Hollywood Breakdown
Negotiating Billy Bush's exit from NBC
After leaked footage with Donald Trump making lewd statements about women to former Access Hollywood host Billy Bush came to light, Bush's future at NBC now comes into question. He's hired a fierce litigator and his departure may not be as amicable as once thought.
By Kim Masters • • 3m ListenWith a candidate that used to be a reality TV host, this presidential election has crossed over into the entertainment world, and now NBC is further drawn into a media scandal with the release of the damning Access Hollywood tapes. Everyone is still trying to figure out who at NBC knew what, and when. If Billy Bush were bragging about having Trump saying lewd things on tape while he was in Rio in August, why did it take so long for NBC to get the tape to air? Would they still be sitting on it had they not been scooped by the Washington Post? The scandal has led publicists to go on the record, saying their clients didn't like doing interviews with Bush, and some are wondering what Bush was doing on the Today show in the first place. It remains to be seen if Bush will tape a settlement and go away quietly, but now that he's hired a high-powered attorney, he might be planning to try and fight using information he has as leverage.
