Just days before the season premiere of "Celebrity Apprentice," boardroom boss Donald Trump told TODAY that fans could expect the all-star showdown to get as "mean and nasty" as ever before -- he just didn't say that the meanest and nastiest behavior of all would be packed into the third episode. Of course, anyone who tuned in Sunday night knows that now.
Team Power and Team Plan B faced off in a challenge that had something to do with Crystal Light and soap stars, but who could really pay attention to that when the faceoff between Power's project manager, La Toya Jackson, and resident villain Omarosa was so much more interesting?
From the start, the two women clashed, with Omarosa attempting to dominate project planning, and Jackson struggling to get control. That's when the trouble took off.
Employing her usual never-stop-talking approach, Omarosa slammed Jackson for suggesting she, well, stop talking. Eventually, Jackson vied for the villain title, delivering a stunning low-blow aside about the contestant who was once engaged to late actor Michael Clarke Duncan.
"He had a heart attack," Jackson said, adding, "I'm sure she gave it to him."
Not cool.
After the blowup, Omarosa missed much of the project, leaving to deal with a personal "emergency" (the release of the 911 tapes from her fiancé's death), though no one bought her excuse.
When Team Power returned to the boardroom and inevitably lost the challenge, Jackson made a special request from the big boss.
"Can you give me the liberty and the opportunity, for the first time, to fire somebody on my team since I was the project manager?" she asked, making no secret about the "witch" she planned to cut.
But Trump wasn't going to surrender that honor to anyone else. Instead, Jackson had to go along with the usual routine and pick two teammates to face the firing squad with her. The shocker was that, after all hubbub, she didn't pick Omarosa.
Her choices -- Dennis Rodman and Brande Roderick -- sealed her fate.
"You made a terrible choice when you didn't bring back Omarosa, because I think I probably would have fired Omarosa," Trump told her. "La Toya, you're fired!"
Whose side were you on in the boardroom battle? Tell us on our Facebook page.
Related content:
- Omarosa breaks down in tears on 'All-Star Celebrity Apprentice'
- Newt Gingrich says he'd join 'Celebrity Apprentice' if asked
- Donald Trump promises 'mean and nasty' 'Apprentice'
More in the Clicker: