Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth might have been booted from last week's The Apprentice episode, but apparently all that's done is allow the NBC series' most controversial contestant an opportunity to begin heavily exploiting her fifteen minutes of show... with an eye toward extending it to be much more than that.
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In several interviews, the obnoxious former political appointee who became known for her tendency to drop names, avoid work, and endlessly put down and argue with her teammates has alleged that since her ouster she's been fielding an "explosion" of offers from "a lot of different places" for opportunities ranging from hosting her own television talk show to designing her own line of business clothing.
"I really got a lot of interest when I first got on the show and started getting calls from a lot of different places," she recently told The New York Post. "Serious discussions started around week 5 or 6."
Then, according to Omarosa, things really took off after her Thursday booting. "Friday just changed my life," she told the paper. "I was in L.A. to do the Leno show and had a ton of meetings out there. I don't know which ones are serious or not, but the indication is that there's a true interest."
As to her proposed show, Omarosa says "If I were to write myself it would be a mixture of politics, news and business."
Unlike her talk show hopes, the pageantry hobbyist's plans for her own line of business suits and accessories actually seems to be somewhat further along. "I've been sitting down with different design teams - I'm not a fashion designer myself, I just have my vision... and I'm still searching for the perfect design team," she told The Post. "I want to bring back serious suits that show you mean business - I love French cuffs, sharp lapels and low-cut business jackets that accentuate what women are. We already have the capital for [the line] and we're shooting for a September launch."
Showing an apparent clear lack of understanding as to exactly how unpopular her appearance on the program has made her among the viewing public (perhaps not since Survivor: The Australian Outback's Jerri Manthey has there been a more hated reality show contestant) Omarosa also talks of capitalizing on her "public brand."
"Each person who approached me has their own ideas," she explained to The Post. "I keep talking about 'branding,' which is one of the lessons I learned from Mr. Trump, and I would like a project that would further my brand."
What possible brand opportunities could exist for such a disliked former reality show contestant, we'll have to wait to find out -- after all, three years later, Manthey mentioned rehabilitating her public image as one of her chief goals of her appearance on CBS' currently-airing Survivor: All-Stars.
For their part, fellow contestants Kristi Franks and Erika Vetrini instead Omarosa was even bitchier than shown on the program. "They actually cut some of her worst scenes out," Kristi told the Palm Beach Post. Added Erika: "She truly is like that. She was much more obnoxious than she actually appeared on television. She likes to put people down, but she never really contributes anything. There are people who have that right. I've worked for presidents of companies, CEOs and they're tough, but you follow them because you respect what they can do. But she's never done anything to deserve to act the way she acts."
