‘With Trump Being Involved in the Show People Have a Bad Taste and Don’t Want to Participate’
Arnold Schwarzenegger is out. The former California Republican governor and star of dozens of movies says he’s quitting as host of ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ saying Donald Trump’s association with the show has made people and advertisers stay away.
“It’s not about the show,” Schwarzenegger told a British film magazine, Empire, “because everyone I ran into came up to me and said, ‘I love the show… but I turned it off because as soon as I read Trump’s name I’m outta there!'”
Trump refused to take his name off the show as Executive Producer when he became president.
“With Trump being involved in the show people have a bad taste and don’t want to participate as a spectator or as a sponsor, or in any other way support the show,â€Â Schwarzenegger added. “It’s a very divisive period now and I think this show got caught up in all that division.”
“When people found out that Trump was still involved as executive producer and was still receiving money from the show, then half the people [started] boycotting it.”
Empire credits the social media campaign #grabyourwallet for some of the animosity towards the show, saying it “appears to have been a factor, imploring consumers and sponsors alike to ditch Celebrity Apprentice in direct response to the US President’s continued involvement.”
Despite being the show’s executive producer, Trump has several times attacked Schwarzenegger, mocking the reality TV show’s ratings while bragging what a great job he had done as host.
But Schwarzenegger has fought back. Last month he posted a short video offering to switch jobs with Trump so people can “sleep comfortably.”Â
And this, before the inauguration:
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