Dee Snider Fired from ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ After Earning $325,000 for Charity
Dee Snider of Twisted Sister heard the dreaded words "you're fired" from 'Celebrity Apprentice' boss Donald Trump last night, but only after raising $325,000 for the March of Dimes by winning a challenge earlier in the evening.
Last night's double-sized episode found Snider taking the project leader role for the men's team as they created a celebrity guide book for New York City, and thanks to donations from some of their deep-pocketed celebrity friends, they defeated the women yet again.
All the money raised in this challenge went to Snider's chosen charity, the March of Dimes. According to Blabbermouth, the organization was understandably appreciative of his donation, with their president Dr. Jennifer L. Howse calling him "a true champion for all babies," and stating, "We are blessed to have a volunteer like Dee Snider. He is both an exceptional March Of Dimes volunteer, and a wonderful person. We are thrilled by the generosity of his time and donation. These funds will directly support our mission to give all babies a healthy start in life and our National Prematurity Prevention Campaign."
As he explains on the show, two of Snider's four children were born prematurely: "When you're on the show, it's easy to forget why you're there. You get caught up in the craziness of the show and the challenges, but you need to remember it's about the charity first. I find that working with March of Dimes really helps me give back."
Trump then evened up the teams a bit by abandoning the gender barrier, sending Dee, Lou Ferrigno and Penn Jillette over to what was the women's team, Forte. The second challenge found the group working on a drug-store sponsored campaign to promote walking -- yes, that's how lazy a lot of our country has become -- and some unfortunate copy-writing choices on the packaging make Snider one of the elimination candidates when his team loses the challenge.
Ultimately, after a highly confusing debate with Ferrigno -- the funniest recurring bit of this entire season has been watching fully rational, logical people like Snider struggle to communicate with Ferrigno in a non-condescending manner despite his child-like insecurities, mood swings and fixation on the phrase "110%" -- Snider was sent home.
He seems to be taking his dismissal in stride on Twitter, noting, "It takes me 3 years of #BikersForBabies rides to make that much money!" He also reveals that he may need a third surgery to fix the hand he injured on the program, and warns that 'Apprentice' cast member Aubrey O'Day is "PURE EVIL!" (His emphasis, not ours although we back him based on what we've seen.)
The singer can now turn his full attention to promoting his upcoming autobiography and album of Broadway standards. Yes, you read that right. Our official position is that Snider handled himself with style, class and humor throughout his run on 'Celebrity Apprentice,' and yet we're really happy to get our Sunday nights back!