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Arsenio Hall Named 2012 Celebrity Apprentice; Clay Aiken is Runner-Up Clay Aiken

Posted: May 21, 2012

arsenio-hall-2012-celebrity-apprentice-winner-videoComedian, actor and talk show host Arsenio Hall can officially add another accomplishment to his resume: Celebrity Apprentice winner.

On Sunday night, Hall, 56, became Donald Trump’s latest favored protégé as he was crowned winner of season 5 of the reality contest, beating out “American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken in the process.

“I can’t wait to deliver this $250,000 check to my friend “Erv” for The Magic Johnson Foundation. It’s a dream to be able to support the important work they do on a daily basis and I am humbled to be able to contribute to their ongoing mission,” said Hall, who played in memory of his cousin who passed away from AIDS shortly before he signed on to do the show.

“I’ll be fighting the rest of my life in her memory,” he added.

People magazine reports that for the show’s final challenge, the Hall and Aiken were challenged with completing three tasks: stage a celebrity charity event, shoot a 30 second public service announcement for their charities, and raise money.

Although Aiken, who played for his own charity, the National Inclusion Project, raised $310,500 to Hall’s $167k during the final task, the ultimate decision was up to Mr. Trump, who picked Arsenio as the winner.

On Monday morning, Trump explained the win on the “Today” show by saying that even though Aiken raised more money in the final task, Hall was undefeated as project manager and, he said, “Arsenio stood out.”

“Arsenio worked hard and he did a great job and that’s why he won,” Trump, 65, explained.

When it comes to Arsenio’s future, the former late night host told the “Today” crew that he is ready to get back into the talk show world after so many years away — saying that a recent guest-hosting gig that he did on “Piers Morgan Tonight” helped to reinvigorate his passion for something he had previously not done in years.

Huffington Post recaps Arsenio’s win the video clip below:

Readers chime in: Do you think Arsenio Hall should have won Season 5 of Celebrity Apprentice? Did Aiken deserve the victory instead?



Comments


One Archived Response to “ Arsenio Hall Named 2012 Celebrity Apprentice; Clay Aiken is Runner-Up Clay Aiken ”

  1. Good Gravy Garry
    May 22, 2012

    Add a comment…HALL: (1.) If you want to have sympathy for Clay because he's gay; well, Hall was the only black man on the show; Clay was not the only gay man and there were a bunch of people playing for gay charities so take that sympathy and shove it (2.) Hall was undefeated on the show as a project manager with zero losses (3.) Hall made more money than Clay when every episode is taken into account (4.) Hall got along better with his teammates and his only run-in was with the show's biggest troll, Aubrey O'Day (who was trolling everyone on the show might I add). Clay had fall-outs with Aubrey as well I should note. Note that despite a general consensus that Aubrey was the show's massive troll by everyone on the show and viewers alike, Hall STILL apologized to her. Despite that, O'Day returns right back to her old ways.

    CLAY: (1.) Clay's not really a minority on the show considering he's not the only gay man on the show and several people are playing for gay charities and giving gays all kinds of sympathy. (2.) Clay gets attacked and yelled at by Lisa on one episode and backs down to her and says nothing. Fair enough, but on the following episode, he starts supporting her in bullying Dayana Mendoza. Err… ok! Clay claims in his blog that he did this because he felt Dayana was the easier target. He basically became Lampanelli's little puppy dog after she attacked him. Whenever Lisa yelled at Clay to back her up, he did JUST THAT. He viciously attacked and yelled at Dayana Mendoza multiple times (3.) Shortly after Lou Ferrigno's nagging of Penn Jillette, Clay decided to get piece of that pie and harass Penn Jillette as well numerous times on the show (4.) Clay then bullied and harassed Debbie Gibson in the finale. CLAY MADE NO APOLOGIES AT ALL ON THE SHOW (5.) Clay wasn't working for A charity; he was working for HIS OWN PERSONAL charity of which HE would be handling all the winnings for; not anyone else's charity which is what Arsenio was doing (6.) Clay makes death threats against Dayana Mendoza according to Lisa Lampanelli. Had a black man like Hall done this, he'd probably been kicked off the show (7.) In tearing down Mendoza, Clay insults handicapped people of whom he's supposedly playing for on the show by stating "Dayana Mendoza requires more patience than an autistic kid." Really? And handicapped people are being mocked by this man why. Is it not enough he's taken advantage of them for money? (8.) Despite acting as though he was Arsenio's buddy, Clay was willing to cheat him by accepting money from his pig of a master, Lisa Lampanelli, who was supposed to be on Arsenio's team in the finale.
    As Clay's owner, Lisa Lampanelli says: "the only thing aching is Clay's ass" and his sore loser fans.
    (9.) Why did Clay say he was a runner-up like 3,000 times. It was a really bad way to try to get the win. Trump's not interested in runner-ups but winners.