'Apprentice' Staffer Says Donald Trump Called Marlee Matlin 'Retarded'

According to reports from longtime staffers of the NBC show "The Apprentice," Donald Trump repeatedly disrespected Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin, calling her "retarded."

Raw Story reports that when Matlin appeared on the show in 2011, coming in second place, Trump regularly disrespected her, treating her as though she was mentally disabled.

Early in his campaign, Trump was seen mocking New York Times reporter Serge F. Kavaleski, who suffers from arthrogryposis, which limits his join functions.

Trump dismissed that behavior, saying he can't possibly have said anything bad about a disabled person, because "I've spent a lot of money making buildings accessible" -- something his is required by law to do. See the video below of Trump mocking the reporter, and decide for yourself.

But while Trump mocked Kavaleski behind his back, he offered no such concession to Matlin, reportedly mocking her right to her face.

"[Trump] would often equate that she was mentally retarded," one source told The Daily Beast, noting that both Matlin and her interpreter Jack Jason were kind people.

During taping, Trump would reportedly write notes sitting at the table in the set's "boardroom." Staff who cleaned up after taping noticed that one such scribble read, "Marlee, is she retarded??"

As in the case of the "Access Hollywood," "Pussygate" gaffe, Trump continued wearing his microphone and would talk with others, including Donald Trump Jr.

"[Trump] would make fun of her voice. It actually sounded a lot like what he did [to] the New York Times guy," another person who worked on "The Apprentice" said.

"He would kind of do these mock voices," said a source who witnessed Trump doing it. "[Matlin] was a popular person on the show. I think he would take the low road and mock her disability."

Because those involved signed non-disclosure agreements, none could speak on the record without facing legal retaliation. But several staffers reportedly said that Trump considered Matlin's deafness as a mental deficiency, with one saying, "In the boardroom, he would talk to her like she was 'special,'" the source said. "He took her deafness as some kind of [mental] handicap."

But apparently, his taunting Matlin didn't stop him from also sexually harassing her as well. "The Apprentice" contestant Richard Hatch told People magazine this week that "watching him in the boardroom making sexual comments to Marlee Matlin, to all of the women on The Apprentice, it was obvious that that's just a part of who he is."

"It was obvious and it was grotesque," continued Hatch. "It was blatant and it was frequent. He did it with Lisa Rinna; he did it with Marlee Matlin. He did it with whomever happened to be there at the time... He did it in front of Ivanka [Trump, his daughter]. That was not just uncomfortable for me. It was weird."

Matlin did not comment on the allegations.