WASHINGTON (TND) — A former producer for "The Apprentice" claims Donald Trump referred to a Black contestant using a racial slur more than 20 years ago.
In an editorial written by Bill Pruitt and published by Slate, a pop culture magazine, Pruitt said Trump called Kwame Jackson the "N-word."
Trump's team reportedly said the allegation is false.
Pruitt, who was a producer on the first season of the hit NBC show in 2004, said Trump used the slur during a discussion with judges about whether Jackson would win the reality TV competition.
Pruitt wrote the following in his op-ed:
"We lay out the virtues and deficiencies of each finalist to Trump in a fair and balanced way, but sensing the moment at hand, [Carolyn] Kepcher sort of comes out of herself. She expresses how she observed Jackson at the casino overcoming more obstacles than Rancic, particularly with the way he managed the troublesome Omarosa. Jackson, Kepcher maintains, handled the calamity with grace.
“I think Kwame would be a great addition to the organization,” Kepcher says to Trump, who winces while his head bobs around in reaction to what he is hearing and clearly resisting.
“Why didn’t he just fire her?” Trump asks, referring to Omarosa. It’s a reasonable question. Given that this the first time we’ve ever been in this situation, none of this is something we expected.
“That’s not his job,” Bienstock says to Trump. “That’s yours.” Trump’s head continues to bob.
“I don’t think he knew he had the ability to do that,” Kepcher says. Trump winces again.
“Yeah,” he says to no one in particular, “but, I mean, would America buy a n— winning?”
Now, the public is calling on Mark Burnett, who created the show, to release recordings to confirm or debunk Pruitt's claims.
Previously, lawyers for Civil Rights said it issued subpoenas to MGM Holdings Inc. and Trump Productions LLC demanding any footage shot during the production of the show in which Trump “uses racial and/or ethnic slurs.”
Meanwhile, Biden-Harris 2024 Black Media Director Jasmine Harris released a statement in response to the claims.
“No one is surprised that Donald Trump, who entered public life by falsely accusing Black men of murder and entered political life spreading lies about the first Black president, reportedly used the N-word to casually denigrate a successful Black man," she noted. "Anyone notice a pattern? Donald Trump is exactly who Black voters know him to be: a textbook racist who disrespects and attacks the Black community every chance he gets, and the most ignorant man to ever run for president. It’s why Black voters kicked him out of the White House in 2020, and it’s why they’ll make him a loser a second time this November.”
The news comes as the jury in Trump’s hush money trial resumed deliberations Thursday after revisiting portions of the judge's instructions and rehearing testimony from multiple key witnesses about the alleged scheme at the heart of the history-making case.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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