Sinbad got the boot in the 2nd week of CELEBRITY APPRENTICE
The harsh reality of any reality show based in competition is that someone has to go home every week. With NBC’s latest season of Celebrity Apprentice, comedienne Carol Leifer went home in the first week while this past Sunday’s episode said goodbye to Sinbad who, as a project leader, took the fall when his team underperformed. The comedian/actor talked to reporters (including myself) the day after his last episode aired to chat about whether he agreed with Donald Trump firing him or if he was unjustly let go.
Jim Halterman: I wanted to know about the experience of being on the show? Was it what you expected or were you surprised at anything?
Sinbad: Well, you know you never know what to expect. I didn’t have any expectations. as a reality show, I think it’s one of the best run reality shows. It just…I had fun with it. It was a lot more work than I thought. It’s a lot of work. But it’s fun because you know; you’re with some cool cats, so it was okay.
JH: And how much do you think personality plays in doing well on the show? I mean, outside of the task at hand, do you think different people’s personalities might play into how well they do?
Sinbad: I think personality is probably about 80 to 90% of the show, with who you are and how you work with people because celebrities have very distinct personalities and it works for what we do. And everybody there is successful in doing what they do, but sometimes being a celebrity, you can clash with other celebrities. Because you kind of play in your own little world. Like, you’re finding out…I think with Cyndi Lauper and the girls, a lot of women are having problems with Cyndi Lauper. But I like Cyndi and how she is and what she does works with how she writes her songs.
The cast of this season's CELEBRITY APPRENTICE
Sinbad: You know what? We did well. The thing is I know they have to edit the way they do. I think because when they know you lost, they take whatever the comments are, but I think we did really well. I know the way I work, because I’m more of a…I walk in a room, I’m walking the spot, and I look at it and then I kind of make my thoughts to myself or I say them out loud, and they might have been a little bit confused. But I saw what we were going to do and I know a lot of it was just going to…some things weren’t going to be able to happen until the next day because we were waiting for equipment. So, I wish they could’ve seen on the show that – all the things that we did do that first day.
Question: Who was the most formidable female contestant, do you think in your estimation?
Sinbad: That’s going to be Holly Robinson.
Question: How do think it would’ve turned out different if you did give Bret Michaels a specific task?
Sinbad: Well, we did. They just never showed it. I gave him something to do and then he wanted me to over-explain how to do it. But we were all – we were in the middle of doing stuff. I said, “Dude, just do it.” He wanted – “I need to know to do it.” And Bret really didn’t have to do anything, you know. And so, no one really knew what we could do until this task, and I think you’ll find in future episodes Bret’s always going to be like this. And when I gave him something to do, he might do a little piece of it, but I still don’t know what happened that day, because I didn’t even know he was in the basement. Something had happened and he just kind of went off, so I don’t know what happened that day.
Question: What was the specific task you gave him that we didn’t see?
Sinbad: There was some stuff to do with some of the graphics. But then again what you didn’t see was all the equipment that he had for his event. He called his guys up. Bret was busy most of the time. He had a set up almost like a rock concert, so he spent a lot of his time setting his gear up.
Question: You and Carol Leifer were the first two to go and you’re both comedians. What do you make of that?
Sinbad: You know what, I don’t know if it’s just coincidence, but we could’ve – if Cyndi Lauper had gone, then it’d been a rock star that had gone. So I don’t think it means much whether a comedian goes first or last. I think – well, Carol – see, they messed up on Carol. Carol’s a smart person. Carol’s real smart.
Question: From way back on Star Search to your time on Celebrity Apprentice, and everything in between, how do you look at what you’ve achieved as a celebrity?
Sinbad: First of all, as a kid from Benton Harbor, Michigan, who just had a dream of making this work and to become one of the best at what I do…sometimes it blows my mind that I got here. Then I also look at there’s so much more. There’s so much more that I want to do, so I don’t really stand and look at what I’ve done so much, as there’s so much more I want to do. So, I’m not done yet.
Celebrity Apprentice airs Sunday nights on NBC at 9/8c.
Jim Halterman spends his days interviewing the top tier of talent and creative forces in the entertainment world and then, because he's that kind of guy, he brings it all to YOU! And, because we all like free stuff, check back often for giveaways!! 
