Donald Trump has been axed from 'The Apprentice'
The multi-millionaire businessman has had his contract pulled by NBCUniversal following 14 seasons of the regular show and seven seasons of the celebrity spin-off, after he made controversial comments in which he referred to Mexican immigrants as "rapists".
3 July 2015
Announcing their decision, the production company said: "Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump."
Lashing out against the firm's decision - which also means the joint ventures of the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants between NBC and the 69-year-old business magnate will no longer be broadcast on the channel - Trump slammed the company for being "weak" and suggested he might pursue legal action against them.
In a lengthy statement, Trump said: "If NBC is so weak and foolish to not understand the serious illegal immigration problem in the United States, coupled with the horrendous and unfair trade deals we are making with Mexico, then their contract violating closure of Miss Universe/Miss USA will be determined in court."
The decision comes after more than 200,000 people signed a Change.org petition campaigning for him to be fired, with NBC previously distancing themselves from the comments.
Speaking to reporters, the father-of-five - who is running as a presidential candidate in the 2016 US election - said the channel was unhappy with his decision to fight to be president in the first place.
He said: "[NBC] did not want me to run. They wanted me to do 'The Apprentice'.
"And now with my statements on immigration which happen to be correct, they are going to take a different stance and that's OK.
"As far as ending the relationship, I have to do that because my view on immigration is much different than the people at NBC."
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