New York Times
By Alan Rappeport
June 30, 2015
NBC
has told Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate and
former star of “The Celebrity Apprentice” reality show, that he’s fired.
After
Mr. Trump made inflammatory remarks about Mexican immigrants, NBC said
in a statement Monday that it was ending its business relationship with
the billionaire real estate and media mogul. During his June 16
announcement that he was running for president, Mr. Trump referred to
immigrants as “rapists” and “murderers.”
Citing
the “derogatory statements,” NBC said it would also no longer air the
Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, which were part of a venture
between Mr. Trump and the network.
Mr.
Trump had taken steps to distance himself from “The Celebrity
Apprentice” while he pursued his presidential campaign because of the
conflict it presented. NBC, which had renewed the program for another
season, would not allow Mr. Trump to appear on the air while running for
office because of concerns that other candidates could request equal
airtime. But he could have come back — and NBC probably would have
welcomed him back — if he had dropped his bid at any point.
But
his comments on Mexico and immigration made his relationship with the
network untenable, and he appears to have permanently lost NBC as a
platform for “The Apprentice” or any other program.
Last
week, Univision said it would no longer air Mr. Trump’s pageants after
his remarks. Mr. Trump suggested that he might take legal action for
breach of contract and banned Univision executives from using his golf
course in Miami.
By
Monday, a Change.org petition urging NBC to end its relationship with
Mr. Trump had garnered more than 200,000 signatures, adding to pressure
on the network to end the relationship.
The
show was once a hit for NBC, but its viewership has waned in recent
years. In its first season in 2004, it gave NBC a much-needed ratings
boost when the show averaged almost 21 million viewers, according to
Nielsen. But the most recent season of “The Celebrity Apprentice”
brought in 7.6 million viewers an episode, an improvement over each of
the previous two seasons but significantly lower than in the first five
seasons. The most recent season, which ended in February, was the first
“Celebrity Apprentice” season since 2013.
Nevertheless,
NBC said it would move forward with the show. It said the show was
“licensed from Mark Burnett’s United Artists Media Group, and that
relationship will continue.” The network did not say who would replace
Mr. Trump as host.
Also
Monday, Ora TV, a production company co-founded by the Mexican
billionaire Carlos Slim Helú and the TV personality Larry King, canceled
a program it was working on with some of Mr. Trump’s companies, Reuters
reported.
Mr.
Trump has brushed off criticism over his comments and has said his
wealth gives him the ability to speak his mind freely without worrying
about political backlash or the need to please donors. He said in an
interview with CNN over the weekend that he was forgoing millions of
dollars in business opportunities to pursue his run for president.
With
the loss of his NBC platform, Mr. Trump’s presidential bid became more
personally costly. However, at a news conference Monday in Chicago, he
stood by his immigration comments and said NBC had been unhappy with him
since he decided to run for president and step away from his show.
“I
told NBC I could not change my stance,” Mr. Trump said, suggesting the
network could face a lawsuit for violating their contract. “The fact is
that my stance on immigration is correct.” Mr. Trump also derided the
company over its handling of Brian Williams, the news anchor who was
demoted after embellishing his reporting experiences.
“They
will stand behind lying Brian Williams, but won’t stand behind people
that tell it like it is, as unpleasant as that may be,” Mr. Trump said.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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