A former "Apprentice" producer newly released from his nondisclosure agreement published an account on Slate that details former President Donald Trump's alleged use of the n-word to describe a Black finalist on the business competition show. According to the producer, Trump discriminated against the contestant, claiming Americans would not "buy a n— winning."
That producer, Bill Pruitt, said Trump made the comments during a recorded but heavily edited boardroom meeting that was held to compare the performance of the two finalists in the show's inaugural 2004 season: Kwame Jackson, a Black Goldman Sachs broker, and white cigar entrepreneur Bill Rancic. The participants each weighed in, and it was Carolyn Kepcher, an "Apprentice" judge and chief of Trump's golf courses, who Pruitt recalls advocating strongly for Jackson because he successfully dealt with "more obstacles" than Rancic, mainly in the form of his antagonistic teammate Omarosa. According to Pruitt, Omarosa attacked several of their teammates in support of her "brother" Jackson, and Kepcher observed that the latter handled the awkward situation with "grace."
