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.

Sharon vs Megan: Part Deux

As the holidays are finally over, I am finally able to start getting back into the swing of things after two weeks of being away from blogging and all things Peer Abuse. Now, I am finally able to catch up and boy and figured a continuation of the Rock of Love Charm School scandal involving Sharon Osborne and Megan Hauserman was in order.

I was able to watch this Rock of Love Charm School Reunion last night on Vh1. The show itself was a good one where we were updated on the various happenings of the contestants and what they were able to learn and accomplish from the school and how some are applying these lessons in their daily lives. It was good to see these ladies use their social graces and many appreciated Sharon and what she had done for them.

Towards the middle of the reunion, Megan was brought to the stage. She was intoxicated; it was obvious. Osbourne was sober and very much a lady. Another contestant by the name of Cindy “Rodeo” Steedle was brought to the stage when Megan was. When Rodeo was talking with Sharon, Megan kept interrupting and putting Rodeo down. Rodeo was calm and composed despite Megan’s insults. At one point, Megan insulted Rodeos son which prompted Rodeo to get annoyed. At some point of the conversation, Osbourne made an honest comment that Megan should not be allowed to procreate. It was not said in a vicious manner and I think this is something anyone with half a brain would understand. This prompted Megan to spew a line of insults about Ozzy Osborne and the children. Much of what Megan said was “bleeped” out but by the reaction of the audience, it was really bad. Sharon stood up, excused herself in a calm manner, picked up a glass full of red liquid and threw it on Megan. The next thing shown was a huddle of security gathered around the two ladies and Megan being pulled off of the stage. What was not shown was Sharon Osbourne hitting Megan in any form. I did not see her fist touch Megan’s nor was Osbourne’s hair a mess. If she had been in any physical altercation, I would think Osbourne would have had scratches on her and hair completely in disarray. Now, Vh1 could have had her go backstage and pull herself together and edited around this but from what I could see, Osbourne did not appear to be damaged. You could see Megan’s hair was a mess but with all of those people that went to the stage, anyone could have pulled at Megan. The bottom line was that Osbourne threw liquid on Megan but that was the extent of what was shown. I really do not think Sharon hit Megan at all.

Hauserman crossed a line twice on that show. First, she said something degrading to Rodeo about her son. Osbourne agreed with Rodeo that she crossed a line. Then Hauserman proceeded to insult Sharon’s husband and children. Folks, when someone is not well as is the case of Ozzy Osbourne, they are deserving of compassion, not insults. Whatever Rodeos financial status or what is occurring with her son, neither did not deserve to be bashed by Megan. From what I could tell of the situation, Megan was trying hard to push the buttons of both ladies. Intoxicated or not, she said what she did. Besides, when one is intoxicated, they tend to be honest and more so than if they were sober. I believe Megan was aware of what she was doing despite that. She knew both ladies would get upset by those comments. She heard Sharon say something about her comment about Rodeos son was crossing a line. She’s not stupid; she’s very smart and shrewd if anything.

Some may disagree with me and consider this a cat fight. That’s fine, we are all entitled to our opinions. Some may think that because Megan was intoxicated, she was not aware of what she was saying. Megan is insulting and cruel with words whether sober or drunk. All I saw Sharon do was throw liquid on her and I think she did so not only because of what was said about her family but what she said to Rodeo and basically because of Megan’s behavior itself. People start to get irritated by bullying behavior and many times, they bite their tongues until they have had enough. I think last night was the straw that broke the camels back and Sharon had enough. So she reacted but did not see her hit Megan. This is the case in many school shootings; the bullied kid has enough so he snaps. Sharon snapped by throwing the drink on Megan. So again, I wonder who the real bully was in all of this?

http://www.tmz.com/2009/01/05/osbourne-attacks-crying-and-stains-ensue/

Monday morning, I was pointed in the direction of an article online concerning Sharon Osbourne, the matriarch of the Ozzy Osbourne family and reality television star Megan Hauserman who has been on various shows such as Beauty and the Geek and others. Both were recently on a Vh1 show called Rock of Love Charm School where Megan was a contestant and Sharon was the headmistress of the school. This is a reality based show that aired during the fall season. The show taped its reunion episode on Saturday evening in Los Angeles where both were in attendance. However, things went a little over the edge between the two. Hauserman said something about Ozzy to Osbourne which spurned Osbourne to retaliate physically. A day after this occurred, Houserman went to the hospital and pressed charges against Osbourne. From what I am understanding, the incident is under investigation with the LAPD.

Sharon Osbourne is known for blowing up from time to time. She is fiercely protective of her husband and children. This is not unusual as most mother hens tend to have that protective edge. Plus, Ozzy is not in a good place mentally and does not function with all capacities as we all saw on The Osbournes back in 2002. It was not a laughing matter but a sad situation overall and not someone I would be making hurtful comments about. I am guessing that when Hauserman said what she did, it hit a nerve with Mrs. Osbourne and she reacted. I am also aware of Hauserman and her behavior on television as well. She is known for manipulating others and purposely doing and saying things to get them upset. She also acts without conscience and is hated by most everyone who watches these shows. I saw Hauserman on this recent show and did she love pushing the buttons of others and getting them upset. She enjoyed doing this. Osbourne would come down hard on these ladies and true, was no saint by any stretch. However, I never saw her act out of malice or cruelty unlike Hauserman.

Folks, there is no excuse for physical violence or lashing out at anyone. This stuff does lead to more trouble than it is worth. There are much better ways to handle ones anger. Whether it be in defense a loved one or not, there is no excuse for violence. However, knowing Megan’s track record, I wonder if she intentionally tried to push Osbournes buttons well aware of how she would react? Osbourne is reactive; however, I am well aware that Osbourne has publicly spoken out against bullying in the past. She does not advocate it and she eliminated Hauserman early in this show due to her lack of conscience plus her violence towards another contestant. For the most part, Osbourne does not run around on television manipulating people and trying to keep them upset. Hauserman is the poster child for relational aggression as far as I am concerned. She manipulates, plots against others, has exhibited violence of her own and keeps the people around her upset and seems to enjoy behaving that way. You can see her “Queen Bee” mentality coming through the screen and her followers hanging on to her every action. In my opinion, I find her quite scary and someone who just does not “get it” so to speak. She has behaved as many covert bullies do. Most importantly, she has no remorse either.

I was not at this reunion and can only go on what I have read about this and what I saw on the show when it aired this season. I have not met either lady in person. However, I can have an opinion based on what I have read here and what I know of both of these women. Sharon is the one with the charges slapped on her but Hauserman is the one who made the comment in the first place and has a reputation for being mean and nasty towards others. So, I have to ask, who really bullied who in this situation? Also, why did Hauserman wait a day before seeking care and pressing charges? If she was so bad off, wouldn’t she have gone to get help sooner? At the end of the day, I am guessing Hauserman was the real bully in all of this. It would not surprise me a bit.

Resource Cited:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2008/12/15/2008-12-15_sharon_osbourne_accused_of_attacking_roc.html

Elizabeth Bennett is the author of Peer Abuse Know More! Bullying From a Psychological Perspective and resides in Los Angeles, California. To learn more, visit http://www.peerabuse.info .