARLY DID A BETTER JOB,BROUGHT IN MORE MONEY AND PLAYED THE GAME 100% BETTER THAN SHE COULD HAVE EVEN IF SHE WAS 25 YRS YOUNGER!I DON’T NO HOW YOU KEEPT YOUR COOL.IF IT WAS ME THEY WOULD HAVE NEEDED SECURITY IN THE ROOM.GOOD FOR YOU SHE JUST MADE HERSELF LOOK LIKE A FOOL LIKE HER SNOTTY DAUGHTER DID WHEN SHE GOT FIRED.ON THE VIEW TODAY(TUESDAY)THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT THE DESIGNER WHO QUIT AND PROVED IT WAS BECAUSE OF JOAN!!PROPS TO YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS
The reason Annie lost was due to fear.
Natural and beautiful she obviously can not and will not fit in the TRUMP vaccuum box. What a joke. PLASTICS ONLY in this box.
A man with the moral compass of a flea (sorry flea) telling America who is fired. Yeah right.
Donald Trump is so yesterdays news. To think the young business folk coming up in America think he is to be admired ! GROSS
ANNIE DUKE WINNER EXTRAORDINAIRE’
wow annie
i dont know what happened
you really should have won
i hope hindsight is 50/50 for all involved
good luck to you
After nearly drowning Annie in the spew of her loathing for poker players, which we all saw and heard, Joan now says:
“God knows I love poker. If you look at that painting with the dogs playing poker, I’m the fifth one on the right. Suddenly, it evolved into “Joan doesn’t like poker players.” I started in Las Vegas.
My downstairs neighbor plays slots, so it’d be like me saying, “I hate slots.” It got out of hand and became ridiculous. My father worked his way through medical school playing poker.” Yeah, I just bet.
Annie, you did a spectacular job, playing ethically with class, integrity and heart against a vicious, lying, scheming, screaming shrew. Joan was enabled every step of the way by Trump, who never once called Joan or Joan Jr on their horrific behavior, consistent failures and blatant lies. Glad his children showed integrity by lauding your efforts. The Kodak exec actually praised your product placement and use – I think you won that. We never got to hear his decision.
Regardless of the fixed outcome, you’re still a winner!
Holy Cow, Annie, you totally though you WON. You were starting to celebrate when Trump asked you what he was going to say and you got TOLD! And we watched the moment over and over! Joan was the absolute RIGHT choice!
You made us so sick watching you take credit for EVERYTHING. I can’t believe how self centered, selfish, conceited you are. Me, Me, Me, I, I, Me, Me, I…You think you did everything. All you talked about was Joan and then you say you never made a personal attack…to her face. But to everyone else you did. And Tom Green in the van did not even care about how she got under your skin. That was hilarious!
You sound like you’re in high school. You insulted ‘my friends…’ Poker players are garbage! Losers who GAMBLE for a living. Way to contribute to society, worthless talent you have. We can thank your uplifting skill to contribute to the downfall of our society. Gambling in crap holes like Vegas promotes family unity and self control. Way to contribute!
We’re SO GLAD you lost! that was awesome!
I was so impressed with how Annie conducted herself in the face of incredibly awful behavior. I have a great deal of admiration for you and you poise. Congratulations on being a role model and a strong smart woman.
I also admire your commitment to a cause that is not a popular one. Clearly you were doing that for all the right reasons as well.
The woman you lost to showed her true self and also what kind of language and direction she gave to her child. I certainly lost respect for both of them
Watching you speak on behalf of your charity, I think that you should seriously consider a move into public service. You have the determination, backbone and poise to be a fine elected representative. The money may not be as attractive as your current career, but given how hard you fought for your charity, imagine what you would be able to do as a representative of the people.
Annie, you played the game well, but you lost with good reason. You did not get duped or ripped off.
I went to St. Paul’s School and I’m surprise you weren’t taught one of the core values– integrity. Integrity is what you do when no one is watching. You did not display that and when Joan pointed out to Donald– quite accurately- that the difference between the venom displayed from her and what you don’t show is that she does it to your face and you pushed it out behind just about everyone’s back in the entire game, that is when you lost. Donald is a New Yorker. And he needs to know that if you have a problem with something or someone, you are going to be upfront about it. If you can trash a teammate or your opposition behind their backs, then you can do it to him. How can he trust you to represent him that way?
This is not an attack, it’s a wake-up call. You have an opportunity to work on that and grow from it– or not. It’s on you. If you think how you treated people is right– smile in their face and stab them in their backs– consistently no less, then keep on doing you. But if that’s not how you want people to see you, then good luck with working on it. Either way, just know you couldn’t represent the same man that had no problem calling out Rosie O’Donnell as a “fat slob” and many other things to her face and publicly. New Yorkers don’t play that crap. You lost for a reason.
KP
Donald Trump lost millions of viewers over this show. He clearly had this game rigged from the beginning. You have been a lady throughout and Joan Rivers (with her clown face) and her butt-ugly daughter showed just how low class two disgusting people can be. You not only won the show you won America’s heart.
PS: You had Joan at the beginning of the show, but you messed up when you told her you were going to do one thing and you flipped and did something completely different in the boardroom. She was flabberghasted and after that, she knew your character and had no problems calling you out on it. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. If you don’t want to do it, stand tall and firm and don’t verbally commit yourself to it. People will have a lot more respect for you with that. Joan included.
I think Donald Trump is a big wuss…he chose Joan Rivers over you because she is a poor sport and he has to deal with her in New York….I am sure everyone who watched the final thought for sure you were going to win….you did win! Lots of people are for you and I hope your charity gets lots of donations.
Annie-
I admire you!
I admit, I didn’t watch much of the show, because I honestly can’t stand Donald Trump or whiney Joan Rivers.
But, I do admire you for being able to stay in control and not let people get under your skin (too much).
Nice job.