HBO/Getty
Former "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush sat down with Bill Maher Friday night, and naturally the conversation drifted toward the infamous "grab 'em by the pussy" conversation with Donald Trump.
"I probably would have changed the topic," Bush said had he been given a second chance.
YouTube/Getty
Woman Accusing Trump of Sexual Misconduct Speaks Out on CNN: 'Why Is He Immune to This?'
View StoryBush was fired in 2016 from "Access Hollywood," as well as his "Today" show spot, after audio of the lewd conversation surfaced. Meanwhile, Trump was elected President of the United States of America.
"I was the entertainment correspondent for NBC, he was the cash cow. He was pulling 20 million viewers a week or something. So I'm with him two, three times a week."
He went on to describe why he "sort of" had no choice but to "kiss ass."
"You can interrupt him and then you know how volatile he is, right, so he'd be like, 'I hate Billy Bush, he's done, moving on,'Entertainment Tonight' only, forget Billy Bush.' And then I have to explain why I lost Trump, the big fish," Bush explained while defending himself from criticism that he should have changed the subject.
In the tape which emerged during the 2016 presidential election, Bush is heard egging Trump on as the former "Apprentice" host ogled a woman in a purple dress and talked about his sexual conquests.
Getty
'Billy Bush for the Win': Hollywood Stars Applaud TV Personality's Trump Takedown in NY Times
View Story"I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know, I'm automatically attracted to beautiful -— I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything," Trump said. "Grab 'em by the pussy. You can do anything."
"Things happen to people," Bush told Maher about his journey to getting his life back on track. "All in all, my life is pretty good...You can't control what happens. You can only control how you react to it."
Getty
