Proving there is such a thing as bad publicity, Apprentice villain Omarosa has discovered there are drawbacks to being reality TV's most reviled character.
The single-monikered saboteur (whose full name is Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth) has been cut from an upcoming Clairol commercial for Herbal Essences hair color.
According to a statement from Clairol, Omarosa shot a cameo for the company's "Streaking Party" commercial series. But "after reviewing the film of all the possible endings," the decision was made to give Omarosa the brush off.
The hair-product purveyor reportedly began having doubts about using the 29-year-old to pitch its wares after news of her hiring drew angry emails and phone calls from customers.
Then Omarosa's Apprentice nemesis Ereka Vetrini told the New York Post that she would stop using Clairol products if they were pushed by the former political consultant.
(Omarosa, who was at odds with Ereka throughout taping of the reality series, has accused the marketing manager of using the N-word, something Vetrini vehemently denied and producers could find no evidence of; Vetrini suggested Omarosa seek "professional help.")
Omarosa's abrasive personality also led to a scuttled appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show Thursday night.
The late show's audience booed when Kimmel announced Omarosa would be a guest, and, after she spotted a lie detector on the stage, she "freaked" backstage and left--despite producers' assurances that the polygraph was meant for someone else, according to a source close to production.
Quipped Kimmel in reference to Omarosa's disappearance during his live broadcast, "Apparently her 15 minutes ended the second before I introduced her. I felt like Jessica Simpson standing alone at the airport."
Other reported clashes involving Omarosa include:
NBC's she-devil ticked off Donald Trump when she pestered him for a job judging his Miss USA pageant, according to Us Weekly.
Omarosa threw a fit at an American Airlines ticket agent who refused to upgrade her from coach to first class on a Sunday morning flight from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, reports the New York Post.
Meanwhile, People magazine claims she was canned from four jobs during her time at the White House working for the Clinton administration. "She was asked to leave as quickly as possible, she was so disruptive," said Cheryl Shavers, the former undersecretary for technology at the Commerce Department, where Omarosa worked for several weeks in 2000.
In all fairness, Omarosa (who was quick to point out her White House experience when criticized) isn't the only Apprentice contestant to stretch the truth. According to an SEC filing published on The Smoking Gun Website, winner Bill Rancic isn't quite the multimillion-dollar Internet entrepreneur he's made out to be.
Rancic's cigar business actually sold for a more modest $425,000 last June. And while the Chicagoan could stand to make an additional $425,000 in stock and/or cash depending on the company's performance through 2006, he may or may not have to share the loot with the partner who founded the Ranley Group with him in 1995.
Winning a spot as the Donald's newest protégé may not be Bill's ticket to easy street either. The Chicago skyscraper project that the 32-year-old cigar salesman was chosen to oversee may be on shaky ground, according to the New York Times, which reported last week that financing for the fancy high-rise has yet to come through.