THE DISH

She's Fired: Trump gives 'Apprentice' star the ax
NEW YORK -- Carolyn Kepcher, who sat by while her boss Donald Trump dismissed one would-be apprentice after another, has now felt the full force of his iconic phrase: "You're fired." Kepcher, a co-star with Trump from the start of "The Apprentice" in 2004 and a longtime employee of the Trump Organization, has been let go. "Mr. Trump wishes her the best," said Trump spokesman Jim Dowd, who confirmed she is no longer with the company. She had been chief operating officer of two of Trump's golf courses. "Donald and I had different visions for my future role in the company," Kepcher said in a statement. "Donald has been an extraordinary boss and a great mentor over the years, and I will always be grateful." Her leave-taking will have no impact on the upcoming sixth season of "The Apprentice," originating for the first time from Los Angeles, NBC said. Though production is completed, Kepcher was not part of the cast, which includes Trump children Ivanka and Donald Jr. It begins airing in January. Kepcher's dismissal was first reported in Thursday's New York Post. The slender, striking blonde had become familiar to viewers as one of Trump's two sidekicks on the NBC series. She was an adviser to one of the rival teams and was often seated beside Trump for boardroom sessions where one or more competitors would hear Trump declare, "You're fired." The Post attributed Kepcher's firing to excessive self-promotion as a star at the expense of her performance at her day job, an account echoed for The Associated Press by a person close to the situation. The person insisted on anonymity because it was a personnel matter. Kepcher could not be immediately located for comment. Since TV fame beckoned, Kepcher has been active with speaking engagements, made a number of talk-show appearances and two years ago wrote abook, "Carolyn 101," which promised to reveal the secrets of her success and give readers guidance for their professional lives. Steamy 'Desperate Housewives' clip yanked from YouTube
LOS ANGELES - A "Desperate Housewives" bedroom scene involving the ABC series' character Bree and a boyfriend was pulled from the YouTube Web site after network owner Walt Disney Co. complained. "This video has been removed at the request of copyright owner Disney because its content was used without permission," was the message that greeted YouTube visitors who tried to call up the clip after Disney's protest. The scene is a rough cut from an upcoming episode of the hit series, Daily Variety reported Friday. Network and studio executives, who were not identified, told the trade paper the clip was not leaked to foster publicity for the show's upcoming third season, starting this month. In the scene, Bree (series star Marcia Cross), seen in bed with new lover Orson (Kyle MacLachlan), resists his offer to perform a sexual act, saying, "I'm a Republican," then gives in. Although networks increasingly rely on the Internet for promotion of their series, the possibility of pirated clips making their way online could threaten shows trying to keep plot twists a secret. A call to ABC Friday for comment and to find out if the scene will be airing as shown online was not immediately returned. YouTube, by some measures, is the leading video-sharing site on the Internet. YouTube says 60,000 new videos are posted daily by amateurs and professionals. Eminem, Nike to work together on limited edition kicks
NEW YORK - Eminem has collaborated with Nike Inc. to create a limited-edition collection of Air Max sneakers to be auctioned for charity. The Grammy-winning rapper designed uppers for eight shoes in the series, including the Air Max '87 and the most recent Air Max 360. His reinterpretation of the upper has been laid onto the original blueprints for each of the Air Max shoes to create a unique set of designs. Eight sets of the footwear -- a total of 64 pairs -- will be produced for the auction. Proceeds will benefit Eminem's Marshall Mathers Foundation, which provides funds for organizations working with troubled youth in southeast Michigan, and ninemillion.org, a global campaign to bring education and sports programs to children in refugee camps across the globe. "We're always looking for new ways to try to raise money and awareness for the foundation, so when Nike approached us we jumped at the chance," Eminem said in a statement on his Web site. "Who wouldn't want to design their own line of Nikes? And to do it for charity makes it that much better," the 33-year-old singer said. The sneakers, autographed by Eminem, will be auctioned at Nike stores in London, Berlin and Paris and on the eBay Web site over a four-week period. The auction starts Thursday at Niketown in London and on eBay Sept. 12. James Blunt, Gnarls Barkley top winners at tame VMAs
NEW YORK -- When a wooden politician delivers the best line of the MTV Music Video Awards, you know the thrill is gone. So was the decadence, outrageousness and spontaneity that used to make the VMAs such a guilty pleasure. James Blunt and Gnarls Barkley each took home two awards Thursday night. Pink's parody of bubble-headed pop tarts, "Stupid Girls," won for best pop video, Beyonce took home the best R&B video trophy for her booty-shaking "Check On It" and Fall Out Boy won the viewer's choice award for "Dance, Dance." But nobody except a video choreographer's mother watches this show for the awards. Fans watch for the FCC-flouting skits, nearly naked starlets, foul-mouthed speeches and those embarrassingly bad dance numbers. They do NOT watch for lectures from former Vice President Al Gore on global warming. When does the phrase "here's a photo of a glacier melting" ever fit into an awards show? Gore did get a laugh, however, when he intoned, "I actually was not intending to be here tonight, but then MTV explained that Justin Timberlake was bringing sexy back." Somewhere along the way, the MTV Awards seemed to have morphed into the Grammys. "This show has been lame farts for the past 20 years," Jack Black said before he took the stage for his opening sketch. "And I'm going to light the match!" Instead, Black continued a trend. In the opening sequence, he had a promising bit that poked fun at the show's increasingly staid reputation. Painting himself as the man to inject life back into the VMAs, he took to the stage in a moonman outfit -- which caught fire. But Black's shtick quickly got old. "You didn't bring the thunder. You didn't bring anything," he said during one skit, looking at himself in his dressing room mirror and unintentionally summing up the evening. Even Lil' Kim, who once appeared at the VMAs wearing a pasty on one breast, failed to get the party started. Recently released from prison after serving time for perjury, she stripped off an orange jail suit to reveal ... something that resembled a funky business suit. Hillary Clinton has worn more revealing outfits. The only unscripted moment of mayhem came when some unidentified person crashed the acceptance speech of Panic! At the Disco, who won video of the year for "I Write Sins Not Tragedies." Before any group member got to say a word, the crasher took the mic, giving shout outs to rapper Remy Ma and saying, "MTV never gave me my own show!" before making way for the winners. But that still fell short of MTV's once trademark water-cooler moments, like Eminem punching out a puppet. Christina Aguilera, who previously shocked our senses as the dirty Xtina, looked downright classy as she performed a low-key ballad. There were no wardrobe malfunctions whatsoever during Timberlake's perfunctory show kickoff. Shakira and Wyclef Jean performed a colorful but rote performance of her smash "Hips Don't Lie." Ludacris and Pharrell posed their way through "Showstopper." Not even Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, who appeared via videotape, could strike a spark. There was just one profanity-laced acceptance speech, courtesy of the rock group All American Rejects, whose frontman accepted the award for best group video by saying: "We just won a moonman -- I am getting so trashed tonight!"