Debbie Gibson on Celebrity Apprentice: "All of the Roller Coaster Relationships and Rivalries Are Real"

Debbie Gibson said it plainly: "When you watch the show as a fan, you wonder how much of the relationship issues are provoked. What I learned was all of…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

On February 9, 2012, NBC held a press call for Celebrity Apprentice Season 12, premiering Sunday, February 19th at 9 p.m. on NBC. Pop star Debbie Gibson joined executive producer Donald Trump and Arsenio Hall to preview the new season. Premier Guide Miami was among the outlets on the call.

When you watch the show as a fan, you wonder how much of the relationship issues are provoked, maybe by producers or whatever. What I learned was all of the roller coaster relationships and rivalries are real. You are in close quarters with people. You don't get along with everybody.

Why she said yes

Gibson was candid about her initial hesitation: "At first I was concerned that it was just going to be so taxing to my nervous system that I thought, 'Oh my God, do I want to put myself through this?' I knew that it was not for the faint at heart, and ultimately the charity aspect is what kept nagging at me." She acknowledged the platform dimension honestly: "I think anybody would be lying if they said that was the only reason for doing this show, because obviously this show is an amazing platform for every project you have going on, and maybe things that — like for me in my career that I've been doing that people didn't know about, it shines a big light on everything. But ultimately the charity aspect is the backbone of the show. Millions have been raised for charity every season, and being a part of that and watching that unfold was incredible."

What surprised her most

The biggest revelation, Gibson said, was that the drama viewers see is entirely unmanufactured: "When you watch the show as a fan, you wonder how much of the relationship issues are provoked, maybe by producers or whatever. What I learned was all of the roller coaster relationships and rivalries are real. You are in close quarters with people. You don't get along with everybody. I usually get along with everybody. I had my share of rubbing elbows with somebody, and so then it would take a turn — suddenly one day you'd be getting along and somebody you thought that you liked would show some color that you didn't like. All that stuff's real, which was one of the biggest surprises for me of being on the show." She also surprised herself: "I think I have a very kind of nice demeanor. But at the same time, when pushed, I will snap. I have a backbone, but I don't feel like I have to flaunt that until I need to. And there are moments where I needed to."

Sticking up for Dayana Mendoza

On the season's most-discussed rivalry — Lisa Lampanelli versus Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza — Gibson pushed back on the pile-on: "People were very hard on Dayana. She is a beauty queen. People assume that beauty queens can't be creative and resourceful and smart, and I found myself sticking up for her quite often, actually. I thought they were extra hard on her." She also described her own unexpected chemistry with Lampanelli: "Lisa and I hit it off. We're both New Yorkers, and I think because I started in pop music, people assume that means you're kind of precious and prissy. I think Lisa might have been surprised by the fact that I'm very much like her. I spent a lot of my life schlepping around New York, not having people doing things for me. So the two of us, when we were put together, we had a similar energy — if something involved taking photographs of each other, we didn't care about how we looked. It was like, let's get the job done and move on."

Her strategy — and what she learned from Marlee Matlin

Gibson's approach going in was deliberately unstrategic: "My strategy was to have no strategy, which might not have been the smartest thing or might have been the smartest thing. I really wanted to play the game well, play as a team player, and really come into the boardroom each week with an open mind and a clean slate. I didn't have any agenda or anything against anybody in particular." She had done her homework: "When I decided to do the show, I called Marlee Matlin and her interpreter and we all had breakfast, and I just kind of picked her brain. I felt like she was just the least gimmicky of everybody I'd ever seen on the show, and I thought I would approach it in a similar way." The most lasting lesson came from the fundraising pressure: "I really learned that when you think you've tapped out all your resources, there are more. So it was a really amazing experience in that way for me." Celebrity Apprentice Season 12 premiered Sunday, February 19, 2012, on NBC.

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