Jeremy Bradley- Billy Bush, host of Access Hollywood, is joining us on the line right now. Hi, Billy.
Billy Bush- Hey, what's up, Jeremy?
JB- Not too much. You've got a very (full) plate with your hosting gigs of several different things. You've got radio, television, pageants. You do it all.
BB- I do it all. You've got to do things that are different to sort of keep yourself from doing crazy doing the same thing. The radio show is really fun and that gets me out there and lets me expand a little more. Access Hollywood is so tight and highly edited. And, Miss USA, I mean… come on! It's fun, it's live, it's always in a nice location.
JB- And who would pass that up, really?
BB- Please. Exactly! I'm a happily married man for 11 years but I consider myself a connoisseur.
JB- Well, really, if you can get paid to be around so many beautiful… it's like Howie Mandel (on Deal or No Deal).
BB- Yeah, that's why Donald Trump owns it. He loves beauty. And I'm paid well to orchestrate the beauty around the stage.
JB- What a life.
BB- What a life!
JB- (laughing) Everybody's still talking about it. I want you thoughts… I'm going to give you two words: Miss California.
BB- Miss California. Interest. Tonight (April 30) on Access Hollywood and also on the radio show, I have an interview with Miss California executive director Shanna Moakler, formerly of Meet the Barkers on MTV and also a former Miss USA. I asked her, ""Was it a fact that you guys bought Miss California… paid for her breast augmentation?" She admitted, yes, they did. I didn't know that was offered. We kind of get into how all those negotiations went down and whose idea it was. It's interesting because that's what was on her mind going in and coming out she's obviously a transformed person. She's now at the forefront of the traditional marriage crusade.
JB- It seems like she's getting flayed alive for having a personal opinion about something; tell me, as I know you've spoken with her also on your show since the incident, do you agree or disagree with her response? Not necessarily her actual opinion, but in the way she answered on the pageant and in that forum?
BB- Well, you're right. The exact question was, "Vermont became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage, do you think all states should follow suit? Why or why not?" So it was about states - should individual states follow, and she ended up giving a personal opinion on same-sex marriage. She just got blindsided by the question and was like, whoa, holy mackerel, and that's what she came up with. I've seen wheels spin off a lot worse than that, in fact, Arizona was a little bit before her and her answer was brutal. I think she could have answered the question differently and done a little better. But, at the end of the day, she had this personal opinion and feeling and it's the same as the majority of the country and it's also the same position as Barack Obama politically. I'm not alarmed by her answer, I just think it's interesting that she's at the forefront of it.