Two years after the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape of his conversation with Donald Trump was made public by The Washington Post, Billy Bush reflected on the repercussions in an Instagram post on Sunday.
In 2005, an open microphone caught Bush, then the co-host of “Access Hollywood,” and Trump, then the star of “The Apprentice,” as Trump spoke in crude terms about kissing and groping women. “When you’re a star, they let you do it,” Trump bragged.
Bush’s response, captured in the recording, was to laugh.
In the aftermath of the disclosure, Bush was ousted from NBC’s “Today” show, while Trump went on to be elected president.
“Two years ago today, my life went from order to chaos in a dramatic instant,” Bush wrote on Instagram on Monday. “I accounted for my small part, while the President and my employer walked away and still haven’t accounted for their actions.”
In July, Bush’s wife, Sydney, filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Bush himself has remained largely out of the public eye, although it appears that he has been trying to revive his career. He appeared on “Real Time With Bill Maher” in March.
“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,” Bush wrote on Instagram. “Terrible things can happen at any moment to ANYONE.”
He added: “On the positive side, I feel grateful to know adversity as intimately as I do, and to have developed more empathy, humility and resilience. And to know you can laugh even in the darkest hour is a blessing.”
The photo he posted was from his time on the “Today” show, modeling Spanx for men.
“I remember us all hysterically laughing,” he said. “I still wear them. Shhh.”
Bush also took a moment to blast the media and social media.
“I have an idea,” he wrote. “Let’s stop tolerating this escalating war on flaws and the obliteration of people for things we all do. It’s fueled by an activist media and (anti) social media and it’s barbaric. We are humans and thus fallible.”
Bush recently revived his Twitter account, @thebillybush, which he’d shut down after the “Access Hollywood” controversy. He weighed in on the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh, dismissing the “drinking storyline” as “absurd.”
