Remember how Donald Trump announced last month that he was ditching the (severely ratings-challenged) The Apprentice in favor of a "major new TV venture"? Looks like that exciting project is, er, another gimmicky reality series. Now, I hesitate to give a professional windbag like Trump any more attention than he’s already getting. But Lady or a Tramp, which he’s developing with Fox as a possible mid-season replacement, sounds too offensively bad to ignore.
According to Variety, the show follows a group of "girls in love with the party life" as they "receive a stern course on debutante manners." Trump is currently on board as an exec producer, and there’s a possibility that he’ll be one of the pillars of society who administers said stern course. How, exactly, is that supposed to make an entertaining half-hour of TV? Tramp sounds like a mean-spirited, unfunny version of VH1’s Charm School — and let me tell you, the Donald is no Mo’Nique.
The way he tells it, though, Tramp isn’t supposed to be funnyat all: It’s a serious statement about our gossip-glutted celebculture. "We are all sick and tired of the glamorization of theseout-of-controlyoung women," Trump pontificates in Variety, "so I have takenit upon myself to do something about it." How noble of him. And yetthat’s not quite the message suggested by the show’s casting notices,which Variety reports are seeking "’rude and crude party girls’and… ‘younger women who are 18-30, love to party and full ofattitude.’" In other words, Trump’s show may not be "glamoriz[ing]out-of-control young women" per se, but it’s sure going to stereotypethe hell out of them. The concept of a wealthy middle-aged man likeTrump telling young women (or, uh, "party girls") how to behave isstraight out of the worst part of the 19th century; maybe it appealedto some sense of Victorian nostalgia in the U.K., where the show thatinspired Tramp originated, but over here it comes across as outdated, paternalistic garbage.
It’s no surprise that Trump is into regressive cliches. The Apprentice, after all, wasentirely based on him lording his uber-boss authority over a group ofhapless employees. And we all recall the misogynist nastiness he unleashedagainst Rosie O’Donnell a few months back. But this feels like a newlow, even for him. Fox isn’t exactly known for its restraint either,but would someone over there please pull the plug on this show beforeit gets out of development?
What do you think, PopWatchers — am I being too hard on the guy? Are any of you actually interested in watching Lady or a Tramp?
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Donald Trump needs to go away for good. I thought outing the Apprentice would do just that. Now, he’s just imitiating a Flavor of Love spinoff, which is a series that acted crass and stereotyped black women (far more than BET and rap could do) since the beginning. But at the risk of sounding a bit hypocritical, at least the Flavor of Love shows have a can’t-help-but-watch-this-train-wreck-no-matter-how-trashy-it-gets element to it. Not so much for the Donald, who I hate with a passion. To paraphrase what Rosie said about him months ago, “He cheated on two wives whom he later divorced, his third one is half his age and now he’s being seen as the moralistic center of society?” Gimme a break. At least try to disappear with a little dignity.
VH1’s Charm School was the first thing that came to mind this morning when I read about this Trump Tramp show. Total rip off. And a pathetic rip off at that. Down with Trump!
Man, I laughed so hard when I read that-what’s next, Paris Hilton’s Driving School?
bdog, you aren’t far off. I read that ABC and FOX are competing for a bad driving show called “Worst Driver” where the contestants go to driving school. Most improved wins. I think I just threw up a little in the back of my throat.
I pity the fool–Good thing for him that he’s so rich or no one would talk to him. Maybe he could hire his first few wives to keep him “honest” in his judgements. I guess he’d be good at helping out “tramps” – takes one to know one. But being sexual doesn’t hold a candle to being a a stupid, self-important, inherited-from-daddy-but-pretending-to-have-done-it-on-my-own rich guy
Excellent blog! If we all JUST IGNORED this gas bag he might just GO AWAY (oh I wish! I am crossing my fingers). He must be the most insufferable person on the planet. He is an ASS, a misogynist, an idiot, and an egomaniac.
And the major networks wonder why audiences are shrinking? Because they keep putting on “reality” DRIVEL.
Why does FOX love OLD WHITE RUDE MEN?
He should be fired, but first they have to buy him a gift he can use:new head of hair.
People! The man has too much money. He will buy his time on televison. I think it would be cool if someone gave him a makeover. I don’t think he will be fired, he will move to the next venture before that happens. Maybe Madonna can give him a few tips. The woman has class.
Dear Donald Trump,
You have plenty of money. Now please go away and stop trying to sell me anything you can put your name or face on.
Love, Heidi
PS to everybody else- Forget about “Charm School” and “Lady or a Tramp”, and watch the original, “Ladette to Lady” on Sundance Channel instead.
It should be ‘Lady or a TRUMP’
God I hate him.
How does Charm School stereotype black women? The biggest trainwreck on CS was a white chick and she just got “expelled” last week.
I hope this isn’t just targeted at women, men can be sleazo party animals too. I’m all for people ‘cleaning up their act’, but the Trump is not our savior.
Never was, never will be.
I will only watch this show if Tara Reid is a judge.
Ignore him and the hair. I do. He’ll eventually go away.
Sounds like a suspicious re-do of another fabulous Brit-Import “Ladette to Lady” that aired on Sundance Channel…
Wow, did his new wife hit 30 or whatever age is too old for them to still be attractive already? Because this makes it sound like he’s in the market and about to set up his own shop.
And really, his logic here is so horribly flawed! How is parading these girls around on TV, on a REALITY SHOW of all things, not glamorizing this lifestyle? And if you’ve ever sat through an episode of VH1’s “Charm School” (which I’m sad to say I have) none of those girls is really there for the lessons because they don’t usually even learn anything. They may cry some pretty little tears for the camera from time to time, but they’re just there for the money and the face time on TV.
Why does anyone care what Donald Trump has to say? Oh yeah! He has made a ton of money. Too bad he looks like what the cat dragged in.
I want to see a Charm School/Trump School throwdown. I bet Becky could kick his a**.
Trump versus Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen. That would be funny.
Love the idea of Tara Reid as a judge/mentor on this trainwreck…
Not to mention having both Ivana and Marla around to haunt Trump.
The first contestant pool would HAVE to have Tara Conner, Britney, Lindsay, the Olsen twins, and Paris the jailbird in it. Guaranteed killer ratings for Fox!
Seriously, how about a reality show featuring a battle of hairpieces? THIS is more Trump’s speed! Shatner’s rug vs. The Donald’s squirrel! Call it “Toup Of The Heap”! That would be ratings GOLD!
To the responder:
Granted, Charm School doesn’t typecast black women as badly as Flavor of Love itself and does come off as more moralistic on the surface. Still, like I Love New York before it, this is just another watered down version of Flavor of Love. Nobody watches it for morals; only the outrageously awful events that unfold during the show. I don’t even buy it as a ‘clean up’ act at the very least. Although I would be a fool to deny what you just said (though I did see the previews, I haven’t seen that episode yet), most of these girls (including the non-black ones) act just as shady and crass as they did back in Flavor of Love, fighting for attention for that staged reality show. Black women endure enough attacks from the media. They don’t need another reason for getting slandered. Shoot, I can say the same for young, white women, seeing their tawdry role models: Paris Hilton and the band of Sweet 16 girls.