Donald Trump isn’t the only familiar face in the 2005 taped recording of the Republican nominee bragging about attempting to “fuck” married women. The other man in the frame making lewd comments is former Access Hollywood host Billy Bush, a cousin of former president George W Bush.
At various points, the young Bush gamely laughs along at Trump’s gross boastings. When apparently spotting actor Arianne Zucker outside the bus, who is wearing a purple dress, Bush says: “Sheesh, your girl’s hot as shit in the purple. Yes, the Donald has scored. Whoa, my man!”
Later in the clip, Bush jokingly asks Zucker to “choose between me and the Donald”, and adds: “Oof, get out of the way, honey. Oh, that’s good legs. Go ahead.”
Bush later issued a statement to Variety that said: “Obviously I’m embarrassed and ashamed. It’s no excuse, but this happened eleven years ago – I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I’m very sorry.”
Trump said that their recorded conversation was merely “locker room banter” and a “private conversation”. “Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course – not even close.”
It is unclear how the leaked footage will affect Bush’s new role as co-host of the 9am hour of the Today Show, NBC’s highly profitable morning show. The program’s Facebook page had been overtaken by hundreds of critical comments about Bush’s behavior, with many viewers asking for him to be suspended or fired.
While NBC has yet to make a comment on the recording, Anthony Quintano, who formerly ran the Today Show’s social media efforts, tweeted that “a majority of Today Show production staff is female” – noting that it “won’t go over well internally to keep Billy Bush around”.
Another thing to note, a majority of the TODAY show production staff is female. Won't go over well internally to keep Billy Bush around.
— Anthony Quintano (@AnthonyQuintano) October 7, 2016
To celebrity gossip followers, Bush is best known as former primary host of Access Hollywood, the nationally syndicated weekday news program created by a former Entertainment Tonight executive producer. Bush led the charge as an industry insider and friend to the stars, often appearing on red carpets, cozying up with talent at the Golden Globes, Grammys and Academy Awards, among other glitzy events. From 2004 through 2006, ABC had him host its live pre-show for the Oscars, as Ryan Seacrest does most years for the E! network.
Before joining Access Hollywood as the east coast correspondent in 2001, Bush put his smooth voice to work on radio, hosting multiple programs, including his own, Billy Bush and the Bush League Morning Show, which aired until he joined the celebrity news show.
The Today Show welcomed him into the fold in 2016, bringing him on as a full-time host after having him contribute to the network’s Olympics coverage. In Rio de Janeiro he landed the exclusive interview with Ryan Lochte, during which the Olympic swimmer lied about getting robbed at gunpoint – and subsequently got into a lot of trouble.
Bush, who has three children with his wife Sydney Davis, is a member of America’s influential Bush dynasty: he’s first cousins with former president George W Bush and former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who was once largely regarded as favored to win the Republican presidential nomination , as well as the nephew of former president George HW Bush, who has reportedly vowed to vote for Hillary Clinton this year.
Friday’s development doesn’t mark the first time Bush has been linked to Trump: the on-air personality hosted the Miss Universe pageant four times during the period that Trump co-ran the competition. Trump sold the Miss Universe organization in 2015, after two television partners dropped the broadcast in response to Trump’s controversial comments about illegal immigrants made on his presidential campaign.
