After just one season as the host of the "Celebrity Apprentice," Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to call it quits. In addition to leaving the show, the action movie star decided to take a shot at President Donald Trump on his way out of the door.
Arnold on Trump
Donald Trump was the host of the reality TV show "The Apprentice," and its off-shoot the "Celebrity Apprentice" for nearly a decade. The increased exposure catapulted Trump back into the mainstream, which he used to help launch his campaign for president. After Trump was locked in to run for president, Arnold Schwarzenegger was tapped as his replace, which he started earlier this year.
Since the new season began, Trump and Schwarzenegger have gotten into heated exchanges about the show's ratings, with the bad blood between the two increasing in recent weeks. As reported by The Hill on March 3, Schwarzenegger is now stepping aside.
Schwarzenegger quits "Apprentice" over show's Trump ties https://t.co/PVPwN5lCit pic.twitter.com/v9M10jEQni
— The Hill (@thehill) March 3, 2017
During an exclusive interview with Empire Online on Friday, Arnold Schwarzenegger confirmed his exit from the show, citing Donald Trump as one of the reasons why he has left. "Even if asked, I would decline,” Schwarzenegger said. The former governor of California said that he "learned a lot," but "under the circumstances I don't want to do it again."
"With Trump being involved in the show people have a bad taste and don’t want to participate as a spectator or sponsor or in any other way support the show," Schwarzenegger explained, referring to Donald Trump's presidency as a "divisive period" that he doesn't want to be involved in.
EXCLUSIVE: Arnold @Schwarzenegger won't be back for more #CelebrityApprentice, cites @realDonaldTrump as reason: https://t.co/JzpBuGV0sW pic.twitter.com/OKNOvs3Rxj
— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) March 3, 2017
The star of the "Terminator" series went on to blame Donald Trump for the ratings, referencing conversations he's had with potential viewers of the show.
"Everyone I ran into came up to me and said 'I love the show,'" he noted, while adding that people would "turned it off" once it became clear that Trump was still an executive producer.
Moving forward
As of press time, no replacement has been named for the program, if the "Celebrity Apprentice" continues on to another season. In addition, Donald Trump has not yet responded to the news.
