Billy Bush: "Everyone" at NBC Knew About 'Access Hollywood' Trump Tape

2 days ago

"I got taken out, but I wasn't the target," the new 'Extra' host told Gayle King of his role in the 2016 scandal involving then presidential candidate Donald Trump in a clip from their interview for 'CBS This Morning.'

Transcript

00:00Just ahead of his return to TV as the host of Extra, Billy Bush sat down with Gail

00:04King on CBS This Morning to once again discuss the infamous Access Hollywood tape

00:09with then-Apprentice host and current president Donald Trump. During the sit-down,

00:13which aired in part on Monday, Bush said he wasn't prepared for the controversy around

00:17the video when the 2005 recording surfaced in 2016 because it happened so quickly,

00:23noting that everyone at NBC was well aware of the tape before it was publicly released.

00:27And I was comfortable that it wasn't going to be weaponized. I got taken out, but I wasn't the target.

00:34Bush also explains that he was reassured that his job wouldn't be at risk, saying,

00:38I was told you're good. Don't worry about it. It's not you. You didn't say anything.

00:42It was leaked on a Friday. And then Sunday morning, I walked out that door right over there

00:47with my bags to go back to work. And the driver said, I'm sorry, they've canceled the car.

00:53According to the host, it wasn't long before his lawyer informed him that he wouldn't be returning

00:57to his job on NBC's Today. Reflecting on the entire incident now, Bush says he was young and

01:02relatively new in the industry.

01:04You know, you want people to like you and you're a little eager. I became a very different guy.

01:10So the guy that got fired, no question, was a very different guy.

01:14He continued saying,

01:14Trump's the kind of guy who would say, Forget Billy Bush. And then I might have gotten,

01:18Hey, why did you lose Trump? He's the biggest guest we have.

01:21You're a little anxious around him because you just want it to end well and get out.

01:25Bush previously spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the tape just seven months after the

01:30controversy, saying,

01:31Looking back upon what was said on that bus, I wish I had changed the topic.

01:35As for rewatching the tapes himself, the host says he was, quote,

01:38shocked and alarmed and totally and completely gutted.

01:41It was awful. And my participation was awful too. I remember that guy. He was almost sycophantic.

01:46Although Bush is making his return to TV on Extra, he doesn't feel like he's starting over.

01:51Rather, he feels like he has, quote, picked up some missing elements in the last few years,

01:55like a deeper empathy, patience.

01:58I think people that I'm working with now would say,

02:00boy, he's good to work with because when things go, I don't freak out if something's not right.

02:06I say, don't worry about it. It'll get better.

02:08For more on this story, head to THR.com.

02:10And until next time, for The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Neha Joy.

Billy Bush: "Everyone" at NBC Knew About 'Access Hollywood' Trump Tape | THR News

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