(Correction: An earlier version of this story indicated that Bush deleted his account Friday. In fact, he deleted it in August.)
Billy Bush has apologized for the lewd conversation he had 11 years ago with Donald Trump.
“Obviously I’m embarrassed and ashamed. It’s no excuse, but this happened eleven years ago – I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I’m very sorry,” Bush said in a statement.
On Friday, a video surfaced in which the Republican nominee for president boasted about kissing, groping and having sex with women, saying that “when you’re a star, they let you do anything.”
“I’m automatically attracted to beautiful women — I just start kissing them, it’s like a magnet,” Trump told “Access Hollywood” host Bush in a conversation that was caught on a hot mic in 2005.
“I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything,” he said. “Grab ’em by the p—y.”
The comments were made on the set of “Days of Our Lives,” during taping of a segment about Trump’s upcoming cameo on the soap. The recording was obtained by both the Washington Post and NBC News.
As many on Twitter attacked Billy Bush after the leak of a lewd conversation between him and Trump, the entertainment journalist was silent — because he deleted his account in August.
The host is currently the top trending topic on Twitter with over 77 thousand tweets mentioning him. Some users have expressed disgust at Bush for going along with The Donald, while others have called for the host to be fired.
“We are literally listening to a recording of the Republican nominee for President describing how he sexually assaults women,” tweeted Shaun King, an activist and writer for the New York Daily News. “Yeah, the Today Show should also fire Billy Bush. He was loving it. Affirmed Donald Trump in the beginning, middle, and end.”
Hillary Clinton quickly denounced Trump’s behavior as “horrific.” She tweeted, “We cannot allow this man to become president.”
See more tweets calling out Trump and Bush below.
https://twitter.com/Hillary_45/status/784524361684422656
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/784525690192404480
…so when you hear Trump say "grab her…", for him, it's totally about impressing Billy Bush. And, of course, violent sexist pig misogyny
— Andy Richter (@AndyRichter) October 7, 2016
Billy Bush just as creepy as trump and should be fired
— ??♂️ (@washed_OG) October 7, 2016
Message for Billy Bush and Donald Trump:#ImWithHer pic.twitter.com/u4ZGNjdcqh
— MJG ??♂️ (@MJGWrites) October 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/gabeulla/status/784527520968347648
https://twitter.com/Mama_Jones2013/status/784521966590058497
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/784524507805523969