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AE: What are your thoughts on the controversy over Carey's pink swimsuit? Everyone, including Trump, kept going on about the gay swimsuit — he wouldn't even touch it; he threw it across the table. What do you think was going on there if it wasn't homophobia?
DA: I think Trump — and this goes to the Rosie thing too — I think he'll say anything to get a rise out of anybody. I think with Rosie, he wanted to call her a lesbian or a dyke or whatever not so much because he's homophobic, but because he wants to say anything to piss you off. It's not meant to be — I won't say personal, but not meant to be homophobic or racist.

In respect to the boardroom, I think he knows that this is a show based on sensationalism. The whole show has jumped the shark this season. He knows he has to do something sensational. What else is he going to do but not want to hold a swimsuit? Was it homophobic? Maybe latently, in the back of his mind, he was freaked out by it, but I just didn't get a homophobic vibe from him in the slightest. I think he's so wrapped up in women and enthralled by them, gay people just sort of perplex him.

Here's the thing: Carey and I are two different types of gay guys. I think it's great that they had us both on the show. Carey is the great-looking, in shape, classy gay man. Here I am, the sloppy, white trash, bearish kind of a guy. I agree that the suit was just way out there. If you and I were in a gay bar, we'd be like, "Oh my God! How faggy is that suit?" Is that something you want to say on national TV? Eh … unfortunately, I did.

To some extent, I do think that suit was just way out there. I can see some gay guys wearing it, and I can see European guys wearing it, but I think the majority of gay guys in America would not be caught dead in that suit. I got so many emails from people saying "Thank you, Derek, for saying the comment about that suit." They were upset because they felt that Carey was perpetuating a stereotype of gay guys being extremely out there in their swimwear choices.

AE: Did you see Trump again after being fired, or was that how things were left?
DA: No, I've not seen Trump since I got fired. At the live finale, I'm interested to see him again. I think he regretted his decision. After I left, the other members of my team told me he kept asking, "Do you think I did the right thing?" Then the next morning when he was giving them their next task, he asked them again, "Did I do the right thing?" I think he truly liked me and just lost his temper.

AE: What about the go-carts? You seemed to throw it out there almost as a joke and then Jenn latched onto it like a drowning woman grabbing the last life ring.
DA: I threw it out there because it was three hours into the task and they hadn't come up with any ideas. I don't regret brainstorming and throwing stuff out there. I threw out a whole bunch of other ideas. When she took it and grabbed ahold of it, I started regretting it. I was like, "Oh, crap! If it crashes, it's going to come down on me."

Ultimately, though, the go-carts worked. The go-carts were full the entire hour and half we had to do the event. They were running constantly. The go-carts really had nothing to do with why we lost. There's a luxury in being a child. There were all these high-powered, very wealthy people who had actually pre-ordered this $80,000 car. Our task was to give them a driving experience. We couldn't give 50 people the driving experience with just two cars. What are we going to do with them while they're waiting? Go-carts.

My point with Trump when he was going after the go-carts was, "Dude, you're being such a snob about it." Lexus is about high quality, but it's not about snobbery. If you want snobbery then you want a Mercedes Benz or a Jaguar. So no, I don't regret the go-cart decision. It's something I would have liked, but then, I'm not the Lexus customer.

AE: What made you decide to go on The Apprentice? What were you hoping to get from the experience?
DA: I got recruited to be on the show. Someone at work got the email from a friend in casting that they weren't able to find anyone they liked during open auditions, so I spoke to them on the phone and they said, "We'll put you in the finals and you'll either sink or swim."

I've been trying to get on The Amazing Race like four times, and I was a semifinalist for Big Brother a few years ago, so it's always been my dream to be on one of these shows. I'm such an avid watcher of reality TV. It's the catty bitch in me. So for me, what I wanted to get out of it was just the experience. I'm not an aspiring actor. I just wanted to get in there and play the game and see if I could change the dynamics of the show, which to some extent, I think I did.

I like Survivor, so we had an alliance. We accomplished our goals, which were to get two or three people fired, Aimee and Marisa. Jenn was the third. I think you saw the tail end of our alliance on that episode when I said we're going to get rid of Jenn. So I just went on there to cause havoc, have fun and work hard. I think had I not opened my mouth, I could have gone much farther.

AE: So are you watching the current season of Amazing Race: All Stars?
DA: Yes. I love it.

AE: Who's your favorite team?
DA: I love Danny and Oswald. They were my favorite from their original season. I remember them going to some high-class hotel and saying: "Excuse us. Normally, we'd be wearing Prada. I'm sorry we're coming in here in shorts."

I love them so much because they're fun gay guys. They're not so serious and dramatic. They're just having fun with it, and I identify with them the most. I'm not too much of a fan of the other gay team, Guido. They're OK; they're just too evil for me. And not in the fun kind of evil way like I was on The Apprentice. Those guys are just evil.

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