Omarosa -
By: Dominick A. Miserandino
Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth shot to fame in 2004 when she appeared on The Apprentice. Though she did not win a job with Donald Trump, Omarosa gained notoriety for her assertive, outspoken behavior. Now, Omarosa is back with Trump on the Celebrity Apprentice and presents her book, The Bitch Switch. TheCelebrityCafe's Dominick Miserandino spoke with Omarosa about being an assertive woman in today's society.
DM: You have a new book out. Are you telling all the secrets on how to be Omarosa?
O: (Laughter) No. I'm telling women how to be stong; show how to be more strategic in the workplace, at the office or at home.
DM: A lot of times in society you'll hear when a women acts too strong people will say "she's acting like a bitch." Is it possible to be strong without being a bitch?
O: The truth is when a man sees that type of behavior he develops a phobia of it. What we women have to do is reclaim that word and really teach people how to treat us and not reinforce the idea that it's okay to label a woman a bitch because she is strong.
DM: A lot of how you've been portrayed in the media is as a bitch. How much of that is society looking in and saying "Oh my god she is really strong so she must be a bitch"?
O: To a lot of people I was very, very aggressive. I wanted to win money, I wanted to win that dream job with Donald Trump. I wanted to win and I was a woman in the workplace being explicit in what she wants. I want this, I'm as tough as a guy and I will do whatever it takes. I don't know if America was used to seeing that or attracted to that.
DM: Do you think with more women in places of power the more America will be used to it?
O: Certainly. We have to shift the paradigm. We've tried to do the good girl thing for a while and it hasn't served us as well. We need to redifine how women are accepted not only in the workplace but at home and in personal relationships.
DM: Do you think that's happeneing by having Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin go for the presidency?
O: I think it will help once we put it into context. Right now we have to look at it in a context of the political arena but their contributions will be seen and far lasting.
DM: If you were to go to the board room 20 or 30 years from now, do you think your actions would be seen differently?
O: When I did the apprentice in 2003 I thought if I could be more like the person who wanted to hire me I could be more effective. The problem is women need their own strategies for being effective in the boardroom. I definitley think that within 20 years it will be acceptable to see a higher percentage of women leading Fortune 500 companies and at the highest levels of management. Unfortunately, we don't see that.
DM: How much perception is based on who you are and how much is based on what society thinks a woman should be?
O: There's no question I'm a very competitive, outgoing, attractive woman. But there are so many other facets of who I am. On TV, though, you don't get to see that. There's only 40 minutes to an episode and on The Apprentice there are 16 contestants sharing that at times. But there are many sides to me and to find a balance between having the bitch all the way up or all the way down is really the key to this book.
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