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Action movie star Schwarzenegger took over as host of
"Celebrity Apprentice" last year. His first season, which
premiered in January, has been watched by around 4 million to 5
million viewers.
"Everyone - from the celebrities to the crew to the marketing
department - was a straight 10, and I would absolutely work with
all of them again on a show that doesn't have this baggage,"
Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
The actor's representative said Schwarzenegger would not be
returning for a second season.
NBC, a unit of Comcast Corp <CMCSA.O>, did not comment on
Schwarzenegger's decision not to return for another season, or
the show's future. There was no immediate comment from Trump or
the White House on Friday.
Schwarzenegger, a Republican who served two terms as California
governor but said he did not vote for Trump as president, told
British film magazine Empire in an interview published on Friday
that he was leaving the show due to Trump's involvement.
News that Trump will retain an executive producer credit on the
show, which usually involves a payment, caused a media furor in
December about potential conflicts of interest.
Schwarzenegger told Empire that the show was "a really great
opportunity, but "under the circumstances I don't want to do it
again."
"When people found out that Trump was still involved as
executive producer and was still receiving money from the show,
then half the people (started) boycotting it," Schwarzenegger
said.
New York businessman Trump, who took office in January after
winning November's presidential election, became a household
name as the host of "The Apprentice" and "The Celebrity
Apprentice" for 14 seasons, where contestants would compete in
business challenges.
Trump mocked Schwarzenegger and the 43 percent fall in the
coveted 18-to-49-year-old audience for the show's January
premiere, sparking a Twitter fight between America's two biggest
celebrities-turned-politicians.
"Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got 'swamped'
(or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT,"
tweeted Trump.
"I wish you the best of luck and I hope you'll work for ALL of
the American people as aggressively as you worked for your
ratings," Schwarzenegger tweeted back.
Some 20 million Americans watched the first year of "The
Apprentice" but viewership dropped to around 6 million in 2015
for Trump's final episode of "The Celebrity Apprentice."
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; editing by Jill Serjeant and
Marguerita Choy)
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