I stopped giving a crap about Billy Bush days ago, but media outlets are still running breathless stories about his “fight” to keep his job with NBC following the grab-them-by-the-p-ssy tape being released one week ago. NBC has, for now, merely suspended Bush and it doesn’t even feel like NBC is going through an internal audit or an in-house investigation or anything. Bush is just suspended and sources claim that people are quietly negotiating his formal exit from Today.
Bush did hire a major LA lawyer named Marshall Grossman this week, and some sites have claimed that Grossman is merely negotiating Bush’s exit package, but some claim that Grossman is actually going to fight for Bush to keep his job. Grossman told Page Six that Bush was merely “doing his job” on the tape and that Bush had “fully adhered” to the “morals and standards of NBC.” Which… no. And then this:
Billy Bush has hired prominent lawyer Marshall Grossman amid his exit from NBC. Grossman told Us Weekly on Thursday, October 13, that the TV host, 44, was just doing his job when he had a lewd discussion with Donald Trump while he was a host at Access Hollywood.
“If Billy had been passive or responded ‘Shut the f–k up’ to Trump, Billy would have been out of a job the next day,” Grossman told Us.
“Billy would have been out of a job the next day.” What do you think? I say no. Donald Trump wasn’t Billy Bush’s boss and if Billy Bush had stopped Trump’s obscene diatribe with a simple, “Hey, that’s not cool,” I don’t think Bush would have been fired for that. I don’t even believe that Trump would have stopped talking if Bush had stopped engaging.
I don’t believe Bush was “doing his job” by egging on Trump, by giggling delightly at Trump’s misogyny, or by hug-pimping an actress after their wretched conversation. But I will say one thing: Bush’s side of things proves that THEY WERE AT WORK. This isn’t locker room talk. They were both working and they both provided a hostile work environment. This is like a textbook example of sexual harassment in the workplace for BOTH men.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
ah yeah? but he kept on going along with Trump and added his grain of salt instead of directing the conversation to something else. And literally sent the actress in Trump’s arms therefore doubling down on the “moment of budding”.
He didn’t have to tell him to STFU but he didn’t have to engage him. He could have steered the conversation in a different direction as intelligent experience journalist know how to do.
Trump was/is this man for DECADES, and NBC knew that, so they sent a simpering sidekick to do a journalist’s job, bcuz a TRUE JOURNALIST and “company man” can control a conversation with more than either a verbal smack across the face or dry hump in their arsenal.
Weren’t The Bushes in 2 prominent and powerful political offices when this occurred (the very reason, most people would say, he and his cousin Jenna were hired in the 1st place), so who’s to truly say if he would have been fired if he simply didn’t engage & encourage…?
Exactly! Billy was an excited wing man- not a stockholm victim. He egged Trump on, commented on her looks to Trump and then made her hug him…..but I think they all suck. NBC, Trump & THE Billy Bush can f- off. They all deserve each other and no pussy to grab!
That hug was the thing….. ugh.
Ugh. I don’t think that’s completely what was going on in this instance, but I’m sure worries like that have a lot to do with how Trump has gotten away with crap like this for so long.
He came across as a giggly douche canoe. But the worst part was after hearing what Donald said, he told that woman to give him a hug. If he had an ounce of dignity, he would’ve never encourage that.
He also referred to himself as “Bushy” which is reason enough to fire him.
Yes! He needs to sit down and shut up. Sorry, but when you giggle and guffaw the whole time (which only encouraged Trump) that is approval. It’s not that he didn’t tell Trump to STFU, but he could have just not laughed along. You can still be polite and respectful to someone who is behaving badly while not showing approval of what they are saying/doing. And SORRY Bush, but you pressured a woman into hugging him by insisting on camera, making it awkward for her not to, AFTER that conversation and that makes you a farking scumbag.
I actually think he was worse than Trump during that whole episode. Trump said all that sh%t on the bus, but he pretty much tucked it all in when he got out of the bus and was all normal for the cameras. Billy Bush was the one that had gotten all primed and pumped up by their disgusting talk on the bus and spent the entire rest of what was on camera trying to prove to Trump how alpha and skeevy he could be, first by insisting that she be a good girl and give trump a hug for getting off the bus, (I have the same disgust feeling when men tell me to smile, like I owe them a certain facial expression) and then Billy himself needed a hug as they passed her around, and then wanting her in between them, physically controlling her yet AGAIN, and then asking a completely inappropriate question about which one she would choose to sleep with, all in about 2 minutes of having met her. Trump actually wasnt trying to do much of anything and it was Billy who was trying to show trump what a big penis he had too. Can’t believe Im defending trump here, but Billy Bush came out looking like the grosser one here. he should definitely be fired for the way he treated that actress like a piece of meat.
Exactly. Ol’ Bushy sealed his fate when he got off the bus. His inappropriate behavior while on the bus was clearly just a prelude to his active role in creating a sexually hostile work environment once he continued his work on camera. He was not a passive recipient and he didn’t need to overtly challenge Trump in order to distance himself from this lewd behavior. He actively and willingly engaged and made it worse. He is just as gross as Trump.
