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Fired Again: 'Apprentice' Contestant Loses Real Job

Friday, October 01, 2004

10:25 AM PT

Jennifer Crisafulli, the New York real estate agent fired from "The Apprentice" in this week's episode, is being shown the door in her real-life job as well.

Prudential Douglas Elliman, the Manhattan firm where Crisafulli works, says it won't be welcoming her back after her remarks on Wednesday's (Sept. 29) "Apprentice" that some viewers may have perceived as anti-Semitic. Crisafulli referred to two women who had negatively reviewed a restaurant her team was running as "old, Jewish fat ladies."

"We do not intend to have an individual in our organization who subscribes to this point of view," Steven James, a senior vice president at Prudential Douglas Elliman, tells the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union (Crisafulli is an Albany-area native). "They are not wanted. They are not needed."

The firm, citing legal constraints, is not saying whether Crisafulli was "fired," but she tells the paper that she's out of a job.

"I'm so upset," she says. "I mean, my career is gone."

Crisafulli says she "feel[s] terrible about this" and worries about people getting a bad impression of her. She says she stated on camera that she has Jewish relatives, but that comment was edited out; she said so again during an appearance on NBC's "Today" show Thursday.

An e-mail sent to all Douglas Elliman employees Thursday says the company "does not share the views of Jennifer Crisafulli nor condone her behavior on 'The Apprentice,'" according to the Times Union. "We understand that many of you are upset by her comments, as are we, so please know that we are dealing with the situation in a timely fashion and in a way that we believe will meet with your satisfaction."

Crisafulli, meanwhile, is trying to figure out what to do next.

"When does one encounter being on a reality show with Donald Trump, being viewed by 40 million people" -- 14 million, actually, for Wednesday's episode -- " ... [being the subject of] accusations and then get fired for what's on a reality TV show?" she tells the paper. "There is no template. What do I do? Lawyers across America, I need help -- pro bono."