Billy Bush stopped himself from ‘jumping off the building’ after ‘Today’ exit

Billy Bush is reflecting on his darkest moments after being dismissed from the Today show.

In an episode of Literally! With Rob Lowethe former Extra host reflected on losing his Today job in 2016 after the leak of his misogynistic 2005 conversation with Donald Trump.

“I did everything I could think of to keep myself from jumping off the building, ’cause I’m like — Rob, I was about to get a huge paycheck, my first really big paycheck,” Bush said. “I’m at the Today show. They still have money. They’re the last thing in linear television with real money on the news side.”

Bush also said that his brother, tech entrepreneur Jonathan Bush, was his strongest supporter in the fallout of the controversy. “My brother is my best friend, and when his marriage and world fell apart, I was there for him,” he explained. “And in this case, he was there for me. And I would never have survived without him.”

Bush also noted that he received support from his pastor, and said that he “walked on rocks with Tony Robbins” in an effort to remain positive.

Elsewhere in the interview, Bush noted a number of other notable figures who had his back after losing the Today gig — including several key figures from Modern Family. “Julie Bowenlove her. We went to boarding school together,” he said. “Eric Stonestreet and Steve Levitan, the creator of Modern Familyand the list goes on.

Bush said that he also received encouraging letters and phone calls from Michael Strahan, Cindy Crawfordand Suzanne Somers —  but the most extreme show of celebrity support came from Dennis Quaid.

“(He) wrote me the most passionate letter,” Bush recalled. “He was like, fuming. Dennis Quaid. You can see Dennis — he’s got some energy, and he was just like, ‘These motherf—ers!’ But I loved reading it, of course.”

Bush also said that “the silence” from those who didn’t voice their support was challenging, but said that he understands why some people didn’t reach out.

“Many, you forgive because sometimes you don’t know — whether someone has cancer or something they’re going through —  do they wanna hear from me?” the TV host said. “What do I say? I don’t even know how to say this. I feel badly.”

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The audio of the Trump conversation came from unreleased recordings from the day that Bush interviewed the future president on Access Hollywood about his cameo on Days of Our Lives in 2005. Both men released apologies after the Washington Post broke the story, and Bush was dismissed from Today several days later.

Bush was later tapped host Extra in 2019, and he held that post until May, when he stepped down from the show.

Watch the full clip of Bush reflecting on the aftermath of the Trump tape controversy above.