Arnold Schwarzenegger has stepped down as the host of ‘Celebrity Apprentice’.
The 69-year-old actor and businessman took on the role after the now-President Donald Trump left to begin his presidential campaign in 2015, but after one season he has decided to part ways with the programme – which sees a group of celebrities pit their business skills against one another – because it involves too much "baggage".
Arnold said in a statement: "I loved every second of working with NBC and Mark Burnett. Everyone — from the celebrities to the crew to the marketing department — was a straight 10, and I would absolutely work with all of them again on a show that doesn’t have this baggage."
The ‘Terminator’ star believes the involvement of the President – who still operates as an executive producer on the show – has created "division", as celebrities no longer want to "participate" for fear of seeming as though they support President Trump’s often controversial political policies.
He said in an interview with Empire magazine published on Friday (03.03.17): "With Trump being involved in the show, people have a bad taste and don’t want to participate as a spectator or as a sponsor or in any other way support the show. It’s a very divisive period now, and I think this show got caught up in all that division."
Meanwhile, the former Governor of California recently hit out at commander-in-chief Donald Trump after he mocked the show’s decline in ratings since he departed.
Trump urged people to "pray for Arnold" and branded the new series of ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ a "disaster" during the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, last month.
He said: "We had tremendous success on ‘The Apprentice’, and when I ran for president, I had to leave the show… and they hired a big, big movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to take my place, and we know how that turned out.
"The ratings went right down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster, and [executive producer] Mark [Burnett] will never, ever bet against Trump again. And I want to just pray for Arnold, if we can, for those ratings, OK?"
In response, Arnold quickly shared a video online and suggested he and the president "switch jobs".
He said: "Hey Donald, I have a great idea: Why don’t we switch jobs? You take over TV because you’re such an expert at ratings, and I take over your job, and then people can finally sleep comfortably again."
Arnold Schwarzenegger quits Celebrity Apprentice
