Former president Donald Trump used a racial slur during filming of the first season of hit show The Apprentice, a former producer claimed on Thursday.
The allegation came from Bill Pruitt, one of the original producers of the series, who wrote in Slate that a non-disclosure agreement he had signed in 2004 expired this year.
Mr Pruitt described a conversation taking place with Mr Trump focused on which of the two final contestants should win.
One was Bill Rancic, who is white and was the eventual winner. The other was Kwame Jackson, who is black.
During the discussion, Mr Pruitt claims Mr Trump said: “But, I mean, would America buy a [expletive] winning?”
He also described an attitude of casual misogyny from Mr Trump.
The revelations may have little impact on the former president's popularity as rumours of the alleged use of a racial slur have circulated for years.
Recent polls have shown support for him among black Americans is increasing.
President Joe Biden's campaign issued a statement calling Mr Trump a “textbook racist”.
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Mr Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, told Slate that the story was “completely fabricated” and had been “peddled” in 2016”, attributing its current publication to the Democrats.
“Nobody took it seriously then and they won’t now, because it’s fake news,” he said.
“Now that Crooked Joe Biden and the Democrats are losing the election, they are bringing up old fake stories from the past because they are desperate.”
