By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed January 26, 2015
Kenya Moore slipped into the final 7 on "Celebrity Apprentice" Monday night, but she is becoming a target as rivals peck away at her weaknesses. She did bite back hard when Vivica A. Fox went after her.
Still, she survived a rough-and-tumble boardroom for the ninth task.
"She's messy," Vivica told Donald Trump. Anybody who watches "Real Housewives of Atlanta" would agree. That's her modus operandi. She acts all sweet and nice on the surface but she'll chew you up and spit you out if she needs to.
In the second hour task that aired Monday night, the two teams had to create interactive sales rooms for one of the Trump's fancy golf/hotel properties in Miami.
It was Ian Ziering's team (Johnny Damon, Leeza Gibbons, Brandi Glanville) vs. Kate Gosselin's group (Kenya, Vivica, Geraldo Rivera.)
Ian's team easily won because their display was more interactive and better captured the "luxury" feel Trump aspires to.
Kate struggled with the "glamour" aspect and had to deal with trumped-up drama between Vivica and Kenya. Their task was to shop for the display and they were taking too long in Kenya's mind. She kept texting Kate to make sure she knew it was Vivica's fault, not hers.
"The focus became their personal struggles instead of the task at hand," Kate said to Trump. She felt Vivica was better than Kenya.
Vivica was offended when Kenya threw her under the bus in front of Trump.
"I have never been on a team and they make you feel so uncomfortable and stab you in the back in a heartbeat," Vivica said, about Kenya. "That's how you made me feel."
"People are ganging up on me because I'm a strong player. I have not offended anyone. I've been pleasant and easy to work with," Kenya said. She also said she was a team player and noted how smart people tell her she is.
Vivica scoffed at that self-aggrandizing characterization.
Kenya: "I'm not intimidated by Vivica."
Vivica: "I'm not intimidated by you."
Kenya said she had very little to do with the less-than-fancy designs, that it was Kate's fault. Then she tried to butter up the Trumps, including Donald's two sons.
"You guys are really the First Family of America," Kenya said with a straight face.
Believe it or not, this multiple defense system worked. Trump suddenly fired a truly shocked Kate for not making the displays sufficiently "Trump"-ian.
Kenya triumphed again - for now.
***
In the earlier challenge, Kenya helped win a task led by Brandi Glanville of all people before Kenya was moved to Kate's team. But Kenya wasn't the key mover and shaker for a party created for tourists on the Circle Line cruise. She performed her song "Gone With the Wind Fabulous" but got a bit too raunchy. (She also sung it on this past Sunday's Bravo episode, if you'd charitably call what she does "singing.")
Ultimately, Kenya's warbling didn't matter. Brandi smartly dumped a lousy Mardis Gras theme and went with something more generic. Fortunately, the other team tanked thanks to Sig Hansen's polarizing idea of bringing Hooters girls on board, plus allowing Geraldo to hog the mic.
***
Observations of the players besides Kenya to date:
- Ian Ziering is a bit of a control freak but very sharp and strategic. He is gunning seriously for a spot in the finals with a determined edge. He is 1-1 as project manager.
- Leeza Gibbons has been Miss Nice. She has stayed out of virtually all the drama and nary a bad word has been said about her in the boardroom. She is 1-0 as project manager.
- Johnny Damon is Mr. Low Key almost to a fault. I can't tell how creative or assertive he is in a business setting. I suspect he will get cut sooner than later. He is 1-0 as a project manager.
- Geraldo Rivera is truly Mr. Teflon, as another player noted. His team has lost four challenges in a row but has not been in any danger of going home despite his major flaws. He learns to project himself well in the boardroom and he has outmaneuvered the others to date. He is 2-0 as project manager.
- Brandi Glanville has surprised me. I thought she would have been toast a long time ago but she latched onto a challenge tonight (organizing a party) that matched well with her talents. She is 1-0 as project manager.
- Vivica A. Fox is bright, feisty and ultra competitive. Donald likes that. She is 1-1 as project manager.
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