Thursday, May 13, 2010

The Celebrity Apprentice has no Bullies? Say what?


The Celebrity Apprentice has returned for 2010 and we have seen many leave since its season premiere on March 14 on NBC. Each episode has given us two hours of celebrities from Darryl Strawberry to Carol Leifer working to raise money for their chosen charities. There seems to be one exception this season and that is that a bully does not appear to be in the bunch. In past seasons, there has always been one or two in the bunch that constantly harped on team members, threw others under the bus, kept division amongst the group and the dirty laundry goes on and on. However, this season, I have seen several personality conflicts but not a full blown bully. Is The Donald getting educated on this serious and underappreciated problem we have in our society?

The latest episode is a perfect example. In the previous episode in the boardroom, both Sharon Osbourne and Maria Kanellis stated that Curtis Stone was “smug” they and did not care for him. Holly Robinson Peete and Cyndi Lauper still battled their differences. So, after this The Donald insisted that the former two ladies work with Curtis and moved Bret Michaels over to the team with the latter two ladies. All were not happy yet they came together. Holly and Cyndi, who have had differences in the past came together this episode and went “shopping and were getting married.” At the end both Maria and Sharon developed a new found admiration for Curtis. Sharon stated that she wanted him to marry one of her daughters so he could come over and make her dinner at Christmas. It was impressive to see people put aside differences and decide to work together. Of course Cyndi was angry when she was fired which was understandable. It was her decorated room that was so impressive. During the boardroom, she and Holly did go after each other. However, they were also encouraged in doing so by Trump. Bret Michaels sat quietly and for the most part, had a very hard time deciding who he felt should be fired. Nobody really deserved to be fired as all did well but those are the rules.

Personality differences are everywhere and are a fact of life. When people are different they will express frustration about the other as some of these did in the sidebars. Yes, Cyndi was hard to manage. Cyndi is also a highly creative individual who probably has never worked in an office setting a day in her life. However, she pulled together and worked with others and they still had nice things to say about her. Holly is very serious and organized. Some people are wired that way as well. Sharon admitted that her behavior has been bad in the past and apologized for it. Folks, these are not the minds of workplace bullies. I did not see any bus throwing, manipulating or intentional bad mouthing of anyone. Sure, they got on each others nerves but with little sleep and hard work, anyone in those shoes would be cranky at the end of the day. However, these traits are not what make an adult bully. Its as if this season of celebrities were living in Utopia for the most part. I was beginning to wonder if this was American television I was watching.

Kudos to Mark Burnett, Donald Trump and the gang at The Celebrity Apprentice. Its refreshing to just sit down, watch the interaction amongst team members and despite differences people still having some respect for one another. I hope future seasons bring much of the same thing.

8 comments:

Kelly said...

An interesting look at bullying as it is woven into the social fabric and influenced by our media/entertainment, Elizabeth! I also want to highlight the phenomenon of white collar bullying. Also explained as white collar psychopathy, it's people of means and influence using their positions to intimidate and manipulate others. It's not limited to the workplace in my experience. And I do wonder how entertainment/celebrity impacts this type of bullying.

Unknown said...

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Carrie Cooper said...

Carrie @ comfortedbyGod.blogspot.com

Hi! I stumbled upon your blog...what a great topic to address. My elementary age daughter has been struggling with a bully all school year. Its amazing how bullying permeates every aspect of a childs life. Im glad youre covering this issue!

Elizabeth Bennett said...

Hi everyone, thanks for reading and forgive my delay in getting back to you.

Kelly, believe me, I see everything you are saying. Many times I will use these scenarios from movies and television and blog about this problem as we see it in our midst. Our society enables this behavior and its important to understand it and speak out against it.

Thank you Steve and I will. Are you following mine?

Thanks Carrie...it is an important and vital issue that we deal with today. I am so sorry to read your daughter has been abused by her peers. I hope she is doing better now.

Thanks again for your comments and have a great week.....

Take Care,
Elizabeth

Covnitkepr1 said...

I’ve enjoyed looking over your blog. I came across it through another blog I follow, and I’m glad I did. I am now a follower of yours as well. Feel free to look over my blog and perhaps become one as well.

Elizabeth Bennett said...

Thanks! I am now following you back, Convitkepr. Have a good week and thanks for your kind words....

Take Care,
Elizabeth

Unknown said...

Hi. This is a really interesting take on bullying, and you are right. I had not thought of this, but it is bullying. Adults (children's role models) should not behave this way.

Great thinking!

Elizabeth Bennett said...

Thanks Lauralee, Oh yeah, adults SHOULD know better but adult bullies are only those who started out as childhood bullies and just get worse, not better. This is very evident in our workplaces today with the narcassism and pathology they bring to the workplace. Have a great week and thanks for reading :)

Take Care,
Elizabeth