Considering that his female colleagues were pushing him out, methinks Billy has a history of saying and doing things like this. If it really were out of character for him, they might have been more sympathetic. You reap what you sow, Billy.
Excellent point, jwoolman. No sympathy here, either. He didn’t even have to say “What you’re saying is horrible and inappropriate and wrong.” He could have just said, “Really?” or “Wow,” (note lack of exclamation point) and Trump would either have kept going and hung himself out to dry or changed the subject, because no one was tossing gas or roasting marshmallows over his entitlement bonfire.
Oh that’s why he’s always been so creepy? Because he was worried he’d be fired otherwise? Jerk.
This.
This is not a defense of Billy Bush, but I believe that the network would’ve had a problem with him shutting Trump down. I’m not saying the thought ever crossed Billy’s mind, but NBC is so hypocritical in this situation it boggles my mind how much of a free pass they’re being given as people blame Trump and Bush like NBC didn’t know about this behavior and create an environment where these two assholes felt it was OK to act this way.
First of all, FUCK the Today Show. Remember what they did to Ann Curry? According to an article in NY Magazine quite some time ago, they absolutely tortured her before they fired her in the most disrespectful way after she worked there for 15 years and did a fantastic job all because she questioned the “boy’s club” bullshit that went on behind the scenes and expressed that she was uncomfortable with it. According to the article I read, the network big shots retaliated by doing things like compiling a blooper reel of her on-air flubs, calling her coworkers in to watch her mistakes be replayed, and even once putting her belongings in a box in the coat closet.
Ann Curry was fired for having the audacity to ask questions. Both Meredith Vieira and Katie Couric worked on the Today Show and when they left, the network went all out and had parties. When Ann Left, she was given 15 minutes to say goodbye on air. I don’t know why she didn’t sue the shit out of them. NBC is disgusting and I’m boycotting them (not like it matters, they now own Comcast and practically every channel on TV). They’re so incredibly hypocritical for trying to act like they didn’t foster and even BREED the likes of Donald Trump and Billy Bush. They knew who Donald Trump was and they loved him when Apprentice was bringing in viewers and a popular show. I’m not going to pretend that NBC is an innocent party.
OK, rant over. But really though, fuck NBC.
I do agree that NBC created a work place where this kind of behavior was acceptable, and that was a huge part of the problem that no one talks about. There are no repercussions when men behave badly on their network until there’s a public outcry. In this incident, Billy Bush was acting the way he always does, as was Donald Trump. Both men were so comfortable with their workplace that they spoke this way even knowing they had microphones on, and that the crew (and people in the editing bay and network) would be able to hear their words.
No one would expect an interviewer to “shut him down”. When I’ve dealt with clients who said absurd things, I just don’t respond. I just smile and don’t say anything. They usually sense that they need to shut up or divert to another topic. It’s not at all that he was expected to tell Trump to STFU, but he participated actively in the disgusting douchery and imo victimized that woman when they got off the bus by insisting she hug Trump, and asking her a sexual question. He is in no kind of way innocent in this and he was not coerced into participating. He did it more than willingly.
I stated in my post that I wasn’t defending him. He’s garbage, but so is the whole network and the fact that Trump and Bush felt emboldened to talk/act that way and were pretty big parts of the network’s success further confirms that. NBC isn’t getting enough flack for their role in this issue. The network has been accused numerous times of fostering a “boy’s club” environment where women are treated like crap. Bush and Trump are disgusting and so is the network that gave them work.
ita. i wont lose sleep at night over whatever happens to billy. but i think his bosses would have not been pleased with him if he had made trump even the slightest bit unhappy. and it is bizarre to me that 1 part is getting fired while the other might get to be president. it’s all so surreal.
I agree as well. I think he would have seen repercussions regarding his job. In a job where your sole job is to make the Star feel comfortable and willing to give you good sound bytes and be a good sport on camera, Interviewers probably agree with lots of bad things. I’m not going to lie, I probably would have gone along too. The part that bugged me was Bush continuing the locker room mentality afterward. If he had actively discouraged a hug between Trump or otherwise tried to change the tone of the interview, then I’d be much more sympathetic. The problem I had with it was after they got off the bus and Bush didn’t try to steer the tone back to professionalism.
Speechless
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1261321553931825&id=300999133297410&refid=28&_ft_=qid.6341342141220165489:mf_story_key.-2704069091113350856
I’m not even surprised anymore, but that woman is a disgrace. As the first comment on that post states, “the figurative and literal underbelly of society”
Was he worried he would be fired if he didn’t voluntarily brag about it while he was covering the Olympics in Brazil?
Hey, I think we found the first real #FakeTrumpVictim! Billy Bush!
I wouldn’t expect him to say STFU to Trump.
I WOULD expect him to say, at the very LEAST:
“Hey, that’s not cool.”
“Hey, I’d prefer we didn’t speak about women in that way.”
“Hey, let’s change the subject.”
“Hey, don’t forget your microphone is on.”
