Billy Bush returning to TV, three years after 'Access Hollywood' incident
Billy Bush visits "The Elvis Duran Z100 Morning Show" at Z100 Studio in 2016 in New York City. Credit: Getty Images/D Dipasupil
Entertainment-news personality Billy Bush is returning to his profession for the first time since a recording of him and Donald Trump having an obscene conversation about sexual assault cost him his "Today" job in 2016.
People magazine reported Wednesday that Bush, 47, will host a revamped version of the long-running syndicated series "Extra," to be titled "Extra Extra" and premiere Sept. 9 on Fox. Saying that entertainment-news programming "needs an overhaul," Bush told People, "The 'Extra' you've seen before is getting a major face-lift."
A cousin of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former President George W. Bush, and a nephew of former President George H.W. Bush, Billy Bush was a correspondent and co-host of "Access Hollywood" from 2002 to 2016. He then moved to "Today" before being fired after a 2005 "Access Hollywood" audio surfaced during the 2016 presidential campaign, containing Trump's now widely publicized statements about taking advantage of women due to his celebrity, while Bush appeared to encourage the talk.
"I fell completely apart," after being dismissed, Bush told People. "I've been through resentment and anger and being inconsolable. But then I realized I had an opportunity to put one foot in front of the other and get going."
He found, he said, that "I might have been a little too into my own world before," adding, "I don't care about that as much anymore. And it's made me slow down. I was terrible at being alone. And I've learned to sit with myself.
"We all have to be able to evolve as we grow," Bush said, "The guy that left the scene in 2016 was already a changed person [since 2005], but I had the opportunity to grow up a little bit. Facing adversity in some way is good. And I feel I'll be better at my job than I ever was. This is my next step."
