Words that describe Billy Bush: Cousin of President. Host. Anchor. Entertainer.
Journalist?
This might be the question at the heart of whether Bush, the man egging on Donald Trump in a 2005 video in which he describes groping women, will keep his job at the ‘‘Today’’ show. In the hours after The Washington Post published the video Friday, a flood of commenters and ‘‘Today’’ show viewers took to social media to declare that Bush should be fired. On Sunday, an NBC spokesperson confirmed Bush would not appear on the show Monday morning. He is suspended, ‘‘pending further review’’ of the matter.
It is unclear whether Bush will ever return to the show, and what long-term consequences he will face for his behavior in the video, which shows him describing actress Arianne Zucker as ‘‘hot as [expletive]’’ and ‘‘all I can see is legs,’’ then pressuring her to give himself and Trump hugs.
Bush’s only comment on the situation came in a statement Friday evening: ‘‘Obviously I’m embarrassed and ashamed. It’s no excuse, but this happened 11 years ago — I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I’m very sorry.’’
People who worked with Bush around that time and during his years as a radio host in Washington, D.C., expressed that they weren’t entirely surprised by the way Bush acted in the video, but not because they find him to be creepy or disrespectful of women. They noted that Bush has made his career out of being a boisterous, encouraging host who mimics the energy around him — even to a fault.
‘‘He always let people shine in their own way, whether it was an intern or a musical guest,’’ said Janet Elliott, who spent five years cohosting a morning radio program with Bush at D.C.’s Z104. ‘‘He was definitely on the entertainment side of things, always.’’
Sammy Simpson, who worked as Z104’s marketing director at the time, said one of Bush’s main duties was to participate in entertaining stunts, like at a Cinco De Mayo event, where he agreed to wear a Velcro suit covered in prizes so listeners could knock them off with pool noodles.
‘‘That’s his personality,’’ Simpson said. ‘‘He’s a silly entertainer.’’
On ‘‘Today,’’ Bush is not expected to be a Matt Lauer or a George Stephanopoulos. His role is in the third hour of the show, which is traditionally strictly confectionery entertainment. He was chosen for the role after spending years fluffing up famous folks for ‘‘Access Hollywood,’’ where his job was to put celebrities at ease and get them to say or do something interesting for the camera. At the time of his interaction with Donald Trump, he was accompanying a flashy businessman and reality TV star onto the set of a bawdy soap opera. Their conversation would have still been extremely vulgar, but hardly hard-hitting news.
When Trump decided to run for president, that changed. A journalist in Bush’s position would have been expected to alert NBC executives that the tape existed. But should we be surprised that Bush, who spent his career kissing up to celebrities, did not turn around and throw Trump under the (hot-mike-d) bus, knowing that he, too, would be squished?
‘‘He shouldn’t lose his job for being the type of person that got him the job,’’ said Shaun Robinson, who anchored ‘‘Access Hollywood’’ with Bush. She described the atmosphere of the show and workplaces like it as having ‘‘boys’ club’’ cultures where women ‘‘look the other way because they’re just so happy to be at the party.’’ So when Bush made the comments he did in the presence of an ‘‘Access Hollywood’’ producer, he wasn’t reprimanded. He was seen as doing his job.
‘‘There were people on that bus who were in management positions, and if they considered that language to be offensive, they would have said ‘don’t say that,’ ’’ Robinson said. ‘‘And I don’t think that was said.’’
Bush was already scolded online earlier this year for a lack of due diligence as an interviewer. After swimmer Ryan Lochte claimed he was robbed at gunpoint at the Rio Olympics, Bush was the first to interview him. He didn’t ask the questions that would have shown Lochte’s story was fabricated. When Lochte was exposed soon after, it was Matt Lauer who re-interviewed the swimmer.
