The Wonderful Terrible Life of Billy Bush

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There’s been a lot of talk over the last week about a certain video that came out, on which we heard and saw some pretty vile stuff. What was initially lost in the hullaballoo is something I’ve seen covered much more in the ensuing days, that being it’s not the word “pussy” that is so disgusting about what was said, but rather the word “grab” and its context.

The aftermath hasn’t really shaken out the way I initially thought it would, although it has, apparently, led to major career issues for one of the participants.

I’m talking, of course, about Billy Bush.

On the surface, Bush isn’t really guilty of anything more than being a frat boy douchebag who is enabling the celebrity in his midst, but there’s something very dark hiding just under that surface. He laughs along with what is being said as if he’s not a hundred percent sure that the man he’s with is being serious. It almost sounds like nervous laughter, which would kind of be understandable, if not for the fact that he doesn’t ever actually ask the celebrity if, in fact, he’s kidding. That’s the first insidious thing he does.

The second insidious thing he does is far worse, and is what makes him unquestionably guilty. Upon meeting Arianne Zucker, the actress assigned to welcome Bush and his celebrity guest to the set of the soap opera on which the celebrity is going to make a cameo, he suggests she give the celebrity guest a hug. There is something lascivious about his tone, especially in the context of what was just said and heard on the bus trip to the set. He is clearly setting up the poor woman for some kind of potential sexual assault, and almost seems disappointed when nothing untoward occurs.

That’s not just frat boy douchebaggery, that’s downright evil. I mean, when I saw that, I actually heard myself say out loud, “Jesus, that guy is a monster.” The only reason I wasn’t also referring to the celebrity who had just bragged about being a sexual predator is because his sleazy, thuggish bona fides were long established. But in that moment, with that action, any chance that Bush was just a hapless bystander vanished.

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The fallout has been pretty immediate for Bush, who was suspended from his job hosting the third hour of the Today Show, and is now on his way out the door on a permanent basis (he has hired a lawyer to do battle with the network, but that appears to be as much about negotiating a good severance as it is about keeping his job). This is the appropriate call, not just because — as I have read in several different places — of the large female viewership of the show, but rather because of the large human viewership. I don’t know if I have an issue with networks employing individuals lacking integrity — that would thin out the list of potential employees tout suite, especially in this business — but that doesn’t mean I have to watch them.

Others might disagree but, upon further review, NBC’s action actually implies that perhaps people do have an issue with such practices.

Honestly, Bush’s response to what was said on that bus shouldn’t have been much of a surprise to anyone who watched the Olympics this summer. His boorish persona, which has always fit right in on the equally boorish Access Hollywood, was on full display, never more so than when he actually had the temerity to defend Ryan Lochte and the other members of the U.S. Men’s Swim Team who got into trouble with their host nation, thanks to too much booze and not enough common sense. Bush’s attitude, in an on-air discussion with Al Roker that grew quite heated, was the familiar “boys will be boys” nonsense that should have been dismissed decades ago.

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As someone who has personally suffered a great deal because of this attitude — the powers that be allowing something bad to happen because of some misguided idea that doing physical or mental damage to others is just harmless mischief, and a normal part of growing up, then essentially letting off the offenders scot free — I was revolted by his argument. It was an argument, by the way, from the perspective of both privilege and ignorance, as if he has not paid one lick of attention to what’s been happening in the world during just this calendar year. I suppose it’s possible that, if Lochte and his teammates were men of color, Bush would have defended them just as vociferously, but you would have a hard time convincing me.

The difference between that and the incident that occurred in 2005 is that no one was hurt in Brazil. Property was damaged, but Lochte and his teammates paid for it, so they were essentially let off the hook. We can’t be 100 percent certain that anyone was hurt by the celebrity who bragged about his propensity to sexually assault women, but I think we can be reasonably sure that, yes, someone most definitely was. This is only supported by the women who are starting to come out of hiding and declaring that yes, this particular celebrity did force himself on them.

Interestingly, the reason the 2005 incident became known is because Bush bragged about it while in Rio. His total obtuseness and lack of understanding about what happened, as well as his role in it, led to his downfall, and there’s something beautifully poetic about that. I don’t know Bush, have never met him, and have only seen him in bits and pieces over the years when the television was on where I was (at the gym, in someone else’s home, in the waiting room at the doctor’s office), so the only thing I have on which to base his intelligence is his actions. Suffice to say, they make a pretty strong argument that he ain’t no brain surgeon.

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The funny thing is, Bush is down for the moment, but I wouldn’t count him out. Not yet, anyway. Fame has a funny way of granting additional chances, regardless of talent. I’ve talked about Mel Gibson in this space recently, and the Hollywood Reporter just ran a piece on Wednesday about how he is no longer persona non grata in this town, but there’s a big difference: Mel is unquestionably a brilliant filmmaker and a certified draw as an actor. He spent a decade in the wilderness and the establishment has, for the most part, decided that he has done his penance.

Billy Bush is know for being, well, Billy Bush. Look at his IMDB page and you’ll see several acting roles, all of which were as … Billy Bush. He’s a talking head. An empty suit who has some unctuous good looks and can glad hand celebrities with the best of them, asking them harmless questions in fluffy “interviews” meant to push whatever project they’re selling and not challenge them in any way.

You would think that could be easily replaced, but the fact that he has been around for as long as he has makes that a trickier prospect than one might imagine. Especially in this day and age where, for many, fame actually equals talent. Billy Bush is famous, and too many people will let him off the hook as an innocent bystander to what happened on that bus. At least one of them, you can bet with absolute certainty, will give him a new job sooner than later, regardless of whether or not he’s earned that second chance. It’s only a matter of when.

It just so happens that yesterday was Billy’s 45th birthday. Maybe the best gifts he can get are those of knowledge and understanding, with just a wee bit of culpability, self-awareness and wisdom thrown in, for good measure.

I doubt it, but hey, I suppose anything’s possible.

Neil Turitz is a filmmaker and journalist who has spent close to two decades working in and writing about Hollywood. Feel free to send him a tweet at @neilturitz. He’ll more than likely respond.