Photo
by Mitchell Haaseth/NBC
Each season Donald
Trump gathers an all star cast for his reality TV show, The Celebrity Apprentice. Once again actors, singers, athletes and
other well known personalities will gather in the boardroom for some cutthroat
debates. But no matter how ugly things get, it’s all for a good cause. In a
recent conference call interview, competitors Debbie Gibson and Arsenio Hall
explained why they signed on to The
Celebrity Apprentice.
Gibson overcame
initial apprehension about joining the Celebrity
Apprentice cast. “At first I was concerned that it was just going to be
basically so taxing to my nervous system that I thought, ‘Oh my God, do I want
to put myself through this?’ I knew that it was not for the faint at heart.”
But when she pondered
all the good she could do, Gibson decided to warm to the idea. She revealed
that her affiliation with Children International was in her head, “Ultimately
the charity aspect is what kept nagging at me.”
Still, Gibson was
honest enough to admit, “Anybody would be lying if they said that was the only
reason for doing this show, because obviously this show is an amazing platform
for every project you have going on… For me in my career that I’ve been doing
that people didn’t know about, this shines a big light on everything.”
Yet the altruistic motivation far surpassed the self-satisfying goal. Gibson conceded, “Ultimately the charity aspect is the backbone of the show. And if you are going to get up on very little sleep and run around and basically achieve the nearly impossible in 24 hour periods of time, it is amazing that there is that as the backbone to the show. Because millions have been raised for charity every season, and being a part of that and watching that unfold was incredible.”
Gibson’s co-star
Arsenio Hall concurred. “My situation was two-fold. I’ve always wanted to do
the show. I was a fan of the show. But I live in L.A., and I’m a single dad —
didn’t think I could leave my home for two months at a time. I just didn’t
think it was possible. And my son’s 12 now.”
But Hall wanted to
raise awareness of a cause that’s very close to his heart. “It just happens to
be the 20th anniversary of the Magic Johnson Foundation, which for obvious
reason, I’ve been a part of for a long time. So it just seemed like this was
the year and all things were pointing to the fact that this was the time for me
to help the organization. It was the perfect time to leave for two months, even
though that never works like you want it to, and I’m glad I did. It was probably
the best show business experience I’ve ever had other than the Wayne Brady day
time talk show.”
Watch on Sunday, February
19 when the new season of The CelebrityApprentice debuts at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. Eastern on NBC.
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