Billy Bush Reportedly In Talks To Make Big TV Comeback On ‘Extra’
Two years ago, television host Billy Bush was happily working on NBC’s Access Hollywood and Today when he became part of a scandal involving then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. The Washington Post had uncovered a videotape from September of 2005 in which the two men were engaging in what Trump later referred to as “locker room talk,” but what the press deemed really inappropriate, misogynistic, and lewd discussions about women. It was on this tape that Donald Trump uttered the infamous phrase “Grab them by the p*ssy.”
While Trump went on to become president of the United States, Bush was fired from his TV gigs for participating in the conversation and not defending women.
Since then, he has kept a relatively low profile. However, various media outlets are now saying that he is working on his big comeback.
According to The Blast, the 47-year-old has been meeting with executives from several entertainment news shows, including Extra, which will be moving from NBC to Fox stations later this year.
Allegedly, the folks at Extra believe Bush deserves a second chance and think that he would be a great addition to the series when it relaunches this fall on Fox. What that means for current co-hosts Mario Lopez, Tanika Ray, and Renee Bargh is currently unknown.
The Hollywood Reporter, who also has sources confirming Bush has been talking to Extra bigwigs, spoke to the former TV star in May of 2017. At the time, he revealed that since the “media circus” surrounding the videotape, he has spent time “soul searching” and “developed a commitment to become a better, fuller man.”
This past October, he discussed his progression further on Instagram.
“These past couple years have been character building to say the least — anxiety, fits of rage, feelings of betrayal and abandonment — and I have concluded that I am NOT extraordinary,” Bush wrote.
“Terrible things can happen at any moment to ANYONE. On the positive side, I feel grateful to know adversity as intimately as I do, and to have developed more empathy, humility and resilience.”
Bush, the nephew of late former president George H.W. Bush, and the first cousin of George W. Bush and Jeb Bush, graduated from Maine’s Colby College with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Government. He began his professional career as a radio deejay before moving on to television. He first joined Access Hollywood in 2001 and that led to other hosting jobs for NBC, including serving as a reporter at the 2004, 2006, and 2008 Olympics; co-hosting both the Miss Universe and the Miss USA pageants four times each (which Trump owned at the time); and hosting the 2007 reality competition series, Grease: You’re the One That I Want!
