Five days after he appeared in an infamous leaked video with Donald Trump, Billy Bush is negotiating his departure from NBC, The Washington Post and The New York Times report. Trump does most of the talking in the 2005 footage, but Bush laughs when Trump talks about an unsuccessful attempt to seduce Bush's married Access Hollywood co-host Nancy O'Dell and goads Trump on as he talks about forcing himself on women. NBC suspended Bush on Sunday from his months-old job co-anchoring the 9 a.m. hour of the Today show, and by Tuesday, Bush no longer appeared on Today's digital billboards at 30 Rockefeller Center.
Bush apologized on Friday, but if he had returned, former Today social media editor Anthony Quintano tweeted, the show was "going to have a real problem booking female guests." Today is in a hard-fought ratings war with ABC's Good Morning America. Billy Bush is a cousin of George W. and Jeb Bush.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
