# Do you feel sorry for Billy Bush? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 20, 2017, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803 "2017-09-20T13:38:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/21 "2017-09-20T17:36:58Z")
He did nothing wrong in the tape, just laughed uncomfortably when a big star he was interviewing later made a dirty joke. Any entertainment reporter in his position would have done the exact same thing. I don’t feel that sorry for him because his job was to get paid huge amounts of money to host a dumb show for dumb people. Show business is not a steady gig and he knew that when he joined it. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/22 "2017-09-20T17:41:55Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > He did nothing wrong in the tape, just laughed uncomfortably when a big star he was interviewing later made a dirty joke. A few minutes later, when they got off the bus, he urged the young starlet to give Trump a hug. Considering what Trump just said, that’s enabling a creep. You wouldn’t encourage your daughter to give a hug to some guy who talked about groping young girls your daughter’s age, would you? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/23 "2017-09-20T17:50:11Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > My assumption would be that 99% of their marital problems are outside the public eye, and that the video, while it may have been a last straw, is mostly just a convenient diversion to avoid other questions. Agreed. If this tape ruined their marriage, their marriage was already on the rocks or worthless to begin with. > [@Skara\_Brae](#): > > Last Week Tonight ran a segment of him that showed he’s been a pandering Trump suck-up for years. > > I don’t think that that one clip was the cause of their estrangement. It was probably more of a "last straw " situation. Or maybe her eyes were opened by the universal condemnation he received. > > It is ironic, though, isn’t it? Due to that clip, Bush loses his cushy NBC job, his reputation, maybe his wife. And Donald Trump… becomes President. Thus demonstrating the moral values of Trumpists and those who make excuses for them. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/24 "2017-09-20T19:37:38Z")
He’s a smarmy, sniggering little wretch, so no. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/25 "2017-09-20T20:07:51Z")
Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/26 "2017-09-20T21:53:55Z")
I feel sorry for him for the stupid name he got – why in god’s name doesn’t he go by “William,” or “Skippy?” – but aside from that, no. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/27 "2017-09-21T00:03:08Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Just read yesterday that Bush’s wife is apparently now considering an exit from his marriage and that they’ve been estranged since the revelation of the now infamous Access Hollywood tape in which Bush’s guest, Donald Trump, talks about grabbing women by the you know what. That happened a whole year ago. Well, actually, it happened longer than that, didn’t it? It was just a year ago that it became public? But still - he’s had a whole year to apologize and sort it out. I doubt that one random incident that happened ages ago is the source of all his marital woes. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/28 "2017-09-21T00:37:00Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > He did nothing wrong in the tape, just laughed uncomfortably when a big star he was interviewing later made a dirty joke. Any entertainment reporter in his position would have done the exact same thing. > I don’t feel that sorry for him because his job was to get paid huge amounts of money to host a dumb show for dumb people. Show business is not a steady gig and he knew that when he joined it. Confessing to grabbing women by the pussy because you’re famous isn’t a dirty joke, it’s a confession of criminal sexual conduct. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/29 "2017-09-21T03:57:08Z")
It’s hard to feel sympathy for a guy who’s own actions have brought shame upon his name. Especially when trading on his name and/or connections was the entire basis of both his career and notoriety. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/30 "2017-09-21T04:07:41Z")
For him to be an embarrassment to the Bush family name would have required far worse. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/31 "2017-09-21T04:59:18Z")
It really never occurred to me to spare any give-a-shit for his situation. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/32 "2017-09-21T07:17:05Z")