“Hey, I’m at work and don’t want to get in trouble for talking this way.”
I would ALSO expect him to NOT pressure the actress to hug both him and Trump, considering he knew how they’d been speaking about her just moments earlier. So spare us your sob story, Billy Bush, and f*** off.
You said it better than I did, but yeah. Even if he had just remained silent it would have been much better. And that last part of the vid is what grosses me out more than anything.
I want to play! Who do you think will be the next #FakeTrumpVictim? McCain, Ryan or…?
I believe that was probably tacit approval of Bush’s and Trump’s behavior at AH and NBC.
But time times do change and NBC must have just looked over at the massive payout made by FOX to victims there and decided to cut their losses with Bush. Perhaps there’s much more in Uncle Bushy’s vault as well?
IF that is true – let’s give him the benefit of the doubt for a second (only just for a second though) – is he not smart enough to know there is a middle ground?
He didn’t have to play along & he didn’t have to tell the pig to STFU.
He could have just been all “Whoa, Don…..” And then not participated….
How hard would it be to say “hey Donald, you’re talking about my coworker here?” (The bulk of the bus conversation was.) Or, OK, you’re too timid to confront… There’s still a stretch between that and “the Donald has scored!” or “how about a hug for Donald, he just got off the bus?” (enabling) or “which of us would you choose?” But no he was “forced” to do it, apparently. Add weasel to his resume.
Bullshit.
That must be why, after hearing DT say those vile things, he immediately encouraged the actress they were meeting to give him a hug.
I’ll bet if he thought he’d get caught like this he would have said something. He doesn’t care about that kind of talk (as evidenced by his behaviour upon exiting the bus). He cares about his reputation more than anything else.
Ethics are what we do when we think no one else is looking.
I can absolutely see BB believing he’d be in jeopardy if he pushed back too much against Trump. However, he could have remained quiet rather than encouraging. That would have said plenty in and of itself.
I see what you mean. But that theory is debunked by his frat boy giggling and, IMO that pathetic and creepy wingman act where he tells the lady to hug them both. He came off as the shadow to the star quarterback in teen movies who will say “how high?” when asked to jump. The way he asks for a hug himself is like “look buddy! I can do it too! It works! You were right!” So gross!
I think the network was well aware of who Trump is and Billy Bush was there exactly because of the kind of guy he is. He was there specifically to schmooze and make him happy. And I think Arianne Zucker was also offered up to Trump by the network for the same purpose. As long as Trump was a network asset on a reality TV show everyone had cover. The bizarro fact that the POS is now a candidate for the highest position in the country gives this a scrutiny that Bush isn’t capable of withstanding. NBC was apparently willing to edit Bush out of the tape and they were actually scooped by the Washington Post because of the delay to do just that. Translation NBC is just as culpable for creating a hostile work environment as Billy Bush and they will be paying him off so that the surface doesn’t get scratched too deeply.
Billy Bush’s choices were very poor and it’s right for him to be taken to task, even to the point of being fired. He should have found a way to get Trump to back off from his foul statements…and, instead of bragging about it, he should have walked this tape into his producer’s office the minute he got back from the shoot.
But I’m wondering why people expect him to conduct himself as a journalist when clearly he’s not. Wikipedia says he took a BA in International Studies and Governement from a no-name college in Maine.
He’s not trained as a journalist and he doesn’t aspire to be one. He’s simply a lightweight celebrity interviewer and nothing more.
By this point, acting as a journalist was not even necessary. Just a human being with a functioning moral compass and decency would have sufficed…
Just a minor point but he graduated from Colby, which is not exactly a “no-name college.”
Add billy bush to the list of people we NEVER WANT TO HEAR FROM AGAIN.
Ugh. His public existence is unnecessary, and insulting to everyone who is not a rich, entitled white guy with his head up his ass.
Yep he’s truly as bad as he seems. Someone who went to the same school with him said that he was a douche even back in grade school.
That hug still gives me the no feeling. So nasty.
Stupid straw-man argument is a stupid straw-man argument.
Of course a professional interviewer on the job wouldn’t say, “Shut the fuck up,” to an interviewee, so why is Billy painting it as if those were his only two choices? “Dur, hur, hur, Donald,” or “Shut the fuck up”?
No, Billy could have gone quiet with discomfort, or tried to jokingly diffuse the tone of the conversation, or coldly said, “That’s not okay, sir.”
But what Billy *did* do was get right into it and gutter-talk how “hot” his co-worker was and how much he liked her legs.
I’m going to have to go scrub my fingers clean after typing this but
I think there is some benefit to Bush claiming that he was afraid he would lose his livelihood if he stood up to Trump. If even a man in Bush’ position was afraid to speak up what chance did the women have.
Even though there may be a benefit from his woe is me act Bush is a [insert favourite expletive] who deserves to be held accountable for his role in encouraging Trump.
Just STFU*
The way BB pushed the poor unsuspecting actress to give a hug to Trump after they got off the bus was pure sleaze. And then he wanted one for Bushy too. Deplorable.