Niki Taylor too gracious for cutthroat 'Apprentice'

The behavior of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" contestants is not especially charitable, even though they are raising money for charities.

Shouldn't the behavior be more benevolent?

"Yes, I agree with that," said supermodel Niki Taylor, who has experienced the joy of having a national TV audience watch as the words YOU'RE FIRED were spoken to her.

Taylor was in Minneapolis as an ambassador for "We Hear You America," the Reader's Digest campaign to spread stimulus checks over cities hit hard by the economy. She delivered a $1,000 check Tuesday to Minneapolis Council Member Elizabeth Glidden because the magazine has been impressed with the wireless Minneapolis project.

The amount would probably go farther in Mayberry.

Seriously, though, it could be argued that Reader's Digest has already invested plenty of money into this region. The magazine's founders, DeWitt and Lila Wallace, were major benefactors to St. Paul's Macalester College, where their monies still support grants and scholarships.

As for apprentices who might behave as graciously and honorably as I found Taylor, she said that "wouldn't make good TV. A lot of people are there to play the game. But for myself, I was really happy to win $35,000 for the American Red Cross."

I totally forgot to ask Taylor if she thought now-fired contestant Dionne Warwick was "a hussy," a word the soft-spoken yet ill-tempered singer repeatedly flung Niki's way. Warwick may not know what the word means.

"What you saw wasn't even half of how bad [Warwick was]," Taylor told Fox 9, where she noted that Dionne the Diva was grumpy to everyone.

Surviving celebrity apprentice and singer Mark McGrath was snickering on some entertainment show about how he and Taylor had concealed their tattoos from apprentice bloviator-in-chief Donald Trump, who thinks the body art is "a mistake." (But Trump's hair isn't?)

"I don't hide them," Taylor told me, noting "I have a lot of tattoos."

Although she is having some of them removed, she said the ones she's keeping were well thought out and reminders of significant events in her life.

One Niki sighting

"Niki Taylor was here for breakfast," read a Twitter post Tuesday from Birchwood Cafe. "THAT Niki Taylor. We wonder what she's doing in town?"

Why now, Jenn?

Jenn Sterger did give one totally unbelievable response to a question during her "Good Morning America" interview about Brett Favre's sextcapades.

ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked Sterger if she'd sent Favre a text to smile at her if he was the one sending her texts.

I don't know why Stephanopoulos didn't follow up with something, maybe even this: You can't recall the spirit, if not the verbatim language, of any text you sent Favre?

Everything else Sterger said seemed believable. Even the jaw-dropping disclosure that Favre got into all this trouble (including a financially meaningless $50,000 fine from the NFL for I'm guessing not disrobing so a league doctor could do a visual comparison) over a woman the QB had seen but never met.

Many sports fans won't cut any slack for the woman who said "I've been told I look remarkably like his wife," in part because of her smug facial expressions, which she can't control.

But people should consider giving her credit for staving off the passes of the country boy, and cutest grandpa I've ever seen, who was lonely in the big city.

"It wasn't flattering, if that's what you're implying," she told GMA. "No. He's married. More than anything I thought it was intimidating."

Lorie Line was right down front last week at the Dakota for "An Evening with Philip Glass -- Solo Piano."

Her husband and mouthpiece, Tim Line, said, "We were with [former UnitedHealth Group CEO] Dr. Bill McGuire and his wife, Nadine. They are real big supporters of the arts."

Tim said, "We didn't grow up familiar with [Glass'] music, but we know, because we're in the business, he's a legend. But I couldn't believe all the young people there. It was unbelievable."

Sold out, too.

"Have you eaten there lately? The food is slammin'," said Tim.

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. Attachments are not opened, so don't even try. More of her attitude can be seen on Fox 9 Thursday mornings.