Fired Apprentice candidate Lewis Ellis on his Twitter spat with Lord Sugar: 'He's part of the past'
The 28-year-old butted heads with the businessman both in and out the boardroom
We’re now past the dreaded interview stage of The Apprentice and rapidly hurtling towards the final – but not without three more casualties of the boardroom.
Lottie, Pamela and Lewis found themselves booted out the process having failed to impress the four tough interviewers and Lord Sugar himself.
However, it wasn’t the last time Lewis and the Lord crossed paths, after Sugar told Lewis publicly on Twitter last month that he thought his tattoos were "horrible" – to which Lewis replied: “Okay boomer.”
And Lewis is unrepentant over the row, telling RadioTimes.com “screw what anyone else thinks” about his tattoos.
“It’s a generational difference, and I get it, he’s from a different time,” he said.
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“Unfortunately, that's not how it works anymore. You've got many, many MDs [managing directors] and directors that are very successful and rich already who are covered in tattoos. He's just part of the past.
“I didn't do it to impress anyone, I didn't do it so anyone else could have an opinion on it. I enjoy them, they are reminders to me about what I am trying to achieve.”
The fourth-placed candidate found his card marked by Lord Sugar all the way back in week one of the process, after he was told to watch his temper after getting fiery in the boardroom.
“Don't get me wrong, it's not best to lose your temper, but in that position you're on the complete defensive, you're outnumbered, I had to go bigger, bolder, stronger, louder and convey passion,” he explained.
But despite their different views on tattoos and Sugar’s reluctance to invest in his travel firm, Lewis believes that he’s more like Lord Sugar than he first thought.
“I reckon when Lord Sugar was my age he would have done the same as me,” he said. “Fighting his corner, I reckon he'd be screaming and shouting in boardrooms.
“I read his autobiography way back when, I saw it on a bookshelf, and I learnt all about his life. Jesus, He's gone from nothing, but I've got nothing. What have I got to lose? And that's one of the things that prompted me on this journey.”
The Apprentice continues Wednesdays at 9pm on BBC One
