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Omarosa returns to TV with ‘Big Brother’

Reality star abruptly left White House after troubled stint

By Travis M. Andrews, The Washington Post
Published: February 2, 2018, 5:26am

Historically, White House aides often land impressive jobs after they finish working for a president. Some become corporate executives, others join law firms and quite a few work as well-paid television pundits.

Omarosa Manigault Newman, who served as Trump’s director of communications at the White House Office of Public Liaison for about a year, is returning to reality television. CBS announced that she’ll be one of the 11 celebrities on the debut season of its new reality show “Celebrity Big Brother,” which premieres on Feb. 7.

The show is a spinoff of the network’s flagship reality series “Big Brother,” in which a group of strangers move into a house together. They’re not allowed to communicate with the outside world, while more than 80 cameras and 100 microphones stationed around the house capture their most every move. The contestants also participate in weekly competitions, fighting for a $500,000 grand prize.

The original “Big Brother” began in 2000, and its 20th season will air in summer 2018. The new show is just like “Big Brother” except the housemates are billed as celebrities.

Manigault Newman will join celebrities such as Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath, “American Pie” actress Shannon Elizabeth and former NBA player Metta World Peace (who changed his name from Ron Artest). The announcement was made in a promo Jan. 28 as CBS aired the Grammy Awards, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

“Big Brother” host Julie Chen, who will host “Celebrity Big Brother,” also tweeted 11 emoji, each one representing a cast member of the new show.

Manigault Newman — often known simply as Omarosa — played the part of a villain on the first season of “The Apprentice” in 2004, becoming such a breakout personality that the Chicago Sun-Times named her a TV person of the year.

Though she was “fired” by Trump on the show, Manigault Newman appeared throughout the years on other iterations of it, often as a special guest.

Manigault Newman was one of the most prominent black supporters of the Trump’s candidacy, and she became one of the few black aides in his administration. But her time in the White House was beset with controversy.

In April, for example, she held a personal photo shoot for her upcoming wedding at the White House, to the chagrin of some officials. As Politico reported, “While it’s unclear whether she received formal permission for the photo shoot, at least some lawyers and other senior aides were not briefed in advance, the officials said. They quickly banned Manigault, director of communications for the Office of the Public Liaison, from posting the pictures online, citing security and ethical concerns.”

As The Washington Post’s Krissah Thompson wrote, many stories “described her wandering the halls of the White House aimlessly or ineffectively representing Trump before the groups she was hired to cultivate. Her appearance during a panel at the National Association of Black Journalists convention devolved into a screaming match, for instance.”

Her abrupt departure from the Trump administration created a stir. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told The Washington Post in an email in mid-December that Manigault Newman resigned “to pursue other opportunities,” adding, “We wish her the best in future endeavors and are grateful for her service.”

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