Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Troubled Past: A Comparison to the Previous ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ Host

In these uncertain times, it is crucial to have reliable local reporting.

The value of our year-round coverage cannot be understated.

Help us continue to bring attention to LA stories, hold those in power accountable, and amplify community voices.

Your support allows us to provide free reporting for everyone.

Stand with us today.

Stay updated with LAist.

If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily morning newsletter, How To LA.

Every weekday, you'll receive fresh, community-driven stories that keep you informed about our independent local news.

Subscribe now.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, known for his bodybuilding career, acting roles, and former governorship of California, has taken over as the new host of The New Celebrity Apprentice.

This reality show features a group of celebrities who agree, for unknown reasons, to work for a celebrity boss.

However, Schwarzenegger seems to share some similarities with his Apprentice predecessor, President-elect Donald Trump.

Both men faced allegations of s**ual misconduct shortly before an election in which they were candidates, and both, despite the accusations, emerged victorious.

The Daily Beast refers to a 2003 interview with Esquire, where Schwarzenegger made remarks reminiscent of Trump's controversial comments.

Schwarzenegger's interview covered his surprise when attractive women turned out to be intelligent as well.

He stated, “When you see a blonde with great physical features, you may assume she is unintelligent or lacks substance, which may often be the case.

However, there are those who are as smart as they look physically, beautiful in every aspect, stunning.

People are astonished.”

The scandal surrounding Schwarzenegger, dubbed “gropegate,” predated the infamous recording of Trump's comments about grabbing women.

In 2003, Schwarzenegger ran as a Republican in the recall election to replace Governor Gray Davis, who Californians held responsible for budgetary issues and the Western U.S. Energy Crisis.

In early October of that year, multiple women came forward with allegations of Schwarzenegger groping them, pulling them onto his lap, and asking inappropriate s**ual questions.

These incidents reportedly occurred between 1975 and 2000.

One accuser, a movie secretary, claimed that Schwarzenegger had slipped his hand under her skirt and touched her buttocks while on the Columbia Pictures lot.

Recall campaign spokesman Sean Walsh suggested that the Democrats were behind these accusations, stating, “We believe Democrats and others are using this to try to hurt Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign.

We believe that this is coming so close before the election, something that discourages good, hard-working, decent people from running for office.”

Schwarzenegger eventually commented, admitting to occasionally behaving poorly on film sets and characterizing his actions as “rowdy” and “things that were not right, but which I thought were playful.”

These “rowdy” and “playful” descriptions closely resemble the boys-will-be-boys excuses surrounding Trump's recorded comments to Billy Bush in 2005.

Schwarzenegger denied some of the allegations, claiming parts of the claims were false.

He promised to be a champion for women if elected.

Despite his partial apology, three more women came forward with accusations.

One woman claimed that Schwarzenegger repeatedly undressed in front of her while on the set of Twins, a 1998 film in which he starred alongside Danny DeVito as twin brothers separated at birth.

Carla Baron, a stand-in for actress Kelly Preston during the same production, alleged that Schwarzenegger wanted to create a “Carla sandwich.”

She described an incident where he forced a kiss on her, likening it to “an ashtray of human flesh” due to the actor's recent cigar smoking.

Another woman stated that Schwarzenegger had grabbed her buttocks in a stairwell while she was interning at CNN in the 80s.

Other women complained of harassment on the set of Terminator 2.

Nonetheless, on October 7, 2003, Governor Gray Davis was recalled, and Schwarzenegger became California's governor, defeating Democrat Cruz Bustamante with 48.6 percent of the vote.

Arnold Schwarzenegger also faced a lawsuit from British TV host Anna Richardson, who accused him of tarnishing her reputation.

Richardson claimed that Schwarzenegger had touched her bre-st at a press event in London in 2000 while promoting the sci-fi film The Sixth Day.

She did not sue for the alleged gr0pe but rather for libel after Schwarzenegger and his aides denied her claims.

The lawsuit was settled in 2006.

Many of these incidents allegedly occurred during Schwarzenegger's marriage to journalist Maria Shriver.

The couple married in 1986 and divorced in 2011.

Later, it was revealed that Schwarzenegger had fathered a child with the couple's housekeeper.

The New Celebrity Apprentice will premiere on Monday, January 2, 2023, on NBC and has relocated its production from New York to Los Angeles.

The show features celebrity guests such as Jon Lovitz, real housewives Kyle Richards and Posha Williams, musician Boy George, and Motley Crue's Vince Neil, who was recently uninvited from performing at Trump's Presidential Inauguration.

Schwarzenegger intends to bring his own style to the show instead of emulating Trump's behavior.

During the election, he did not endorse Trump and instead supported John Kasich.

He stated, “A lot of things will stay the same, but I have my own personality—I'm not Donald Trump.

He approached it his way, which was very, very effective.

This one is a continuation of that, but it will showcase my personality and sense of humor.”

Let's hope his sense of humor doesn't cross any boundaries.