Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

There's A GoFundMe To Pay Legal Fees For Potential Leaked Trump 'Apprentice' Tapes [Updated]

trump_burnett_640.jpg
Producer Mark Burnett, shit-human Donald Trump and wife Melania Trump attend the after party for the Season Five Finale of 'The Apprentice' at the California Market Center on June 5, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
()

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

As you unfortunately already know, we have a comic book supervillain running for president of the United States of America who was caught on tape saying some beyond deplorable things about women and his personal propensity for sexual assault. Now, a former producer on The Apprentice has claimed there are even worse tapes out there from Donald Trump's days on the reality show, but it seems the specter of a $5 million lawsuit is keeping them from being (maybe) leaked. Well, we have good news, America! Some brave soul has started a GoFundMe account to raise funds to pay potential legal fees on leaked Trump footage.

"Someone out there is likely in possession of a piece of evidence that could be used to substantiate what many folks have always believed; that the current nominee for President of the United States is not a moral leader for us all to look to over the next four years," American crusader Aaron Holman of Somerville, Massachusetts writes in the description of the GoFundMe page he created. The page is named the "Trump Sunlight Campaign, "because "Sunlight afterall, is said to be the best disinfectant."

Bill Pruitt, a producer on the first two seasons of The Apprentice, tweeted Saturday that the egregious leaked Access Hollywood tape was just the beginning, and that far worse footage of Trump existed. Chris Nee, an Emmy award-winning producer (who, for the record, has not worked on The Apprentice) responded to Pruitt the next day on Twitter, alleging that she had heard rumors that tapes of Trump saying the n-word existed. Nee publicly called on Shark Tank producer Mark Cuban to cover the potential $5 million in legal fees. To clarify, there is allegedly a $5 million non-disclosure penalty in place from the show for anyone who leaks anything. And über-producer/American traitor/Trump supporter Mark Burnett "has made clear to his teams that he will sue anyone who leaks," according to BuzzFeed News.

Support for LAist comes from

We reached out to Burnett's agent to ask a) if Burnett really plans to sue anyone who leaks the footage, and b) why Burnett makes such good TV but sucks so much as a person. "I'm pretty new to my desk, can I transfer you to someone who can better handle your question?" the woman who answered his agent's phone asked us, before transferring us to a line that rang for a really, really long time before ultimately going to voicemail. We obviously left a message, and will update this post if/when we hear back.

[h/t: The Hollywood Reporter]

[Update 3:46 p.m.]

Brian Stelter, host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” (which “examines the media world” and “how news and pop culture get made,” per the show’s website), has Tweeted in defense of Burnett. Stelter said that the situation is largely out of Burnett’s hands, and that the TV producer had never threatened legal action:

It should be noted that Stelter, who’d formerly written for the New York Times, had penned a Times profile of Burnett and “Survivor” in the past.

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist