Radio and TV host Billy Bush revealed that he enraged Ricky Martin in the early aughts by asking the singer about his sexuality during an interview.
According to Bush, this was before the Latin superstar officially came out as gay and the question nearly tanked the whole conversation.
Bush told actor Rob Lowe on his “Literally! With Rob Lowe” podcast on Thursday that the “Livin’ La Vida Loca” singer called him a “motherf—er” before storming off set.
“You want your headline… You piece of garbage,” said Martin, according to Bush, 53, who was working for Access Hollywood at the time. He told Lowe that he remembers the exchange as the “most uncomfortable” celebrity encounter he has ever had.
“I’m not in the business of hurting people. 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,” said Bush, who was also present when President Donald Trump infamously made his “grab ‘em by the p—y” comment.
Bush, the nephew of former President George H. W. Bush, said he managed to save the interview by being sincere with Martin and apologizing.
He told Martin, “‘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.’”
According to Bush, Martin responded, “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.”
He added, “It is deeply personal to me. I appreciate you coming back in here. I forgive you.”
The rest of the interview went on without a hitch and Bush, who now is a host for Extra, said he learned a lesson about being more compassionate.
“Don’t be an a–hole, don’t be an idiot. You have to find nuance in this business, who people are, where you can go, where you can’t,” Bush said.
Martin came out as gay in 2010, around seven years after his interview with Bush.
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