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Celebrity Apprentice's Annie Duke trumps Joan Rivers with parting shots

By April MacIntyre Apr 29, 2009, 2:13 GMT

Now the Associated Press reports that the commissioner of the World Series of Poker commissioner said Tuesday that he thinks that cardplayer Annie Duke’s presence on reality show “Celebrity Apprentice” will be good for the game. Photo courtesy of Annie Duke.com

Poker player Annie Duke has hit back the Joan and Melissa Rivers tag team that branded her a "Viper whore."

The past episode of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" saw the game devolve into a name-calling profanity laced lesson in blood is thicker than water, and that Joan Rivers always has the last word.

Not so fast, as Duke's pals have rallied to her defense after Rivers branded all pokers players as Annie's "people" who were "trash."

Now the Associated Press reports that the commissioner of the World Series of Poker commissioner said Tuesday that he thinks that cardplayer Annie Duke’s presence on reality show “Celebrity Apprentice” will be good for the game.

Joan Rivers, he can do without.

Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack brought up Rivers' name when asked if a woman would eventually win the series’ no-limit Texas Hold ‘em main event at a press conference.
“We would love to see a woman win the main event … unless that woman happens to be Joan Rivers,” Pollack said.

The 75-year-old Rivers said Duke would need "two doctors" for her facelift and called Duke a “Nazi” and labeled all poker players “beyond white trash.” 

Rivers' tirade continued: “I met your people in Vegas for 40 years. None of them have last names, none of them.”

Pollack defended Annie:  “Annie is representing poker players beautifully. I think she’s playing the game masterfully,” Pollack said in the press conference. “We think the net effect is that it’s going to be very good for poker and for the World Series of Poker.”

Annie Duke twittered her thoughts just now about the last aired show that transpired.

Duke writes on her blog: "So, in the end Trump fired Melissa and, well, you saw the meltdown from the Rivers for yourself. Folks! It’s a game where you get fake fired from a fake job all in the hopes of raising a ton of money for charity! Really, calling anyone a whore pit viper under those circumstances is an extreme reaction and, frankly, not losing with grace."

"And Joan Rivers. Well. What can I say there? As far as Brande goes…as much as Joan likes to claim I called Brande an idiot she is the only one who has disparaged Brande’s intellect falling on the age old your a dumb blond insult. Brande defended herself pretty well against that one pointing out if she is so stupid then why is she still there and not Melissa. Good point Brande. For everyone thinking I somehow manipulated Brande in order to get ahead in the game I would venture to say it is quite the opposite. Brande outplayed Melissa pretty nicely."

Duke added, "Now, as for Joan’s comments about poker players…well…what I said on the show is true. Poker players are the most wonderful people you will ever meet. Poker players are thoughtful and generous and are good for their word. I think it is so interesting that the group that has come out the most strongly in support of the show and in support of these charities, poker players, are so vilely disparaged by Joan on the show."

"...Joan can attack me all she wants. She can attack my morals. She can call me a Nazi and compare me to Hitler. I signed up for that when I agreed to do the show. I was there to defend myself. But to use such a broad brush to insult a whole group of people who did not sign up for that kind of abuse, implying they are criminals, saying outright that they give blood money and are worse than white trash. Well now I am angry. To insult me is one thing. I can take it. To insult my friends who have been nothing but generous and selfless in their support of charity. That is a whole other thing and that is where you can get a rise out of me."

Duke brought the ante up with the parting last thoughts: "Joan saying that all poker players have no last names and are worse than white trash is like me saying that all comedians are miserable, depressed people who take their angst, anger and unhappiness out on everyone around them. Clearly, that would be unfair."