Trumped

Donald Trump’s Apprentice Set Was Reportedly a Breeding Ground for Sexism

If some of the allegations against Trump sound familiar, it’s because we heard them against Roger Ailes.
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From NBC/Photofest.

Despite ungainly efforts to win over women, the Trump campaign has been dogged by the Republican nominee’s long history of sexist comments—documented in countless television, radio, and magazine interviews over the more than three decades that Donald Trump has been in the national spotlight. Most recently, Hillary Clinton seized on Trump’s 20-year-old treatment of former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, whom he called “Miss Piggy” and chastised for gaining weight after winning the beauty pageant he owned in 1996. (Instead of moving on, Trump inexplicably doubled down on his attacks on Machado’s appearance last week, calling her “disgusting” and her weight a “real problem.”) Throughout the campaign, he’s turned his sharp tongue toward Megyn Kelly, called Arianna Huffington a “dog,” and mocked Carly Fiorina’s face. He has, in the past, repeatedly referred to Rosie O’Donnell as a “fat pig,” said it was “dangerous” for women to work, and called a lawyer “disgusting” for requesting to take a break from a deposition in order to breast-feed.

It is not entirely surprising, then, that former crew members, staff, and contestants who worked with the Donald on the set of his hit NBC show The Apprentice are opening up about what they describe as a sexist, misogynistic climate on set. More than 20 people involved on the show were interviewed by the Associated Press and shared stories of inappropriate comments made about women. (Trump’s campaign denied these allegations to the AP. “These outlandish, unsubstantiated, and totally false claims fabricated by publicity hungry, opportunistic, disgruntled former employees, have no merit whatsoever," spokeswoman Hope Hicks told the wire.)

Over the five seasons she worked on the show, former producer Katherine Walker told the AP that Trump often discussed women’s bodies, wondering aloud about which female contestant would be “a tiger in bed.” A former crew member who wished to remain anonymous because of a non-disclosure agreement alleged that Trump would ask male contestants to rate the physical appearances of the women they were competing against. “If there was a break in the conversation, he would then look at one of the female cast members, saying, ‘You’re looking kind of hot today, I love that dress on you,’ then he would turn to one of the male cast members and say, ‘Wouldn’t you sleep with her?’”

According to the AP, eight former camera-crew workers remember comments Trump made about a camerawoman, complimenting her backside and comparing her blonde hair and looks to his daughter Ivanka, whose beauty he has a storied history of complimenting.

One former contestant, Gene Folkes, claimed that Trump would ask women to wear shorter dresses and that he “asked one of the women their breast size at one point, or said, ‘Are those real or natural?’” Several cast members recalled Trump asking women to twirl for him.

It is hard to hear these claims and not note similarities with some of the allegations made against former Fox News chief Roger Ailes, who has no official role within the Trump campaign but has reportedly been advising the Republican nominee for months. In July, former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual-harassment lawsuit against Ailes claiming that, among many things, he asked women to show off their legs and twirl so he could get a look at them. More than 20 women came forward with allegations against Ailes as 21st Century Fox launched an internal investigation of his conduct, and he resigned several weeks later. (21st Century Fox came to a $20 million settlement agreement with Carlson last month, issuing an apology to her for the fact that she was not treated “with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve.” Ailes has denied all wrongdoing.)

Now, both men maintain their innocence. Both are also men of a certain age who enjoyed the same certain high degree of success in the entertainment industry until this election cycle. They are rich friends who advise one another, unofficially or otherwise. That they are both being accused of the same behavior at the same time does not come as a shock. The difference, of course, is that Donald Trump is running for president and is severely lagging behind in the polls with women voters. Maybe Roger Ailes, off enjoying his reported $40 million golden parachute, is not the best choice to help him out of this hole.