A look at Donald the Chauvinist

By SAMANTHA ETTUS
Scripps Howard News Service
17-MAR-05

We often hear about the good deeds of the famous. But while Bono's mission to spread the word about Third World poverty and Angelina Jolie's devotion to impoverished children are examples of celebrities leveraging stardom for the greater good, when a celebrity irresponsibly uses his or her power, the results can really be problematic.

This column has applauded Donald Trump for his amazing comeback, newfound iconic status and adept management of product extensions. We admire Donald the Mogul and Donald the TV Star, and even smile at Donald the Groom. Yet in recent weeks Donald has crossed a delicate line, assuming the role of Donald the Chauvinist.

When Trump fired Audrey from "The Apprentice" two weeks ago, he neglected to focus on her poor performance and inexperience, both legitimate reasons for her downfall.

Instead, he allowed the blatantly sexist contestant John to initiate an irrelevant discussion of Audrey's beauty. In the boardroom standoff, John blamed Audrey for "Being what she is... a 22-year-old girl."

Trump had an opportunity to hold John's feet to the fire and force him to explain this tangential comment, but instead took the bait and asked John if he considered Audrey beautiful. At that moment Trump made a mockery of his purportedly egalitarian show.

Though shrouded in the garb of a reality TV series, "The Apprentice" is, at bottom, a job interview, and Trump's acceptance of looks as a legitimate topic of boardroom conversation alongside teamwork, business prowess and leadership qualities is an affront to the stated purpose of the show.

Trump has calculatingly aspired to celebrity status throughout his entire working life, and having reached his goal he must accept the social responsibility that comes with it. Much like Shaquille O'Neal and Andre Agassi have been saddled with a responsibility to set an example for the next generation of athletes, Trump has an obligation to show the next generation of business leaders how to act with dignity and respect in the workplace. Instead, he has used his pulpit to propagate sexism.

Is it too late for Donald to recover? Not at all. It is precisely our fondness for him that creates such high expectations. We don't want him to disappoint us by promoting inequality to a new generation of viewers, and instead demand that he live up to his promise that each candidate on "The Apprentice" has an equal shot at being hired.

Trump already possesses a huge personality; he doesn't need to bolster it with a small-minded attitude that plays only to the lowest common denominator.

And if Trump doesn't squash this unappealing aspect of his personality on his own, we implore sidekick Carolyn Kepcher to stand up to her boss. She likes us to believe that she is a tough and savvy businesswoman, but no self-respecting female executive should remain mute while her boss chats about a woman's beauty during a serious boardroom discussion. When it counted, Carolyn sat back and watched, making her as guilty as the man she works for.

Remember: The most dependable road to the top is to treat your personal brand as your greatest asset.

(Samantha Ettus is the author of "The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do" (Random House). Contact her at Samantha(at)celebrityassets.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.shns.com)