Lil’ Jon is an Apprentice all-star. Image: Rex Features via AP Images

It’s time again. Time for another round of the business reality show The Apprentice; an “All-Star Celebrity” version for this season.  And this time around, the cast is dominated by African-American apprentice wannabes, all of whom have been on the show before. On the cast are: Dennis Rodman, Claudia Jordan, LaToya Jackson,  Omarosa (who is making a third appearance, sure to ruffle the other contestants with her famous diva attitude) and  rapper Lil’ Jon.

This comes to a surprise to Dr. Randal Pinkett, who won The Apprentice in 2005. “I am somewhat surprised particularly given the near-absence of diversity amongst the winners. It will be interesting to see if this season’s diverse cast translates into a diverse winner,” Pinkett tells Madame Noire. Pinkett has proven to be a true businessman, having just inked two billion-dollar government contracts for his company, BCT Partners.

It will be anyone’s guess who wins, but EW is counting out Rodman, Jordan and Omarosa (who recently grieved the loss of her fiancé, actor Michael Clark Duncan). Lil’ Jon and LaToya are “sleepers.”

“This  is could be the light at the end of the tunnel for the African-American chance at winning Celebrity Apprentice. [Lil Jon] did a pretty good job last time, and maybe he can do better, especially if he’s not stuck with Gary Busey for too long,” notes The Grio.

If you don’t already know, here’s what at state on what is billed as “The Ultimate Job Interview”: The winner gets $250,000 to donate to the charity of their choice. The show is in its 13th season.

Some…most reality television stars are a dime a dozen. Producers find these people on the streets, on the Internet or audition rooms, and no matter if they have talent or not, they are suddenly on your television screen, intruding into your home, and forcing you to ride along on their journeys to be models, singers or millionaires.

But for those few who are talented, and manage to extend that 15-minute window wide, they achieve true celebrity, earn real money and garner awards for their talent. Notorious celebrities from “The Apprentice,” “Flavor of Love,” “America’s Next Top Model” and “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” have been taking strides to remove the word ‘reality’ from the title ‘Reality Stars.’

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Nene Leakes

The Queens, New York native initially gained fame in 2008, cumulatively earning more than 3 million as a lead player on the show “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” –and was further popularized on “Celebrity Apprentice.” Nowadays, Leakes is busier than ever, achieving a reoccurring role as Coach Roz on the hit television show “Glee” and pushing shoes and wine. She recently turned down a featured spot on “Celebrity Apprentice All Stars,” but will be appearing on a new sitcom this fall on NBC called, “The New Normal.” Recently featured in The Wall Street Journal, Leakes has also just had a grandchild and is looking for a possible spin-off reality show under the patented name, “I Dream of Nene.”

Reality shows have literally taken over every channel on television. While many shows come and go there are some that are unforgettable. Especially with characters that leave us with their classic lines that we can’t stop saying!

Here are a few that we might not ever forget…

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All reality stars don’t have to act a fool. In fact, some of them turned their tenure on reality television into something very lucrative. Check out the celebs who made the most of their 15 minutes in the limelight at Black Enterprise.com. 

The Apprentice Season 2 Contestant Kevin Allen

By Brittany Hutson

Remember when Donald Trump declared that he found it highly unlikely that President Obama was qualified enough to attend Columbia and Harvard University? Well, that wasn’t the first time the Donald has fretted over an African-American’s academic record. In fact, a former contestant from the series’ second season reveals that the real estate mogul also put his academic record under a magnifying glass due to his “unbelievable education.”

Kevin Allen, a Wharton Business School grad, Emory MBA and University of Chicago law graduate was in the final four when he was fired by Trump. On the show, Trump criticized Allen’s education and numerous degrees from elite universities.

“You’re an unbelievably talented guy in terms of education, and you haven’t done anything,” said Trump. “At some point you have to say ‘That’s enough.’”

“Apparently he doesn’t liked educated African-Americans very much,” Allen recently told Talking Points Memo.

