Martha Stewart Says She Was Supposed to Fire Donald Trump

In this week’s issue of Newsweek, on newsstands Monday, domestic diva-turned-convict Martha Stewart says that she believes her version of NBC’s popularity reality show "The Apprentice," starring Donald Trump, failed because the viewing public wasn’t interested in seeing that much "Apprentice" on the air. She claims that her show was supposed to start out with her firing Donald Trump on the air, leaving her show to be the only "Apprentice" show on the network. "Having two ‘Apprentices’ was as unfair to him as it was to me," she told Newsweek. "But Donald really wanted to stay on."

Trump scoffs at the claim, saying that he co-owns the show and that never would have happened. "I wish she would be able to take responsibility for her failure," Trump told the Associated Press Sunday night. He added that her show didn’t have the right demeanor or tone to appeal to the American public anyway. Mark Burnett, associate producer of "The Apprentice," admitted that the idea of firing the Donald was suggested but quashed immediately. "Thank God that didn’t happen," he added.

Burnett, who also produces Stewart’s daily show, says that Martha’s version of "The Apprentice" was flawed because she was unable to "ignite viewer interest." Many viewers found her to be unnaturally, artificially sweet, especially when she wrote thank-you notes to contestants after firing them. "That was all Martha’s idea," said Burnett. "Maybe Martha was a little concerned about coming out of jail, getting a second chance, and she softened a bit."

Stewart served five months in jail and nearly six months of house arrest for lying about a stock sale. Although she still has 12 months of probation before her sentence is completed, her reputation and business ventures are slowly being rebuilt. Her company’s stock dropped by more than half last year, but they are doing better now. "We’re back in spirit and in business dealings," Stewart told Newsweek. Advertisers are returning to her magazine, Martha Stewart Living, and subscriptions are up. She also has new projects planned, including a Sirius Satellite Radio show and a new magazine. Her company’s experimental collaboration with KB Home to build mini-versions of Martha’s mansions was a success when the 650 homes to be built in Cary, NC, resulted in 3,800 home buyers wanting to buy. So this week, KB will announce plans to build "Marthavilles" in seven more cities across the country.

Last month Stewart lost an appeal of her conviction, but she doesn’t intend to let the events of the past few years hold her back. "People certainly appreciated the way that I handled myself through this very intolerable situation," Stewart said. "You just have to do what you have to do and get on with it."