Billy Bush is officially a goner.
Following days of rumors and negotiations, the embattled entertainment reporter parted ways with The Today Show and NBC on Monday afternoon.
He agreed on terms of a buyout, none of which have been made available to the public.
But with Bush now out, the question becomes: who will be in?!?
The exit of Bush arrived about 10 days after a damning video from 2005.
It surfaced this month and it featured Bush talking in lewd terms about women with Donald Trump, laughing at the Presidential candidate’s description of how he just kisses beautiful women without asking for permission.
There was also talk of grabbing these women by their pussy, which we’re guessing you’ve heard by now.
In bidding farewell to Bush, NBC said via statement:
“Billy Bush will be leaving the TODAY show’s 9am hour, effective today. While he was a new member of the TODAY team, he was a valued colleague and longtime member of the broader NBC family. We wish him success as he goes forward.”
Bush joined Today as a third hour co-host in August.
He reportedly signed a three-year contract at the time.
But his brief stint is now over and done with and Radar Online claims that another television personality would like to take over for Bush.
Come on down, Andy Cohen?
“Andy believes he’s proven himself adept at the type of conversation that is required on the third hour of Today,” an insider tells Radar Online of Cohen, adding:
“It’s almost like Watch What Happens was an audition for this.”
This rumor is completely crazy because NBC Universal owns both Bravo and NBC.
If Cohen made the switch to Today, he’d be working under the same parent company.
Cohen is allegedly angling for the gig behind the scenes, telling friends that he would never behave in any sort of manner akin to how Bush acted aboard that Access Hollywood bus with Trump.
“One thing NBC can be assured of: they won’t have to worry about Andy talking about pussy!” the insider jokes to Radar.
This is because Andy Cohen is gay.
Will this move actually happen? We doubt it.
Cohen, however, is very popular within the entertainment industry.
Bush – who is apparently “devastated” by his career collapse, and is “frantically searching” for a new job in Los Angeles, according to Radar – was not very popular on the set of Today.
Conversely, we’re yet to hear a single person say a bad word about Andy Cohen.
HOWEVER, Today does still consider itself to be a news program.
And Cohen has risen to fame largely by getting drunk late at night with Real Housewives and other celebrities. It’s hard to see producers thinking he would be a proper fit.
But what do you think?
If you were in charge of Today, would you hire Andy Cohen to replace Billy Bush?