Donald Trump has tweeted an angry denial that he will work on his reality television show The Apprentice during his presidency, saying the CNN reports are “rediculous (sic) and untrue”.
Mark Burnett, the creator of The Apprentice, has said the US President-elect remains an executive producer on the show.
Mr Trump’s spokeswoman, Kellyanne Conway, said on CNN on Friday that Mr Trump’s ties to his reality show were being reviewed for potential conflicts of interest.
But in two tweets sent 10 minutes apart on Saturday night, Mr Trump said he would be devoting “zero time” to the show.
He added that reports by CNN that he would work on the show as president were “rediculous” (sic) and fake.
A few hours later, Mr Trump re-issued the tweet with the word "ridiculous" spelled correctly.
Debuting in 2004, The Apprentice and its spinoff, Celebrity Apprentice, were ratings hits and boosted Mr Trump's popularity after he suffered a financial downturn in the 1990s.
Mr Trump, who famously barked the catchphrase "You're fired!" as he dismissed competitors, stepped down from the show last year when he entered the Republican presidential race.
Celebrity Apprentice returns to the air with new host Arnold Schwarzenegger, star of the Terminator films and former two-term California governor, as host on January 2, 18 days before Mr Trump is sworn in as president.
"I knew from the beginning he is executive producer of the show... His credit was on there," Schwarzenegger told reporters at a promotional event for the next season earlier this week.
"It is no different than when I was running for governor and I became governor. My credit for starring in Terminator still said Schwarzenegger and everything stayed the same and I continued getting my royalties."
Asked whether Mr Trump should step away from the program, Schwarzenegger joked: "I don't think he'll be co-hosting with me".
He suggested Mr Trump could appear on future seasons as a guest adviser "if he has time".
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