Billy Bush leaves NBC 'Today' show after Trump lewd tape

LOS ANGELES - U.S. television host Billy Bush is leaving the "Today" show, NBC said in a note to employees on Monday, in the wake of his role in a lewd 2005 conversation with Republican presidential contender Donald Trump about women.

Bush, 45, had been suspended from hosting duties on NBC's flagship morning show after the emergence of the tape, in which Bush and then "Apprentice" reality star Trump joked and boasted about groping women.

In a statement on Monday, Bush said he was "deeply grateful for the conversations I've had with my daughters, and for all of the support from family, friends and colleagues."

NBC's memo said, "While he was a new member of the 'Today' team, he was a valued colleague and longtime member of the broader NBC family. We wish him success as he goes forward."

No further details were given regarding a financial settlement.

In the 2005 video, Bush was heard laughing and joking with Trump, who bragged about grabbing and kissing women and trying to seduce a married woman.

The video was made as part of a segment for "Access Hollywood," a celebrity and entertainment news program that is also part of the NBC group.

Bush, a cousin of former U.S. President George W. Bush, became one of the co-hosts of the "Today" show in August. The morning show is one of NBC's most lucrative properties and boasts a large female viewership.

He apologized on Oct. 7, saying he was "embarrassed and ashamed" by his behavior, and NBC announced it was suspending him from "Today."

Noah Oppenheim, the executive in charge of "Today" had written in a memo to staff that "there is simply no excuse for Billy's language and behavior on that tape."

The married woman discussed in the conversation has since been identified as Bush's "Access Hollywood" co-host Nancy O'Dell.

Last week, O'Dell said that there is "no room for objectification of women, or anyone for that matter, not even in the locker room."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Trump calls video 'locker room talk,' attacks Bill Clinton

ST. LOUIS - US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said in the opening moments of a debate on Sunday that he was embarrassed by a video in which he made obscene comments about groping women without consent, but dismissed it as "locker room talk."



Trump, who is facing a party rebellion over the 2005 video that emerged on Friday, said former President Bill Clinton had done worse to women. "Mine are words and his are action," he said. He also accused Bill Clinton of going on the attack against women who had alleged sexual misconduct by her husband.

Clinton said Trump's comments showed he was unfit for the White House.

"He has said the video doesn't represent who he is but I think it's clear to anyone who heard it that it represents exactly who he is," Clinton said in response.

A flood of Republicans have withdrawn their support for Trump over a 2005 video that emerged on Friday showing the businessman, then a reality TV star, talking on an open microphone about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman.

The controversy has pitched Trump, 70, into the biggest crisis of his 16-month-old campaign and deepened fissures between him and establishment Republicans with only a month to go to the Nov. 8 election.

Trump met just hours before the debate on Sunday with three women who had accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct and a fourth woman who was a victim in a rape case that Hillary Clinton participated in as a defense attorney. All four sat in the first row of the audience at the debate.

Before the debate, Trump had threatened he was going to attack Bill Clinton for his marital infidelities in response to criticism from Hillary Clinton that the Republican nominee is a misogynist who has a history of mistreating women.

Trump appeared with Paula Jones, who filed a sexual harassment suit against Bill Clinton in 1991, Juanita Broaddrick, who accused Bill Clinton of rape in 1978, and Kathleen Willey, a former White House aide who accused Bill Clinton of groping her in 1993.

None of the accusations was new. Bill Clinton was never charged in any of the cases, and he settled a sexual harassment suit with one of the women, Paula Jones, for $850,000 with no apology or admission of guilt.

Also at the event was Kathy Shelton, who was raped at the age of 12. Hillary Clinton, a practicing attorney at the time, defended the rapist who ultimately pleaded guilty to a reduced charge.

Clinton's campaign responded to Trump's pre-debate event by calling it a "stunt" and a "destructive race to the bottom."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com