Billy Bush Breaks His Silence On Donald Trump’s ‘Access Hollywood’ Tape

TV host Billy Bush has given his first extended interview about the infamous Access Hollywood tape that got him fired from the Today” show. It featured Bush and Donald Trump making lewd comments about women. The tape resurfaced before the presidential election, which prompted Trump to call the conversation “locker room banter.”

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bush said of Trump’s remarks, “I wish I had changed the topic. I wish I had said: ‘Does anyone want water?’ or ‘It looks like it’s gonna rain.’ He liked TV and competition. I could’ve said, ‘Can you believe the ratings on whatever?’ I didn’t have the strength of character to do it.”

Bush said he hadn’t recalled ever hearing Trump say “anything to that degree” in the past. “But he’s a provocateur. Shocking statements flow like wine from him. And he likes to captivate an audience,” the former TV host said.

Bush also disagreed with the opinion that the tape was just “locker room banter.”

“No. I’m in a lot of locker rooms,” he said. “No, that is not the type of conversation that goes on or that I’ve participated in.”

Bush added, “[Trump] has his process for his participation [in the tape], and I have mine. I had to turn this into a positive.” He said he found a lot of irony in the fact that he was fired over the tape while Trump became president despite it.