The fall-out from the Trump tape of 2005 with Billy Bush has hit home for Billy. I guess it is easier to cancel a contract than to cancel a presidential campaign.
Billy Bush has been suspended from the "Today" show "pending further review of the matter," NBC News said Sunday night.
It is unclear if he will ever return to the broadcast.
"He will never be on the show again," an on-air source said, reflecting what staffers are saying behind the scenes. The sudden change came amid a chorus of calls for disciplinary action against Bush over his vulgar 2005 conversation with Donald Trump that was caught on tape and revealed on Friday. NBC sources initially said Bush was not being disciplined and that he would be in his usual spot as co-host of the "Today" show's 9 a.m. hour on Monday morning. As late as Sunday morning, one of the sources was saying that Bush would use Monday's broadcast to reiterate the apology he made Friday. But on Sunday afternoon, senior NBC executives made the decision to bench Bush on Monday, effectively reprimanding him.
A couple of hours later, the executive in charge of "Today," Noah Oppenheim, said in an internal memo that the executives had decided to go even further and suspend Bush. "I know we've all been deeply troubled by the revelations of the past 48 hours," Oppenheim wrote. "Let me be clear — there is simply no excuse for Billy's language and behavior on that tape, NBC has decided to suspend Billy, pending further review of this matter."
Before the memo was released, the on-air source said staffers were in the dark, stuck refreshing Twitter to find out what was going on with Bush. The suspension was a stunning turn of events. The "Today" show recently made a multi-million-dollar bet on Bush, relocating him from Los Angeles to New York and making him a co-host. But the taped 2005 conversation between Bush and Trump has upended the careers of both men. Trump's vulgar and aggressive comments about women, alluding to sexual assault, caused some Republican leaders to retract their endorsements of him. Bush played along and joked with Trump, even while Trump talked about trying to sleep with one of Bush's colleagues.
At the time the video was recorded, Bush was a co-host of NBC's entertainment show "Access Hollywood." Now he is a key player on the "Today" show, the profit engine of NBC News. Until Friday, some observers believed he was being groomed to take over for Matt Lauer someday.
Bush is a cousin of both former President George W. Bush and 2016 Trump opponent Jeb Bush.
For more on this, head over to CNN.com. There, it does state that Bush has apologized, but it also talks about Bush's role on the morning shows, the hours he is there, as well as the majority female staff he works with.
Do you think Billy Bush should lose his job?
We shall see if the backlash on the debate occurs.
Adding a slightly bizarre element to the story, the New York Times reported Sunday that the outgoing voicemail message on Bush's extension at NBC says, "You've reached Billy Bush's office, he's busy making America great again, please leave a message." The voice is apparently not his.
And if you missed the video in question, here it is, language and all.
h/t: money.cnn.com
He should be fired. He was
He should be fired. He was working. Whether he knew about the hot mic is not important to me. He was getting paid for escorting a Trump on a bus to a cameo appearance on a tv show. His conversation and language was inappropriate especially since he was talking about a co-worker. He will always be a misogynistic jerk to me. I bet he wouldn't be able to get a position on any other network. Please don't subject him to your viewers at NBC anymore. I hope that NBC takes into consideration the fact that his behavior is inappropriate; he does not respect women; and he has not respected his coworker.
Does anyone think he has respect for viewers?
Billy Bush has always been
Billy Bush has always been creepy to me. I never liked him and i stop watching Access Hollywood when they made him the top reporter.He was always trying to get in good with the actors and sometimes his question seem out of place.I for one am glade he may be gone.
Billy Bush needed to be
Billy Bush needed to be suspended. He wasn't just listening to Trump talk, he encouraged Trump. What is the most disturbing is that Bush was on the job when this happened. Not only was he on the job but he allowed Trump to talk like this about his co-worker.
Take Billy Bush away and
Take Billy Bush away and Tamaren Hall too…bring Natali back
I do not think Billy Bush
I do not think Billy Bush should lose his job unless it is proven he knew all of this was being recorded. I am no Trump supporter, and I do find these comments disgusting, but straight men, gay men too, for that matter, do talk this way. It is all talk in most cases, but many men brag about conquests, mostly imagined. Also, I loved Ted Kennedy, but look at his sexual exploits. He also used his power and was known for very colorful language.
If if all of this sinks Trump, I'll shed no tears. If Billy Bush's career comes to an end, it's not the end of journalism as we know it. But the outrage? Is this for real?