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'The Celebrity Apprentice' finale fight card: Annie Duke v Joan Rivers

By April MacIntyre May 10, 2009, 20:45 GMT

Rivers: Sunday night sees the end of this season\'s "The Celebrity Apprentice," the NBC reality series that by its nature has a tendency to peel the wafer-thin veneer of respectability off C and D-listed celebrities for the sake of charity fund-raising. © Sylvain Gaboury / PR Photos

Sunday night sees the end of this season's "The Celebrity Apprentice," the NBC reality series that by its nature has a tendency to peel the wafer-thin veneer of respectability off C and D-listed celebrities for the sake of charity fund-raising.

This season more than any other.

The show begins at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, and will last three hours. 

Trump is down to poker champ Annie Duke and comedy maven Joan Rivers, with Duke's charity pick being Refugees International, and Rivers is vying for God's Love We Deliver.

According to NBC, last season’s winner Piers Morgan and runner-up Trace Adkins will return for the final hour.

With the dismissal of Clint Black, Brande Roderick and Jesse James in last week’s episode, the remaining two project managers Joan and Annie will compete to create a pre-theatre VIP party experience, sponsored by Kodak, for patrons attending Cirque du Soleil’s hit show “Wintuk.”

The finale will be telecast live from the Museum of Natural History in New York City where last season’s finalists, winner Piers Morgan and runner up, country music superstar Trace Adkins, will make a special appearance before Donald Trump reveals the next Celebrity Apprentice.

“This season’s final boardroom showdown is guaranteed to be the most astonishing we’ve ever had, a fitting finale to a fantastic season,” said executive producer Donald Trump. “Joan Rivers and Annie Duke have done a tremendous job. Congratulations to them both—and may the best woman win!”

In this three-hour finale episode, Joan and Annie will see the return of some of their former teammates, Dennis Rodman, Tom Green, Melissa Rivers, Brande Roderick, Clint Black and Herschel Walker, and must choose among them to create a team that will lead them to one last victory and a huge donation to their chosen charity.

Two weeks ago, Joan Rivers and her eliminated daughter Melissa launched a profanity laced tirade against Brande Roderick and Annie Duke, who twittered her thoughts over how show events 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."