nbc has no plans to reprimand <u+201c>today show<u+201d> co-anchor billy bush for participating in a lewd conversation about women in 2005 with donald trump, audio of which was leaked friday and has become the latest black eye for the republican presidential candidate, according to a senior nbc executive. at the time of the conversation, mr. bush was a co-host of nbc<u+2019>s entertainment news magazine <u+201c>access hollywood<u+201d> and was taking part in a piece about mr. trump<u+2019>s appearance on the daytime soap opera <u+201c>days of our lives.<u+201d> in a statement friday after the washington post published the tape, mr. bush said, <u+201c>obviously i<u+2019>m embarrassed and ashamed. it<u+2019>s no excuse, but this happened eleven years ago<u+2014>i was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. i<u+2019>m very sorry.<u+201d> mr. bush is also expected to address the incident on monday<u+2019>s <u+201c>today<u+201d> program. in the audio, recorded as the two men were on their way to the set of the show, mr. trump was boasting about his prowess with women and how his fame allowed him to have his way with them. <u+201c>and when you<u+2019>re star, they let you do it. you can do anything<u+2026>grab them by the pussy,<u+201d> mr. trump said. he also discussed his failure in trying to seduce a married television personality. late friday, mr. trump released a video apologizing for the remarks, which he said don<u+2019>t reflect who he is. in the video he also leveled attacks on hillary and bill clinton. on the tape, mr. bush eggs mr. trump on and the two talk crudely about the woman mr. trump will be filming his scene with on the soap. <u+201c>yes! the donald has scored. whoa my man,<u+201d> mr. bush tells mr. trump. mr. bush<u+2019>s facebook page filled up with comments from users angry about his participation in the exchange, with some using words like <u+201c>disgusting<u+201d> and <u+201c>deplorable<u+201d> to describe his conduct and calling on nbc to fire him. <u+201c>surely you wouldn<u+2019>t have someone on your staff that has been publicly caught humiliating women,<u+201d> one reader said in a remark aimed at nbc. considered a rising star within nbc news, which is owned by comcast corp. , mr. bush was recently named co-anchor of the third hour of <u+201c>today,<u+201d> the network<u+2019>s morning news program. the third hour, which airs at 9 a.m., is seen as a venue for softer news and entertainment compared with the first two hours of the show anchored by matt lauer and savannah guthrie. this is the second time in recent weeks that mr. bush has found himself in hot water. he was heavily criticized for his handling of an interview and subsequent defense of olympic swimmer ryan lochte, who lied about being robbed at gunpoint while in rio. a nephew of president george h.w. bush and a cousin of president george w. bush, billy bush has been a radio and television personality for many years, typically focusing on entertainment. he has known mr. trump for years and has anchored the <u+201c>miss universe<u+201d> beauty pageant when the real-estate mogul owned the property. as the presidential campaign moves into its final stretch, mr. trump<u+2019>s treatment of women has become a major issue, and his behavior as a media figure over the past decade has attracted intense scrutiny. a recent report in the associated press detailed mr. trump<u+2019>s activities on the set of nbc<u+2019>s reality show <u+201c>the apprentice,<u+201d> which former cast and crew members described as crass in on-the-record accounts. they said he rated female contestants by the size of their breasts and discussed which women he would want to have sex with. the trump campaign issued a general denial of that story. <u+201c>access hollywood<u+201d> was preparing a piece on the audio of mr. trump and mr. bush but before it could get the story out, the footage was also leaked to the washington post, which broke the story friday. nbc news was planning its own story on the audio tape but was waiting for <u+201c>access hollywood<u+201d> to go first because the tape was their property, the senior nbc executive said. write to joe flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
nbc won<u+2019>t reprimand billy bush for conduct in trump <u+2018>access hollywood<u+2019> tape    - wsj
joe flint