Allen was fired shortly after an episode in 2004 that was considered controversial because he was ordered to sell chocolate bars outside of New York City subways stops, a job that is stereotypically associated with African-American high school students.

Entertainment Weekly’s Mark Harris wrote that “The Apprentice” “humiliated itself in regards to Allen” and that the show “paradoxically came off as so panicked about hiring a black guy that they had to invent a new standard—‘too smart’—to boot him off.”

Allen wasn’t too concerned about what he was tasked to do on the show, but he more so questioned Trump’s off-putting comments about his impressive credentials.

“What I thought was more interesting was that one of the knocks he had on me when he told me I was fired was that I was overeducated,” he said. “That was more interesting than necessarily anything we had to do.”

For the man who asserted that he is “the least racist person there is” when “Late Night Show” host David Letterman called him out on his seemingly racist attitude, it appears that the evidence is mounting against Trump. Even though Trump himself attend a highly ranked school—Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania—apparently, he appears to be threatened by black men who have more academic credentials than he does.

By Charlotte Young

Billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump has a new job that he’s taking very seriously–berating President Obama.

The New York Daily News reports that Trump has moved from voicing his suspicions that Obama was not born in the states to declaring that Obama was a poor student who was unqualified to attend both Columbia and Harvard University.

The “Apprentice” host says he knows plenty of smart students that did not get into Harvard. He also makes mention of Obama’s 2008 campaign, which did not release his college transcripts, as indication that the President has something to hide. He told the Associated Press that he heard Obama was “a terrible student,” and asks, “How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard?”

Well Trump, the answer is simple: they don’t. Terrible students also don’t take on the role of president of the Harvard Law Review and they certainly don’t graduate magna cum laude.

The recent accusations may have gotten him a bit of attention, but a USA Today/Gallup survey reveals his support is dwindling. Half of Americans say they believe Trump would make a “poor” president. Sixty-four percent say they simply would not vote for him.

Looks like Trump’s presidential bid is stretching thin–just like his hair.

By Brittany Hutson

African Americans have long been taught that the way to succeed in business is to work hard, give 200%, and stay in line with the rules of the game. Well, what happens when you do everything by the book, only to learn that your best really wasn’t good enough? This is the predicament many Blacks know too well and it was no different for Dr. Randall Pinkett.

Five years ago, Pinkett was named the first African American winner of NBC’s hit reality television show The Apprentice, where he competed against 17 other candidates for the opportunity to run one of Donald Trump’s companies for a year. Despite his achievement, Pinkett was asked to share it with a white woman. Angry and insulted, Pinkett objected. This is one moment that Pinkett describes as a “black faces in white places” moment— a point at which it becomes clear that playing well isn’t enough.

In his latest book, “Black Faces in White Places,” co-authored with Dr. Jeffrey Robinson, an assistant professor at the Rutgers Business School, Pinkett offers ten strategies on how you can succeed at playing the ‘ever-changing game’—a metaphor for the challenges minorities face. It’s a ‘game’ that Blacks still haven’t quite mastered. According to the research included in the book, 2.5 percent of executives in Fortune 500 companies were Black in in 1995; today, that percentage is nearly 4 percent. “We have a lot to do as Americans for it to be a level-playing field in this country,” says Pinkett. “That’s one of the messages that we’re really trying to amplify through this book that in 2010, that is unacceptable.”

Here’s a look at the strategies included in Pinkett’s book:

(Black Enterprise) – You prepare yourself for the professional path you want to take in life, but you never know where your career might take you. Just ask Kelly Smith Beaty, a 30-year-old public relations rep and former Black Enterprise intern who will appear on the newest season of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice. Beaty, who was born in North Carolina and raised in Georgia, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Spelman College and a master’s degree in public communication from American University. She’s dreamed big since she was a little girl, and her knack for spotting opportunities and capitalizing on them has served her well throughout her career.

“The Apprentice’s” most mischievous Madame, Omarosa, is coming back to television with a new reality television show: “Donald J. Trump Presents The Ultimate Merger.”

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