Mark Burnett Says He Cannot Release ‘The Apprentice’ Footage, But Isn’t Threatening Litigation Against Leaks
Mark Burnett is finally addressing calls to release un-aired footage of Donald Trump from his time on The Apprentice.
As expected, Burnett, who created The Apprentice, and MGM, which owns the right to the franchise, won’t be releasing any such footage.
According to a joint statement released to ET, on behalf of MGM and Mark Burnett, Burnett does not have the right to release said materials, whether he wanted to or not.
“MGM owns Mark Burnett’s production company and The Apprentice is one of its properties. Despite reports to the contrary, Mark Burnett does not have the ability nor the right to release footage or other material from The Apprentice,” the statement said. “Various contractual and legal requirements also restrict MGM’s ability to release such material.”
Last week, an audio recording from 2005 surfaced, featuring a conversation between Trump and former Access Hollywood co-host Billy Bush, which included vulgar and sexually disparaging remarks about women.
Since the leak, many have called for Burnett to make unaired Apprentice footage, which some believe could potentially contain additional examples of Trump making misogynistic comments, available for review.
Initial reports claimed that Burnett had threatened to sue anyone who leaked the footage, however the joint statement denies such reports, stating, “The recent claims that Mark Burnett has threatened anyone with litigation if they were to leak such material are completely and unequivocally false.”
WATCH: Saturday Night Live’ Blasts Donald Trump for Sexist Comments in Leaked Audio
The joint statement went on to stress that Burnett’s refusal to release the desired materials is not motivated by politics, explaining, “To be clear, as previously reported in the press, which Mark Burnett has confirmed, he has consistently supported Democratic campaigns.”
Trump hosted NBC shows The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice from 2004 to early 2015.
On Monday, Entertainment Tonight host Nancy O'Dell, who was one of the women disparagingly discussed by Trump and Bush in the 2005 audio recording, addressed the Republican presidential nominee’s lewd remarks, and his defense of those remarks as “locker room talk.”
“There is no room for objectification of women, or anyone for that matter, not even in the ‘locker room.’ The conversation has got to change because everybody deserves respect, no matter the gender or setting,” O'Dell said, in part, during Monday’s broadcast. Check out the video below to hear more.
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