Years before Billy Bush was fired from NBC for laughing along as Donald Trump infamously boasted that he could grab women by the genitals in a 2005 recording, the former “Access Hollywood” host said he warned the network that the future president was “an animal” because he had tried to hit on Bush’s then-co-anchor Nancy O’Dell.
Bush revealed his warning to NBC in two podcast interviews this week with Rob Lowe and Tucker Carlson, respectively, according to the Daily Beast. He was dredging up the recording of Trump’s misogynistic remarks about the privileges of being a star. Trump blurted out his crude comments about women while he and Bush were casually chatting, ahead of taping a segment for “Access Hollywood” to promote his popular reality TV show, “The Apprentice.” At the time, “The Apprentice” aired on the NBC network, while “Access Hollywood” was produced by NBC Studios and syndicated across NBC affiliates.
But Bush also explained his role in the decision to bury the problematic recording because the then-Manhattan real estate developer was a big star for NBC, according to another Daily Beast report.
“Had that tape leaked out in 2005 when it happened, heads would have rolled, including mine, because you just completely tarnished our major cash cow,” Bush told Tucker Carlson for his podcast, the Daily Beast reported.
Bush also told Lowe on his “Literally! With Rob Lowe” SiriusXM podcast, that Trump “was a protected, revered source at NBC. He was a $100 million profit for NBC. He was the king of the ratings.”
But as Bush said he agreed that the recording shouldn’t be made public, he said he warned his producers about Trump’s behavior, especially comments he made about O’Dell. While riding a bus to film the segment for “Access Hollywood,” Trump had told Bush he had pursued his co-host, Nancy O’Dell, but failed.
“I moved on her, and I failed,” Trump said. “I’ll admit it. … I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping.”
During this exchange, Bush also laughed along as Trump made his now-infamous remark: “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the (genitals).”
Bush told Lowe that he immediately told his producer about Trump’s comments after shooting wrapped.
“The day of the filming in 2005, I called my producer (and) said, ‘You’re not gonna believe what Trump said. He is going after Nancy,’” Bush said, according to the Daily Beast.
Actually, Bush said he only related Trump’s remarks about O’Dell to his producer. He did not mention the president’s other remarks about grabbing women’s genitals, saying he had not processed “the other stuff.”
As is well known, the footage “sat in a desk forever,” as Bush said. It finally leaked to the Washington Post in the final weeks before the 2016 election. Trump’s remarks on the recording almost derailed his first presidential campaign. He still managed to squeeze out a victory over Hilary Clinton.
Bush’s career fared much less well. In the fall of 2016, Bush was a few months into his new job as a co-host of the third hour of the “Today” show. After the Washington Post published Trump’s remarks, the fallout for Bush was “swift,” according to the Daily Beast. He was fired from “Today” a few days later and couldn’t find a job in the mainstream media for then several years.
Bush now has his own video podcast called “Hot Mics.” His first guest next week is scheduled to be Megyn Kelly, who also had a run-in with NBC with her failed gig as a daytime talk-show host for the network.
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