In the major storyline during the second season of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” Ultimate Bet poker pro Annie Duke has become the focus of a flurry of personal attacks by comedian Joan Rivers and daughter Melissa Rivers. The latest spat followed the younger Rivers’ firing.
San Jose, Costa Rica, May 01, 2009 — The poker news world has been buzzing about one of its own, Annie Duke, being called a “whore” and “pit viper” by comedian Joan Rivers and her daughter Melissa Rivers on last week’s installment of “Celebrity Apprentice,” which airs on NBC. The Rivers family lambasted Duke and former Playboy Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick on national television. poker news Daily has come alive with fans of the game rallying behind Duke.
In this week’s controversial Celebrity Apprentice episode, the six remaining contestants were tasked with creating a four-page spread for Sports Illustrated showcasing Right Guard Fast Break and its spokesman, New York Knicks Forward David Lee. Roderick served as the Project Manager for Athena, which included Duke and Melissa Rivers. Their opponents, Kotu, were led by country music star Clint Black and included West Coast Choppers CEO Jesse James and the elder Rivers. Throughout the course of the episode, Melissa Rivers felt that Duke and Roderick were shutting her out of the creative process and setting her up for failure in the boardroom should the team lose.
In the end, Right Guard executives liked Kotu’s final project better, sending Duke and company to the boardroom. Show host Donald Trump ultimately based his decision on the contestants’ fundraising abilities and passion for the game, firing Melissa Rivers. Then, tensions boiled over. Instead of exiting the building, Rivers raced upstairs to her mother, who promptly called Duke a “Nazi” and Roderick a “stupid blonde.” Joan Rivers then told Duke, “Your people give money with blood on it. I met your people in Las Vegas. None of them have last names. You’re a poker player. That’s beyond white trash. Poker players are trash, darling, trash.”
Duke did not take Rivers’ comments lightly. In an exclusive interview with Poker News Daily, she commented, “I’m not sure that I was angry at anything she said before that moment. I signed up for the show, signed a release, and knew that I might have to defend myself against attacks like that. The poker community, however, doesn’t deserve scandalous attacks like the one Joan made.”
The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) television schedule has also been released. ESPN will air four events: the $40,000 buy-in commemorative No Limit Hold’em tournament, a special WSOP Champions Invitational, the Ante Up for Africa fundraiser, and the prestigious Main Event. The telecasts begin on Tuesday, July 28th at 8:00pm ET and run through November 10th, when the final table of the Main Event will play out.
Read the latest poker news headlines and learn more about Duke’s hunt to become the next “Celebrity Apprentice” as well as the 2009 WSOP.
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