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‘Apprentice’ Producer Slams Show: It’s a ‘Scam,’ Responsible for Election of Donald Trump

A former Apprentice producer named Bill Pruitt claims that the show is responsible for the presidential election of so-called “clown” Donald Trump. In an email to Vanity Fair, Pruitt, who worked on season 1 and 2 of the hit NBC reality show in 2004, claims that the producers are in part responsible for elevating Trump’s power by melding entertainment with publicly accepted truths. 

Related: PHOTOS: Donald Trump's Most Offensive and Outrageous Quotes Ranked

“There’s a larger issue at hand: non-fiction or ‘reality’ television has obviously become a huge force in shaping the minds of the populace. The Apprentice contributed to that,” Pruitt’s email published on Wednesday, December 21, begins. “Clever producers were putting forth a manufactured story about a billionaire whose empire was, in actuality, crumbling at the very same time he took the job, the salary, and ownership rights to do a reality show. The Apprentice was a scam put forth to the public in exchange for ratings. We were ‘entertaining,’ and the story about Donald Trump and his stature fell into some bizarre public record as ‘truth.’”

Donald Trump Bill Pruitt The Apprentice
Donald Trump Jr., Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump during ‘The Apprentice’ Season 6 Finale at The Hollywood Bowl at Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California.

Related: PHOTOS: Celebrities Supporting Donald Trump for President

Pruitt continues that “smart people are playing dumb” and that with Trump, “it’s more than just about lewd, lascivious behavior, and narcissism on set. It’s about a complex global system that uses the media to construct its allies and to sway the populace to move like lemmings toward the ballot box.”

The Emmy winner, whose credits also include The Amazing Race, admits “we are masterful storytellers and we did our job well,” but that he never thought “this clown, this buffoon with the funny hair, would ever become a world leader.”

Pruitt ends his email by making a plea to the media to reveal truths.

“Now that the lines of fiction and reality have blurred to the horrifying extent that they have, those involved in the media must have their day of reckoning,” he writes. “People are buying our crap. Make it entertaining, yes. But make it real. Give them the truth or pay the consequences.”

This isn’t the first time that the former EP has come after Trump.

Related: PHOTOS: Celebrity Feuds: The Biggest Ever!

After the controversial businessman’s lewd Access Hollywood footage leaked, Pruitt warned that it was “just the beginning” of what’s been caught on tape. 

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