Fired on 'Apprentice,' they're not forgotten

By KEVIN D. THOMPSON Cox News Service

Thursday, March 18, 2004

West Palm Beach, Fla. -- Hearing the words, "You're fired" is hard enough. Imagine being canned on national television in front of 20 million people.

But Ereka Vetrini swears getting kicked to the curb on NBC's "The Apprentice" was the best thing that ever happened to her.

"So many opportunities have opened up now that I've been fired," says Vetrini, the fiery marketing and sales wiz who got booted after she became unglued during her team's challenge and was too emotional in the boardroom.

"Every time I open my e-mail a new job opportunity presents itself. There are two that I'm very much considering, but I still want to keep my options open."

And so is Kristi Frank.

Unlike Vetrini, who remains unemployed, the 30-year-old Frank continues to manage her raw food restaurant in Santa Monica, Calif. She says business is up 20% thanks to her appearance on the show.

Frank says she's also fielding many acting offers, including from NBC.

Frank, who grew up in Lake Tahoe, Nev., where she worked as a blackjack dealer to help pay for college, has already had small roles in the short-lived ABC sitcom "The Secret Lives of Men," the movie "Liars Poker" and a topless role in the steamy Showtime series "Red Shoes Diaries."

"It was a very sweet episode in which I fell in love," Frank says of her "Red Shoes Diaries" episode. "That was a huge scandal when I was on 'The Apprentice,' but (executive producer) Mark (Burnett) was happy because it helped the ratings."

The 27-year-old Vetrini, who quit her job as a global promotional marketing manager for Clinique in New York to be on "The Apprentice," says she learned a great deal about herself and the business world while on the show.

"I learned that anything is possible," she says. "We completed some pretty amazing tasks in a short period of time. So, if you really want to accomplish something, you really can, no matter how difficult it seems and no matter what time frame you're given."

Vetrini, a native New Yorker who graduated with honors from Boston College and who learned her business principles by working in her parents' pizzeria, was one of the show's most memorable players because of her ugly shouting matches with fellow female contestant Omarosa and her, well, emotional personality.

However, Vetrini hates being labeled emotional.

"I think they tried to peg me as an emotional person, but I'm a passionate person, and that can be misconstrued if you don't know who I am," she says. "They talk about me crying, but you never see me crying other than the promotional clips after I was called a racist (by Omarosa) on national television. And that was a reason for me to be upset."

Speaking of Omarosa, the one contestant everyone loved to hate, Vetrini and Frank say NBC has actually been kind to her (she also was fired).

"They actually cut some of her worst scenes out," Frank says.

Adds Vetrini: "She truly is like that. She was much more obnoxious than she actually appeared on television. She likes to put people down, but she never really contributes anything."

While Vetrini is best remembered for her emotional outbursts, the indelible image viewers have of Frank is of a meek contestant who stubbornly refused to defend herself against The Donald.

Frank admits she no longer speaks to Jessie Conners, the annoyingly slow-talking contestant from New Richmond, Wis., also fired, whom Frank believes stabbed her in the back in Trump's boardroom.

The one thing all of the women did trust was their sexuality and their ability to flaunt it. Vetrini defends their actions.

"The fact that we are confident and intelligent is what makes us sexy," she says.

But Vetrini quickly adds that some of those spaghetti-strap blouses and napkin-sized skirts weren't actually corporate America appropriate.

WHEN TO WATCH

What: "The Apprentice" When: 8 tonight Where: NBC (Channel 4)

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