Could Billy Bush Return to TV on ‘Extra’?
Anyone watching the news during the 2016 presidential election will remember the infamous leaked tape detailing Billy Bush and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump‘s “locker room” banter.
Ultimately, the scandal cost Bush his gig at Today and marred his future opportunities, at least until now. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bush is eyeing an Extra TV return as the syndicated pop-culture news program moves from its NBC-owned stations to Fox TV Stations in seven major markets.
Bush previously appeared on a similar program, Access Hollywood, for years before his short-lived move to Today (the video of Bush’s conversation with Trump was from his Access Hollywood days).
This news comes more than two years after Bush was let go from the network for his part in the leaked video. Bush’s firing has stood as an example by which other cases are measured in the #MeToo and Time’s Up climate.
Kit Hoover, Olympian Carl Lewis and Bush at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.
In October of last year, Bush shared a statement on Instagram in which he summed up the experience. “Two years ago today, my life went from order to chaos in a dramatic instant. I accounted for my small part, while the President and my employer walked away and still haven’t accounted for their actions,” wrote Bush.
“These past couple years have been character building to say the least – anxiety attacks, fits of rage, feelings of betrayal and abandonment – and I have concluded that I am NOT extraordinary. Terrible things can happen at any moment to ANYONE.”
“On the positive side, I feel grateful to know adversity as intimately as I do, and to have developed more empathy, humility and resilience,” he continued.” And to know you can laugh even in the darkest hour is a blessing. Especially at yourself.”
As Extra prepares for its fall scheduling, Fox stations in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Orlando, and Charlotte will air the program. Meanwhile, Chicago, Detroit and Washington, D.C., are among areas that are already airing the show on Fox TV Stations.
Extra, Weekdays, Check your local listings
