EXCLUSIVE: Nancy O'Dell Addresses Donald Trump Comments on 'Entertainment Tonight'
Entertainment Tonight host Nancy O'Dell addressed Donald Trump’s lewd comments about her in 2005 to then-Access Hollywood host Billy Bush on-air on Monday. O'Dell’s complete comments can be seen Monday night on ET.
“I feel it’s very important that I address you all directly,” O'Dell said on ET. “As a journalist for 26 years now, it is my job to bring you news about others, rather than turning the focus on myself. But by now, I’m sure that most of you have heard the audio tape which became national news and part of the presidential race. My name was mentioned and, unfortunately, the release of it has thrown me into the middle of the political arena of which I didn’t ask to be a part.”
“I released a statement on Saturday and I truly mean what I said,” she continued. “There is no room for objectification of women, or anybody for that matter, not even in the ‘locker room.’”
On Saturday, O'Dell released a statement on the tape, noting that she was “saddened that these comments still exist in our society at all.”
“When I heard the comments yesterday, it was disappointing to hear such objectification of women,” the statement read. “The conversation needs to change because no female, no person, should be the subject of such crass comments, whether or not cameras are rolling. Everyone deserves respect no matter the setting or gender. As a woman who has worked very hard to establish her career, and as a mom, I feel I must speak out with the hope that as a society we will always strive to be better.”
In the second presidential debate on Sunday, Trump continued to call his sexually explicit comments about O'Dell – as well as Days of Our Lives actress Arianne Zucker – “locker room talk” when grilled by debate moderators Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz.
“This was locker room talk,” Trump responded. “I’m not proud of it. I apologize to my family, I apologize to the American people.”
In his initial statement after the video surfaced, the 70-year-old Republican presidential nominee said, “This was locker-room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago. Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course – not even close. I apologize if anyone was offended.”
Meanwhile, 44-year-old Bush has also apologized for his role in the tape. In addition, the Today show co-anchor has been suspended from the NBC morning show. In an internal memo obtained by ET, Today show senior producer Noah Oppenheim said on Sunday that “there is simply no excuse for Billy’s language and behavior on that tape” and that he’s been suspended “pending further review of this matter.”
“Obviously I’m embarrassed and ashamed,” Bush said in a statement to ET on Friday. “It’s no excuse, but this happened 11 years ago – I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I’m very sorry.”
In the footage released by the Washington Post, Trump can be heard telling Bush that he tried to seduce O'Dell, Bush’s co-host at Access Hollywood at the time.
“I moved on her and I failed,” Trump said, referring to her as “Nancy.” “I’ll admit it. I did try and f**k her. She was married.”
“I moved on her like a b**ch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married,” he continued.
Bush and Trump then began coarsely discussing the appearance of Zucker, whom the two men were en route to meet for a Trump guest appearance on the soap.
“I’ve got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her,” Trump said. “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful – I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.”
“And when you’re a star, they let you do it,” he added. “You can do anything.”
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Zucker, 42, broke her silence on Sunday.
“I am a strong, independent, hard-working mother, business woman and partner to a great man,” she tweeted. “I have grown to learn that the words of others cannot effect [sic] the value of my self-worth or define the content of my character. How we treat one another, whether behind closed doors, locker rooms or face-to-face, should be done with kindness, dignity and respect.”
Tune in to ET on Monday for O'Dell’s complete comments.
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