Ricky Martin Unleashed on Billy Bush for Asking 'Very Personal Question' In 'Destroyed' Interview

The entertainment journalist sat down with Rob Lowe for his podcast Literally! With Rob Lowe, where he opened up about "the most uncomfortable celebrity situation" he'd ever had -- with Bush citing Martin.

"He had just done living 'Livin' la Vida Loca'," Bush said, before explaining how he went down to the hotel bar the night before the interview and asked some people what they wanted to know about the singer.

"'Is he gay? Is he gay? Is he gay? Is he gay? Is he gay?,'" he recalled them asking, as this was before Martin officially came out. "And I'm like, 'So here I am, I'm gonna sit in front of this guy, everyone's gonna be wondering, is he gay?'"

He then decided to ask the controversial question -- even telling his producers at the time his plan.

"'Ricky, I asked eight people in a lobby bar last night what they wanted to know about you,'" he recalled asking. "I pinned it on the people. 'And they all said the same thing.' He stiffens up in the chair and he goes, 'What?' And I go, 'Oh boy. They wanted to know... If you're gay?'"

Bush continued: "And he goes, 'You motherf--ker!' Rips off his microphone. 'Barbara Walters asked me this, and now you, you don't care at all about me. You want your headline, you piece of garbage who do you think you are?!'"

The reporter than described Martin getting up and walking off set, as Bush sat in a state of shock, quickly gathering his things and then leaving the room.

Once outside the studio in Miami, Bush's phone rang and it was his executive producer in Los Angeles.

"'What did you?! My phone has been blowing up like a Christmas tree. People are yelling at me,'" he said his producer asked. "I go, 'I asked him if he was gay. I told you I was gonna do it.'"

Bush said he felt "badly" about the question, as Martin was "legitimately hurt."

"I'm not in the business of hurting people," Bush told Lowe. "I am in the business of figuring out who I am and where I'm going. And you need to be able to make mistakes in life."

Bush said he then turned around and walked back into the studio and asked to speak to Martin privately.

"And I'm like, 'Ricky, I am so sorry for asking that question. I don't know what I was thinking. It was a cowboy question. It was inappropriate. I'm so sorry, and I promise you this will never see the light of day. I will smash that tape with a hammer,'" he told the Grammy-award winning artist, before asking for his forgiveness.

"And he basically comes out of the closet to me," he added. "He says, 'I've been struggling with this my whole life. There will be a time, there will be a place. It will not be here on this program while I'm promoting this album. It is deeply personal to me. I appreciate you coming back in here. I forgive you. And yes, destroy that tape.'"

The pair hugged it out, with Bush adding he has seen him since and they hugged again.

"I learned a valuable lesson that day," Bush recalled to Lowe. "Don't be an asshole, don't be an idiot. You have to find nuance in this business, who people are, where you can go, where you can't."

Walters previously asked Martin if he was gay in 2000 on national television -- and pushed further when he didn't give a definitive answer -- which has been labelled as controversial moment in her career. At the time, Martin was 29 and had not yet come out as gay publicly and was living with a lot of anxiety.

"When she dropped the question, I felt violated because I was just not ready to come out. I was very afraid," Ricky admitted to People in 2021. "There’s a little PTSD with that."

Martin ended up coming out in 2010, and he said he hoped to be a source of inspiration for young people out there.

Walters also admitted the wuestion was a mistake, later noting that it was one of her biggest regrets as a celebrity interviewer.