UPDATE 10/17, 7:35 p.m. ET: NBC announced in a statement on Monday, October 17, that Billy Bush would be leaving the Today show effective immediately. The former host of Access Hollywood joined the network’s long-running morning show this past summer, but was immediately suspended when The Washington Post published a leaked video on October 7 of Bush and Donald Trump engaging in a lewd conversation about women while on an Access Hollywood bus in 2005.
Original story:
Billy Bush is nearing a deal with NBC, his lawyer, Marshall Grossman, told Us Weekly on Monday, October 17.
“We are continuing with negotiations and hope to have a resolution today or tomorrow,” Grossman tells Us.
The news comes after Grossman told Us Weekly that reports of a $10 million settlement with the Today show were false.
“There is no $10 million agreement and that amount has not been discussed,” the litigator told Us on Saturday, October 15, after reports surfaced online. “Negotiations are ongoing between the parties.”
As previously reported by Us, Bush was suspended from the Today show after audio of him participating in a lewd conversation about women with Donald Trump surfaced online. The conversation took place in 2005 while the two were aboard an Access Hollywood bus.
Grossman previously defended his client, telling Us that had Bush shut down Trump at the time, it would have cost him his job.
“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 said.
“A lot of people feel so bad for him,” an insider, who told Us that Bush is “definitely gone” from the Today show, said. “He’s a good guy. He made a mistake, but he’s a genuinely good guy.”
The TV personality has also since issued an apology.
“Obviously I’m embarrassed and ashamed,” he told Us in a statement on October 7, after the video was first published by The Washington Post. “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.”
