(NBC)
“The New Celebrity Apprentice” revealed its finalists on Monday, after Arnold Schwarzenegger fired two more stars. Get the full recap below!
As Gossip Cop reported, there was another triple termination last week, with Ricky Williams, Porsha Williams and Carson Kressley all fired. That left four contestants: Matt Iseman, Brooke Burke, Laila Ali and Boy George. Now, for the second-to-last task, Jessica Alba came on as a guest adviser with Patrick Knapp Schwarzenegger.
The teams had to do product demonstrations for Alba’s The Honest Company to attract new customers. They would be judged on creativity, brand alignment, and overall execution. Boy George wanted to be project manager for himself and Burke (Prima), while Ali volunteered on behalf of herself and Iseman (Arete).
Boy George wanted to incorporate spirituality into their presentation, worrying Burke they’d turn some people off. They opted to use the hand sanitizer, stain remover and glass cleaner products. Scouting their model home for the demo, Burke became further concerned Boy George wasn’t detailed enough, while he thought she was too “serious.” He even called her “bossy” to Knapp Schwarzenegger and she took credit for their organization.
Ali, already a user of Alba’s products, chose to feature the multi-surface cleaner, organic healing balm, and dish soap. Iseman worried her creativity was limited, while she feared he was too “over-the-top.” As he shopped for supplies, Ali took on graphic design. She was stressed doing the work of “10” people, and Iseman was “frustrated” she didn’t focus on their script. He and Burke ended up secretly venting to each other via text.
At the in-home demo, Boy George started off with his spiritual talk, metaphorically connecting it to cleaning a mirror, and Burke actually liked it. Ali was very detailed, while Iseman injected some awkward humor. Alba remained mostly stone-faced throughout both presentations.
In the boardroom, the teammates gave each other measured praise and backhanded compliments, and Alba found the presentations “very different.” She told Arete they were concise, hit the product uses, and had tangible takeaways, but lacked creativity and was too infomercial-y. She told Prima she liked the background music, their depiction of a married couple and their risk-taking, but thought they lacked the takeaways about The Honest Company. Still, Prima’s Boy George and Burke won, with the singer getting $ 50,000 for Safe Kids Worldwide.
Iseman acknowledged he was inauthentic, but put the lack of creativity on Ali, who insisted she was the “stronger” competitor to move on. Obviously, they both thought the other should be fired, and Iseman pointed out that this was only his first time in jeopardy. Ultimately, Schwarzenegger told Ali, “You’re terminated.”
After, Iseman, Burke and Boy George were called back to the boardroom because one more had to be fired. Each had won two times as project manager, though Iseman and Boy George were neck-and-neck with their win-loss records (7-4 vs. 7-3). All three had to convince Schwarzenegger why they should go on to the finale. In the end, he praised the trio, but announced, “Brooke, you’re terminated.”
For the final challenge, Iseman and Boy George had to showcase the Carnival Cruise experience by creating an ad campaign, hosting a party, and producing a variety show. They would be judged on overall brand integration, creativity, guest experience, and money raised through ticket sales. And eliminated contestants came back as assistants.
Iseman got Carnie Wilson, Carrie Keagan, and Kyle Richards, none of whom he worked with before. He opted to highlight the Carnival and Holland lines, and planned to dispel myths about cruising. Though they didn’t have a theme yet, they went ahead with their on-board photo shoot, with Iseman worrying about the creativity of the photos. “Racing against the clock,” he hoped they’d make up in the creativity department with their ad text and presentation.
Boy George was reunited with Kressley, Ali, and Porsha Williams. The singer wanted to promote the Princess and Seabourn lines, and avid cruiser Kressley seemed like a real asset. He came up with a “nothing to do but (blank)” tag line. As he and the women worked on the photo shoot, Boy George struggled to line up talent for the variety show. Williams even called him a “terror from hell” as he started pushing them to work faster.
On day two, Boy George started outreach for donations while Kressley lined up Natasha Bedingfield as a performer. They decided to make their party reminiscent of an on-board cocktail party, with Ali and Williams in charge of food, beverage, and aesthetics. Kressley spent his time on the ad campaign.
Iseman was motivated after finally coming up with a tag line, “one destination that takes you anywhere.” His team decided to bring in animals to represent different locations. He had Keagan focus on the ad campaign, Richards spearhead the party aesthetics, and Wilson oversee food and entertainment. Iseman worried, though, that his fundraising wouldn’t beat Boy George’s.
In the final minutes, Iseman panicked over his lackluster photos and the fundraising component. Boy George, meanwhile, stressed over finishing his original song for their event. After clashing with the keyboardist, the singer actually yelled at the reality star’s producers, demanding the musician be fired — or he’ll leave the show himself. The final task will finish playing out on next week’s big finale.
