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Arnold Schwarzenegger has resigned as host of “Celebrity Apprentice” after just one season.
“I loved every second of working with NBC and [creator] 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,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
The baggage he may be referring to is the show’s previous host, President Donald Trump, who remains an executive producer and has been critical of Mr. Schwarzenegger’s performance.
Trump used to be the host of the popular show before he decided to run for President.
Reacting to Schwarzenegger’s decision to terminate himself from the show, Trump tweeted this afternoon: “Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t voluntarily leaving the Apprentice, he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings, not by me. Sad end to great show”
Last month, the president tweeted that Mr. Schwarzenegger had done a “bad job” as governor of California and was “even worse on the Apprentice…but at least he tried hard!” At the National Prayer Breakfast, Mr. Trump told attendees, including Mr. Burnett, that “the ratings went right down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster.”
Mr. Schwarzenegger fired back that as president Mr. Trump should be more concerned about unifying the country than about ratings for a TV show.
An aging franchise, “Celebrity Apprentice” has suffered substantial declines in viewership over its past several editions. The show averaged 4.7 million viewers this season, down from about 9 million in 2011, according to Nielsen.