Billy Bush says Trump's notorious 'grabbing' comment 'wasn't locker room talk'

He says that he's spent months thinking about the incident and that he regrets not changing the subject with Trump

Bush regrets not changing the subject when Trump made the infamous comments (Getty)

Billy Bush says that comments made by Donald Trump in which he appeared to be bragging about sexual assault weren’t simply locker room talk as the now-President once said.

“I’m in a lot of locker rooms, I am an athlete, and no, that is not the type of conversation that goes on or that I’ve participated in,” Mr Bush said during a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter.

The former NBC host said that the publication of the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, which featured audio of Mr Bush and Mr Trump talking about the billionaire real estate mogul and reality TV star’s views on women, led him into a long period of introspection. Mr Bush says that the tape, which derailed his career, led him to stay for a week at a self-help retreat.

Mr Bush said that, instead of being indicative of the type of conversation you might encounter in a locker room, it was more along the lines of what you might hear from someone with the privilege Mr Trump would have enjoyed as a Manhattan billionaire.

“I felt that, in that moment, he was being typically Donald, which is performing and shocking. Almost like Andrew Dice Clay, the stand-up comedian: Does he really do the things that he’s saying or is that his act?” Mr Bush said. “And in Donald’s case, I equated it that way. When he said what he said, I’d like to think if I had thought for a minute that there was a grown man detailing his sexual assault strategy to me, I’d have called the FBI.”

The former television host said that the blow back from the publication of the tape has given him a renewed and deepened interest in defending the interests of women. He also expressed regret for not doing something different while on the bus.

“Looking back upon what was said on that bus, I wish I had changed the topic,” he said. Trump “likes TV and competition. i could’ve said, ‘Can you believe the ratings on whatever?’ But I didn’t have the strength of character to do it.”

Mr Bush hopes to get his career back on track after the months of introspection on the issue.