|
 On Thursday, November 18, we spoke to Anand Vasudev, the tenth contestant fired by Donald Trump on the reality television series, The Apprentice. It happened at the beginning of the November 11 episode under quite unique circumstances. Anand was not fired because he lost a task or caused his team to lose a task. Rather, he became the first contestant to be fired for violating the rules of the show – specifically, the rule against having contact with the outside world during the course of the contest. The producers discovered that Anand had sent text messages to some of his friends during the pedicab task asking them to come down to the site, pretend they didn't know him, and get cab rides from his team. When confronted about this, Anand denied having sent the text messages even when Mr. Trump said he had copies of them in his hands. After Mr. Trump read the texts, Anand admitted to sending them and that he lied to Mr. Trump about it. Anand was then fired from the show before the next task – designing a display for Kim Kardashian's new fragrance – was even given to the teams.
Here are the facts about Anand Vasudev from his NBC Apprentice bio: Anand Vasudev, 31 (Tampa, Fla.), worked for a very lucrative private firm managing several large multi-million dollar real estate investments. The successful Emory University graduate, whose past career accomplishments also include being the youngest person to be promoted to a senior role at a Fortune 500 company, thought he was "indispensable" to his firm because of the high level of expertise he had developed over the years. His eventual layoff came to him as a huge shock, yet was very motivating. In the face of adversity, Anand followed his dream and moved to New York City, where today he is a struggling entrepreneur trying to launch an innovative new vitamin-infused wine company, while still also looking to get involved in media and entertainment business. He is finding it rather difficult amidst today's economic environment and hasn't taken a salary in over a year. An avid sports fan, Vasudev currently resides in New York City.
USTOWNHALL SPEAKS TO ANAND VASUDEV OF THE APPRENTICE 10:
USTH: Thank you for doing this interview. I imagine it can't be easy, but I have to ask what I guess is the most obvious question right off the bat, which is when you were in the boardroom and Mr. Trump specifically said to you that he knew you had sent text messages in violation of the rules of the show, and he basically had them to read, you kept denying it and then really encouraged him to read them to everyone in the room. I'm just wondering why you did that? It sounded like you were trying to bluff him when you knew you had sent the text messages. So, I'm just trying to understand why you pushed it that far.
ANAND VASUDEV: That's a great question, Scott. Basically, what people don't realize when we filmed that boardrom [sequence], it was very, very early in the morning. It was about 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning, and all of us – if you watch the episode, you can kind of see it on everyone's face. Everybody's exhausted. Everybody's worn out. When Mr. Trump turned to me and asked me if I had sent any text messages, I honestly – my mind had just not registered – at that point in time that early in the morning – I hadn't had my coffee yet. You know, when he asked me – obviously, the task [when the text messages were sent] was several episodes prior, and I had moved on. And, I obviously had been working on so many other tasks. I had so many other things going on in my mind that it didn't even occur to me. When I asked him – when he said, "Would you like me to read it," and then he read it, that's when the light bulb went off, and that's when I realized, "Oh, yes. You know what, I did send that text message." So you know, it wasn't so much that I was trying to bluff him; it was just one of those things that I just didn't realize until – it just hadn't registered for me. And then, once he read it, that's when I realized the mistake that I had made.
USTH: Do you know how the producers got ahold of those text messages? Did the person you sent them to betray you to the producers of the show?
ANAND VASUDEV: No. I don't think it was anything like that. Mr. Trump has eyes and ears everywhere, obviously. The production staff – they have all their bases covered. They somehow got ahold of it, and the rest is history.
USTH: When you initially did make the text messages, I guess it was during the pedicab task, did you confide to any of the other cast member? He asked a couple of them if they knew about it and they said no, but we didn't see him ask everybody. So, I'm just wondering, either the people that were in the boardroom or the people had gotten fired before you, did you tell anybody that you had made those text messages?
ANAND VASUDEV: No. I had not mentioned it to anybody because I really didn't think much of it. Rather than publicize the fact that I had sent a text message to one or two friends, I really didn't think that it was that big of a deal. I mean obviously in today's business world, if you're running a business, you're going to contact your friends, your family, all your colleagues, and you're going to try and drum up business.
In the real world, that's essentially what I was trying to do. Unfortunately, the fine print in all the rules state that you're not supposed to send any text messages. And when I did it, I really didn't think that it was going to be such a major deal that, I didn't really bother to tell anybody.
USTH: So when you were summoned to the boardroom, what did you think was going to happen – when it was that early in the morning, and you hadn't had your coffee, and you hadn't dressed properly – what did you guys think? You in particular, and the other contestants as you were talking to each other, what did you think was going to happen in the boardroom?
ANAND VASUDEV: Well, every time Mr. Trump calls us to speak to us early in the morning, it's usually to deliver a task, so we all thought that we were heading to Trump Tower and he was going to deliver our next task for the day. It wasn't until you know 15 to 20 minutes into the boardroom that we realized that it was something totally different.
USTH: When Poppy interviewed with us last week, she said that when you guys were waiting in the outer chamber, she heard Mr. Trump bellowing from the inside and she knew that something was up even before she walked in. Did you hear him yelling inside?
ANAND VASUDEV: I did not hear anything. I know that the two teams – we each have war rooms in Trump Tower, and the men's team and the women's team I believe, if I recall correctly, were separated at the time. I didn't hear anything, so I had no idea what was going on. Again, it was very early in the morning. I don't think I was clicking on all cylinders that early. I didn't hear anything. I had no idea what was going on when I – it wasn't until I was brought into the boardroom that it finally hit me.
USTH: Since you've done the show and filming has wrapped, have you reestablished relationships with any of the other cast members? Have you become friends with any of them outside the show?
ANAND VASUDEV: Yes. One of the beautiful things about this show is even though we're all competing against one another for the ultimate prize, it's such a unique experience that win or lose, you've developed a bond with the other 15 cast mates. I'm very proud to say that I'm very close with most of them. We all maintain contact almost daily whether it's through email or phone calls or even text messages, we all keep in touch, and we've all become good friends after it.
USTH: Now you know, I guess, that Poppy and David have established a relationship outside the show after filming. Obviously, her feelings about David have changed. Have your feelings about David changed, or do you still feel he's sort of a disruptive influence?
ANAND VASUDEV: I don't really have anything negative to say about anyone on the show. Obviously, with my experience with David working on the show – it was very difficult to work with David. I think David is a great guy. I think he's misunderstood a lot of times. I think the way he carries himself in his work environment is definitely different than the way I carry myself, so it would probably – it would be difficult if he and I were to ever try to work together. I just don't foresee it happening. But, if he ever wants to give me a call and hang out sometime, I'm always open to it. I wish him and Poppy the best.
USTH: Looking forward into the future, what are your career goals, and what are you working on right now that you could share with us?
ANAND VASUDEV: Well, obviously, after The Apprentice, my next – unfortunately, I didn't win The Apprentice, so my next career step is definitely going to be my biggest step in my career thus far. So for me, I'm really interviewing with a lot of companies right now. I was an ex-private equity finance guy, and since The Apprentice, I've developed a newfound interest in media and entertainment. I would love a job like yours Scott. Right now, I'm just interviewing around and definitely want to take my time and make the right decisions. In the meantime, I'm also working on – as an entrepreneur – I also have small business ideas that I've been working on as well. Hopefully, all goes well.
USTH: But you're staying in the New York area then?
ANAND VASUDEV: I am in the New York area. That's correct.
The Apprentice airs each Thursday night at 10:00pm Eastern & Pacific / 9:00pm Central on NBC.
Use the image gallery below to read the other interviews in this series
|
Television 
