Keshia Knight Pulliam, The Celebrity Apprentice's first fired contestant, insists she didn't choose to serve as project manager of a fundraising task knowing her list of possible donors was small.

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Criticized for stepping into that leadership role so early on in the season, Pulliam said she was designated to be her all-female team's project manager only because there was a lack of volunteers.

"At the end of the day, no one really wanted to step up and do it, so I figured, 'Why not?'... The opportunity to raise that much money for my [charity Kamp Kizzy], I was just like, 'No risk, no reward,'" Pulliam said during a Monday appearance on the Today show.

The former The Cosby Show star, who played Rudy Huxtable, was passionate enough about her charity to take on the project manager position, however, she thought she had a lot of money lined up that she unfortunately never saw.

"There's a lot that you don't see in the editing process, like the amount of time you had to get the checks here and they had to be in secure funds. There were so many variables that I had checks that simply didn't make it. If they didn't make it by the end and somebody didn't bring it in, they just didn't count," Pulliam explained.

She's clearly not happy about Donald Trump firing her instead of Kate Gosselin or Jamie Anderson, but Pulliam ultimately accepts responsibility for her "Team Infinity" loss.

"I thought it was interesting that -- even though I know I was the project manager -- for me, I was looking at the project and its success overall. There were two people who raised zero dollars and there were two other people who raised less than I did. So, I get it. At the end of the day, I have to be held accountable, but," she said on Today.

Trump and Pulliam's teammates were disappointed she didn't attempt to contact the famous Bill Cosby for a hefty donation.

"I thought that was really interesting because it's funny. I know The Cosby Show is in re-runs and everyone assumes we're this family that, like, has dinner every Friday night. But the reality was, I hadn't spoken to Mr. Cosby and I felt that it would be kind of tactless, you know, very rude to call someone and say, 'Hey! Give me some of your money right now,'" Pulliam explained.

"And honestly, with the other checks I had lined up, I didn't feel that I needed to make that phone call."

The Celebrity Apprentice's debut episode filmed back in March, so no one was aware at the time of Cosby's current scandal in which many females -- celebrities included -- have accused him of sexual abuse. 

"What I can say is this. I wasn't there. No one was there, except for the two people, to know exactly what happened. All I can speak to is the man that I know and I love -- the fact that he has been such an example," Pulliam told Today.

"And you can't take away from the great that he has done, the millions and millions of dollars that he has given back to colleges and education, and just what he did with The Cosby Show and how groundbreaking that was."

Pulliam then verified whether she was shocked by the rape allegations against Cosby.

"Ultimately, they are just that -- allegations. It's been very much played out in the court of public opinion, but we're still in America where ultimately you're innocent until proven guilty. And I wasn't there. That's just not the man I know, so I can't speak to it," she said.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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