The Interview That Never Aired–Because Billy Bush Made It Unwatchable

The hot mic moment when Billy Bush heard Donald Trump's thoughts on how celebrities can treat women wasn't his only wild interview; Bush recalled a chat with Ricky Martin that went completely awry.

Recalling "the most uncomfortable celebrity moment I ever had," Bush – who is a cousin to George W. Bush and nephew to George H.W. Bush – discussed asking Martin about his sexuality "on a recent episode of podcast 'Literally! with Rob Lowe,'" Entertainment Weekly reported.

Bush said that the awkward interaction "took place around the time Martin released his massive hit 'Livin' La Vida Loca' off his self-titled 1999 album," the article detailed.

Early in his time with "Access Hollywood," Bush recounted on the podcast, he "got the call to go down and interview Ricky Martin in Miami."

"Bush said that, in the hotel lobby the night before the interview, he took an informal poll to find out what people wanted to know about the singer. He said they wanted to know if he was gay," EW detailed.

That line of questioning made sense to the entertainment journalist. "I know Barbara Walters had asked him about his sexuality. I'm like, 'Wouldn't that be a big news maker?'"

Instead of making headlines, Bush's questioning Martin about his sexuality derailed the interview. Telling Martin about his lobby bar survey, Bush recalled, he said to the singer, "They all wanted to know the same thing."

At that moment, Bush described, "he stiffens up in the chair, and he goes, 'What?' And I go, 'Oh, boy.'"

Despite his reservations, Bush pressed ahead.

"They wanted to know if you're gay," he recalled saying to Martin. "And he goes, 'You motherfucker,' and he rips off his microphone. 'Barbara Walters asked me this,'" Bush recounted Martin raging at him, "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?"

Bush went on to say, "He gets up and he walks off the set, and I'm sitting there going, 'Oh shit.'"

Bush evinced some empathy for Martin, saying, "I just feel badly because he was legitimately hurt, and I'm not in the business of hurting people." That interaction became a life lesson: "Don't be an asshole," Bush said.

At the time, he sought to make amends by seeking Martin out in private and apologizing. "I'm like, 'Ricky, I am so sorry for asking that question,'" Bush narrated. He went on to tell the singer, "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."

Probably referencing his infamous moment with Donald Trump – comments that Trump made about women in 2005 that resurfaced shortly before the 2016 election – Bush added as an aside, "I should have smashed another one."

Continuing with his Ricky Martin story, Bush said that at that moment, Martin "basically comes out of the closet to me."

Bush recalled Martin telling him: "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."

Then Martin extended graciousness to Bush.

"I appreciate you coming back in here. I forgive you. And yes – destroy that tape if you would."

Martin and Bush sealed the moment of reconciliation with a hug, Bush said.

As Bush noted in his aside, the tape that caught Donald Trump's comments about "grab[ing women] by the pussy" was not destroyed – but it was left unreleased for the next 11 years for the simple reason that its airing would have meant "killing NBC's cash cow," Bush recounted, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Trump was a protected, revered source," Bush explained. "He was a hundred million dollars in profit for NBC. He was the king of the ratings."

Watch a clip from the podcast below.