Mark Burnett, MGM say they can’t release ‘The Apprentice’ footage

LOS ANGELES — Mark Burnett has finally broken his silence about the prospect of releasing unaired footage of Donald Trump from “The Apprentice.”

Turns out, Burnett and MGM will not be releasing any footage.

The statement, released to Variety on Monday afternoon, reads: “MGM owns Mark Burnett’s production company and ‘The Apprentice’ is one of its properties. Despite reports to the contrary, Mark Burnett does not have the ability nor the right to release footage or other material from ‘The Apprentice.’ Various contractual and legal requirements also restrict MGM’s ability to release such material. The recent claims that Mark Burnett has threatened anyone with litigation if they were to leak such material are completely and unequivocally false. To be clear, as previously reported in the press, which Mark Burnett has confirmed, he has consistently supported Democratic campaigns.”

Burnett’s statement comes after much pressure on him, along with MGM and NBC, to address possible “Apprentice” footage that could show Trump’s commentary and interaction with women on the set. Last week, the AP released a deep-dive report of the presidential candidate’s behavior on the show with many “Apprentice” staffers and contestants going on record to share their accounts of Trump’s disparaging remarks to them.