I guess I feel sorry for anyone who knows who Billy Bush is, or cares. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/33 "2017-09-21T07:47:53Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > When someone tells you they routinely commit acts of sexual predation, the proper response is not to giggle like a schoolboy. Of course the proper response is also not to vote for a confessed sexual predator, so it’s not like Bush should feel like the Lone Ranger. > [@elbows](#): > > I could’ve forgiven him the nervous giggle and lack of pushback to Trump’s remarks. > > But after such remarks he then prompted the pretty girl to give Mr Trump a hug. This is the action of a douchebag in my humble opinion. > > No sympathy from me. What Billy did was the epitome of what folks mean when they talk about rape culture. When people say “Oh, Billy didn’t really DO anything wrong. . .” they are further epitomizing the problem. Ignoring or excusing predatory behavior is the crux of our cultural deficit. We are amazed and awed when two foreign tourists notice an unconscious woman being raped and actually **act** out of concern for her health and well-being, instead of shrugging their shoulders and saying “It’s none of my business.” But Billy went much further when he “played wing man” to encourage the woman to hug/kiss Trump. At that point, he became part of the pack, one of the predators. I sincerely doubt that we are acquainted with the worst of his transgressions, but if he were my husband, this would be enough. No way would I have married a man thinking he was the sort to do this. The first, as some have said above, may be excused as mere social paralysis. But the action he took next makes it clear: he thinks this behavior is all right. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/34 "2017-09-21T11:33:26Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > That happened a whole year ago. Well, actually, it happened longer than that, didn’t it? It was just a year ago that it became public? But still - he’s had a whole year to apologize and sort it out. I doubt that one random incident that happened ages ago is the source of all his marital woes. Maybe it’s not, but it does seem that the consequences are disproportionate to the offense. I mean, it’s not like he was the one who was bragging about adultery or groping women. He certainly didn’t act uncomfortably, but even so, it’s possible he wasn’t taking Trump, a known bullshitter, that seriously. Maybe he thought it was just Trump saying outrageous things that he normally says. It’s not like he was a serious reporter like Charlie Rose interviewing Trump about his business exploits only to hear him talking about his sexual escapades. He was covering Trump the entertainer and sometimes shock jock, and probably got what he expected. I mean Trump appears on the Howard Stern show, so there’s precedent for Trump spouting all kinds of wild nonsense just to get attention. I’m not saying there shouldn’t have been any consequences, but it seems like losing a personal reputation over an old tape simply for hanging out with a raunchy guy like Trump seems like a bit of a high price to pay. I don’t think most of us would want to be judged by something we thought was said in private over a few beers back in the Jerry Seinfeld era we were younger and cared less about the consequences. My disclaimer is that I don’t know what else Billy Bush has done off camera – there might be things we (I) don’t know about. But it does seem like his life was going well up to that point and that people didn’t really seem to have much of a problem with him before last year’s election. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/35 "2017-09-21T11:48:19Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Maybe it’s not, but it does seem that the consequences are disproportionate to the offense. I mean, it’s not like he was the one who was bragging about adultery or groping women. He certainly didn’t act uncomfortably, but even so, it’s possible he wasn’t taking Trump, a known bullshitter, that seriously. Maybe he thought it was just Trump saying outrageous things that he normally says. It’s not like he was a serious reporter like Charlie Rose interviewing Trump about his business exploits only to hear him talking about his sexual escapades. He was covering Trump the entertainer and sometimes shock jock, and probably got what he expected. I mean Trump appears on the Howard Stern show, so there’s precedent for Trump spouting all kinds of wild nonsense just to get attention. > > I’m not saying there shouldn’t have been any consequences, but it seems like losing a personal reputation over an old tape simply for hanging out with a raunchy guy like Trump seems like a bit of a high price to pay. I don’t think most of us would want to be judged by something we thought was said in private over a few beers back in the Jerry Seinfeld era we were younger and cared less about the consequences. > > My disclaimer is that I don’t know what else Billy Bush has done off camera – there might be things we (I) don’t know about. But it does seem like his life was going well up to that point and that people didn’t really seem to have much of a problem with him before last year’s election. Consequences for things like enabling creepiness (both in laughing at rapey brags and in urging women to give the creep a hug) can be unpleasant. Most of us wouldn’t want to face them, but I don’t think most of us have urged women to give rapey-bragging-creeps a hug. It’s not the end of the world, but he didn’t face end of the world consequences. He’ll likely still have a very comfortable life. Bush could still emerge with a good reputation if he did some good (i.e. go after the general trend of creepiness in Hollywood). AFAIK, he hasn’t yet. Hopefully he’ll change his mind. