Annie Duke Suffers First Loss on Celebrity Apprentice, Questions Team’s Focus

The fourth episode of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice aired on Sunday night. In it, the women’s team, Athena, lost its first task of the season. Ultimate Bet pro and Poker News Daily columnist Annie Duke, a contestant on the show, questioned the team’s direction during its first loss, backing up both Joan Rivers and her daughter, Melissa.

Last week, Athena’s win gave Project Manager Brande Roderick $166,000 for her charity, the California Police Youth Charities. Duke, who has yet to be Project Manager on a task, is playing for Refugees International, which works hand in hand with Ante Up for Africa to bring much-needed funds to displaced residents in Darfur and throughout the world. In last week’s episode, six-time NBA Champion Dennis Rodman did not participate in the second day of the task due to “eye problems” that may have been caused by being hung over after partying the night before. This week, country singer Clint Black said that he would have shown up to the task anyway or produced doctor’s notes saying he was medically unable to compete. The squabble would engulf the team later in the episode.

The task was to create a presentation to announce the launch of a new videophone from ACN, the IRIS 3000. A total of 450 representatives from the technology company would decide which team better introduced the phone: the men of Kotu or the women of Athena. Kotu chose R&B singer Brian McKnight as its Project Manager in order to take advantage of his extensive performing experience. The woman selected Deal or No Deal model Claudia Jordan, who holds case number one on the popular game show. On the line was $20,000 for the charity of the winning Project Manager.

Two time slots to present to ACN representatives were available and the teams were left to negotiate which went each team took. Athena sent Duke to the negotiating table against Black. Both wanted to go second, forcing a coin flip. Duke suggested the method of breaking the deadlock, claiming, “If you’re not going to budge off B, we’re going to have to flip a coin.” Black called tails and won the toss, prompting Rodman to tee off on the country superstar. Rodman unleashed a string of profanity-laced sentences, culminating in, “F— this. I don’t need this f—ing show.” He ripped off his microphone and exited the set.

Meanwhile, both teams devised ideas for their presentations. Kotu decided to have McKnight control his own destiny by putting on a concert. He told NBC officials, “What’s better than Brian McKnight singing a song?” The men also headed to the West Point Military Academy, which is located 50 miles from New York City, in order to film a solider using the ACN-made phone to call home. The idea was a product of the CEO of West Coast Choppers, television star Jesse James.

The women created a series of vignettes interspersed between stand up comedy from talk show host Joan Rivers, who missed Day 1 of the task for the second straight week. She arrived in New York City just before 5:00am the morning of the presentation via a private jet, claiming, “I’m very cranky. I’m going to be bitchy.” Friction erupted between Jordan and Melissa Rivers throughout the creative process. Rivers has produced red carpet extravaganzas for the E! Network, but Jordan felt she was disruptive to the creative process. Rivers lashed out, saying, “This is what I do for a living and you’re talking down to me.” Jordan retorted, “If Joan Rivers weren’t around, there would be no Melissa Rivers on television or producing. That’s a fact.”

After James and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker departed for West Point, Rodman returned to the scene. McKnight elected not to make him a part of the task, fearing another meltdown. On the women’s team, trouble directing a baby on the set prompting the following reaction from Duke: “The room was chaos. The baby was screaming and I was like, oh my gosh, what the hell is going on?”

The next day, the women’s rehearsal was unorganized. Duke told NBC cameras how the hour-long practice run went: “That rehearsal was a nightmare. Claudia had to take control because that was going nowhere and it was never going to go anywhere until someone stepped up and got the chaos under control.” That person was Melissa Rivers, who put on her producing hat and ensured that the show ran well. Duke questioned the complicated script that Athena had to follow: “I wish the show were simpler. There were a lot of opportunities for things to go wrong.”

In the end, the ACN representatives voted by an overwhelming 386 to 61 margin for the men’s team, sending Athena to the boardroom for the first time this season. Real estate mogul and show host Donald Trump asked Duke what her thoughts were on the task. Duke responded, “This morning, I was 100% sure that we were going to lose. When I saw how great Joan was, I became much less sure and I thought we were going to win.” She also reiterated that the presentation lacked focus.

On Melissa Rivers’ actions, Duke added, “She put her head down. She did an amazing job. Had we won, I would have given credit equally to Joan and Melissa.” Trump, who constantly turned to Duke throughout the boardroom proceedings, also asked Duke about reality star Khloe Kardashian‘s contributions. Duke revealed, “I think [Kardashian] doesn’t necessarily step up for the big jobs or the leadership roles. That is something that I defer to you: Is it Khloe’s fault or is that Claudia’s fault, who is supposed to be managing her?” Trump replied, “Maybe it’s both.”

In the end, Jordan was fired, the first woman to be ousted from the show. Next week’s episode features more of Rodman acting out of line. NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice airs at 9:00pm Eastern Time on Sundays on NBC and runs for two hours.