The repercussions were swift following last Friday’s leak of the Access Hollywood tape, in which Donald Trump can be heard bragging about sexually assaulting women: House speaker Paul Ryan told fellow Republicans that he would no longer defend the party’s nominee, while hordes of party members distanced themselves from Trump’s comments with some – including Senator John McCain – even saying they could no longer vote for Trump.
Supposedly, things could get even worse for the Republican nominee.
Following the release of the footage by the Washington Post, Bill Pruitt, a producer on the first two seasons of The Apprentice, the NBC reality show Trump hosted from 2004-2015, tweeted that there are “far worse” behind-the-scenes tapes of Trump on the program. Emmy award-winning producer Chris Nee has alleged that Trump says the n-word in the recordings.
As a producer on seasons 1 & 2 of #theapprentice I assure you: when it comes to the #trumptapes there are far worse. #justthebegininng
— Bill Pruitt (@billpruitt) October 8, 2016
In light of the allegations, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, which owns the rights to the show, and The Apprentice creator Mark Burnett are facing mounting pressure to make public the footage. But on Monday, MGM and Burnett said in a joint statement to the Guardian, that they do “not have the ability nor the right” to release the material, citing “various contractual and legal requirements”.
MGM and Burnett also refuted allegations that staffers have been threatened with legal action for releasing the outtakes, stating that: “the recent claims that Mark Burnett has threatened anyone with litigation if they were to leak such material are completely and unequivocally false.” Burnett “has consistently supported Democratic campaigns”, the statement said. In past presidential cycles, he has been a prominent donor to Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee.
But leaking The Apprentice tapes comes for an alleged asking price of $5.1m – needed to cover the potential penalty fee for breaking Burnett’s non-disclosure agreement.
With mounting interest surrounding The Apprentice footage, the Huffington Post on Tuesday published an in-depth report on how Comedy Central’s 2011 Roast of Donald Trump came together, displaying yet more misogynistic remarks by Trump.
Still, The Apprentice leak is sure to be more destructive.
Rumors of the footage has spurred UltraViolet Action, a group committed to “expose and fight sexism”, to post a petition calling on MGM and NBC to release the tapes and “stop protecting Donald Trump”.
The form was signed by more than 30,000 people in less than four hours after it went live on Monday afternoon. By Tuesday morning, that number rose to 115,000 according to the organization. Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo is among those who have joined the cause, tweeting his support for the petition.
Additionally, A GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign was launched on Sunday, with the goal of raising $5m to “reward the whistleblower responsible” to “assist them as they move forward in their career”.
“Any unused funds (or if no one comes forward) will be donated to a reputable organization that supports freedom of the press and journalistic integrity,” reads the Trump Sunlight Campaign page. So far the campaign has amassed more than $20,000.
David Brock, a Hillary Clinton ally who runs a network of Democratic groups to help her campaign, including Media Matters, has also promised he would back the leaker financially.
“Time is of the essence,” urges Karin Roland, chief campaigns officer for UltraViolet Action. “I know that MGM has said that there are contractual reasons for withholding the tapes, but that’s not acceptable. Every day and every hour is time that MGM and Mark Burnett are keeping the truth about the man who wants to be president from voters – and that’s totally unacceptable.”
“The reality is MGM and Burnett have profited off of Trump’s brand and now they’re protecting who he is from the public, in particular from women voters,” Roland adds. “The American public deserves to know.”
MGM and Burnett’s response comes a week after the Associated Press released an in-depth report of Trump’s behavior on the NBC show, which he hosted from 2004 to early 2015, in which more than 20 contestants and crew members from The Apprentice shared on-and-off the record accounts of his allegedly lewd behavior.
Randal Pinkett, who won the competition in December 2005, told the AP he remembered Trump talking about which female contestants he wanted to sleep with, even though Trump had married former model Melania Knauss earlier that year: “He was like ‘Isn’t she hot, check her out,’ kind of gawking, something to the effect of ‘I’d like to hit that.’” Former producer Katherine Walker said Trump speculated about which female contestant would be “a tiger in bed”.
The Trump campaign denied the claims, calling them “outlandish” and “unsubstantiated”.
On Monday, the Huffington Post obtained a transcript from the ninth season of The Apprentice where contestants were tasked with giving three country music stars a makeover. During a boardroom session to present their transformations, Trump reportedly made a series of comments on singer Emily West’s physical appearance, specifically her skin, saying: “I assume you’re gonna leave this off, don’t put this shit on the show, you know. But her skin, her skin sucks, okay? I mean her skin, she needs some serious fuckin’ dermatology.”
Trump was fired from hosting The Apprentice by NBC in 2015 after making controversial comments about Mexican immigrants while launching his campaign for president. He’s been replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger for an upcoming season.
The former Republican governor of California has since distanced himself from Trump, retracting his support following the Access Hollywood leak. “It is not only acceptable to choose your country over your party – it is your duty,” he said in a statement.