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/36 "2017-09-21T13:39:10Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Consequences for things like enabling creepiness (both in laughing at rapey brags and in urging women to give the creep a hug) can be unpleasant. Most of us wouldn’t want to face them, but I don’t think most of us have urged women to give rapey-bragging-creeps a hug. It’s not the end of the world, but he didn’t face end of the world consequences. He’ll likely still have a very comfortable life. I’m not sure he thought he was enabling a creep, though. IIRC, all Bush did was encourage Trump to give her a hug. I don’t think he encouraged her to grab her ass, and I don’t believe Trump actually grabbed her ass. So there was no rape involved. There was talk about grabbing some crotch and women letting him do it. Honestly it sounded like an interview with someone from one of those big hair bands in the 1980s or sports stars talking about which groupie they get to sleep with whenever they’re coming through town. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Bush could still emerge with a good reputation if he did some good (i.e. go after the general trend of creepiness in Hollywood). AFAIK, he hasn’t yet. Hopefully he’ll change his mind. So he offers to come out against sexual assault? Who would actually invite him to appear in a PSA? He’s damaged goods. Hollywood will continue to be creepy whether he goes after it or not. There’s really nothing that Bush can gain from being a good guy at this point. If anything, I could actually see him gaining more financially from going full throttle and being an unapologetic chauvinistic asshole on some fringe “news” site. He’d have an audience that would probably welcome him with open arms. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/37 "2017-09-21T15:12:12Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Confessing to grabbing women by the pussy because you’re famous isn’t a dirty joke, it’s a confession of criminal sexual conduct. It obviously wasn’t a confession. Nobody goes around confessing assaults to strangers. They were joking around with Trump telling what he thought was a funny story about hitting on Nancy O’Dell and striking out. It has the cadence of a joke: set up-when your famous they let you kiss them, hyperbolic exaggeration punchline- you could even grab them by the pussy. They both laugh at the dumb joke. Trump likes to joke in that way, ““My voters are so loyal, I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and wouldn’t lose any voters, ok? It’s, like, incredible” There are plenty of allegations that Trump kissed people who did not want him to. There are also some that he groped a breast or buttocks. To my knowledge there have been no allegations that he actually went up to someone and grabbed their genitals. Trump is a bad enough person that there is no need for these exaggerations. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/38 "2017-09-21T16:36:18Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > What Billy did was the epitome of what folks mean when they talk about rape culture. > When people say “Oh, Billy didn’t really DO anything wrong. . .” they are further epitomizing the problem. Ignoring or excusing predatory behavior is the crux of our cultural deficit. We are amazed and awed when two foreign tourists notice an unconscious woman being raped and actually **act** out of concern for her health and well-being, instead of shrugging their shoulders and saying “It’s none of my business.” > > But Billy went much further when he “played wing man” to encourage the woman to hug/kiss Trump. At that point, he became part of the pack, one of the predators. I sincerely doubt that we are acquainted with the worst of his transgressions, but if he were my husband, this would be enough. No way would I have married a man thinking he was the sort to do this. The first, as some have said above, may be excused as mere social paralysis. But the action he took next makes it clear: he thinks this behavior is all right. This. Exactly this. He deserves everything he gets. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/39 "2017-09-21T18:42:48Z")
And he didn’t encourage Trump to hug her. He encouraged the pretty girl to hug Trump. Trying to equate the two is disingenuous entirely. On the heals of his remarks, that behaviour IS over the line, and extremely creepy. Billy is suffering from the truism that people show you who they REALLY are, all the time, your job is to SEE. He revealed something very telling about who he really is, and that’s what is costing him so dearly, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803/40 "2017-09-21T19:10:34Z")
Apparently he was not well liked at NBC. [This](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NyiwEA0QYTs) is kind of a gossipy video, but includes some other incidents, including a video of him forcibly holding a women and then throwing her on the floor. All in good fun, of course. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-sorry-for-billy-bush/796803.md?page=3)