Arnold Schwarzenegger Quits ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ Blames Anti-Trump Boycott

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoSzdN0MuNU

Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he would not return as the host of Celebrity Apprentice next season. It was a move that didn’t shock anyone as Schwarzenegger and President Trump had it out several times on Twitter over the series’ poor ratings.

Schwarzenegger took the job as Celebrity Apprentice’s host after President Trump was elected as POTUS. After several months on the job, Schwarzenegger decided that he didn’t want to be on a show that had so much baggage.

“I loved every second of working with NBC and Mark Burnett. Everyone — from the celebrities to the crew to the marketing department — was a straight 10, and I would absolutely work with all of them again on a show that doesn’t have this baggage.”

The Hollywood Reporter stated that even if Schwarzenegger agreed to be in the next season of Celebrity Apprentice, it seems unlikely that NBC would renew the show. Last season, the ratings were extremely low, less than half that previous season brought in. Many previous viewers stated they refuse to watch any show that had ties to Donald Trump and threaten to boycott any (all) networks that continued to support his business.

An NBC rep said that no decision had been made about the series yet, but the rumor around the network is those staffers that worked on the show should begin looking for another job.

“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,” Arnold said. “It’s a very divisive period now, and I think this show got caught up in all that division.”

Fox News reported that half the show’s sponsors pulled out after the anti-Trump protest threatened to boycott. Arnold doubts NBC can make the show work as people don’t want to see the show because they allowed Trump to have a financial stake in the series.

“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,” Schwarzenegger explained.

Even though Trump no longer hosts the show, he holds an executive producer title and maintains a financial interest in the franchise.

“Even if asked [to do it again] I would decline.I learned a lot, I had a great time, it was a really great opportunity. But under the circumstances, I don’t want to do it again.”

It’s isn’t a completely surprise that Arnold decided to quit the series. Trump would bait him in arguments on Twitter over the poor ratings. As Schwarzenegger pointed out, the bad ratings were not all his fault, at least not completely.

“NBC did everything they could to promote the show and [producer] Mark Burnett did a fantastic job,” Schwarzenegger explained. “No one really knew that this was going to happen and I think that everyone was caught off guard.”

Arnold added that the anti-Trump protest and boycotts affected the Celebrity Apprentice ratings. He tried to allow Trump to blame him for the rating dip, but at some point, he felt it was necessary to stand up for himself.

Celebrity Apprentice’s rating dipped to less than half after Arnold Schwarzenegger took over. NBC points out that the show was barely renewed last season, which implies that the series might not return with or without him.

Arnold tweeted to Trump last month, “Hey Donald, I have a great idea. You take over TV, because you’re such an expert in ratings, and I take over your job. And then people can finally sleep comfortable again. Hmm?”

He won’t be back: Arnold Schwarzenegger has terminated his ties with "The New Celebrity Apprentice" https://t.co/3qr4nUOVY2 pic.twitter.com/Pg0A1BPB7p

— CNN (@CNN) March 3, 2017

Are you surprised that Arnold Schwarzenegger quit Celebrity Apprentice after only one season? Do you think NBC will renew the series?

[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures]