Ricky Martin stormed off set after Billy Bush nearly outed him mid-interview: ‘You motherf**ker'
Billy Bush — who now regrets the intrusive question — revealed on Literally! With Rob Lowe on Thursday that he told the Latin music superstar at the time that eight people he spoke to in the lobby bar the night prior wanted to know 'if you're gay.'
'He stiffens up in the chair and he goes, 'What?' And I go, 'Oh boy,'' the reporter recalled. 'And he goes, 'You motherf**ker,' rips off his microphone.'
Bush, now 53, claimed Martin, also now 53, added, 'You want your headline … You piece of garbage.'
The Livin' La Vida Loca singer allegedly then walked off the set, leaving the entertainment reporter to say to himself, 'Oh sh*t,' while his producer also freaked out and said, 'This is terrible.'
Bush, who had flown to Miami for the interview, claimed he got a call from his bosses in Los Angeles shortly after, and they reprimanded him for his line of questioning.
'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,' the Extra host told podcaster Rob Lowe, further reflecting on the incident.
Bush said he immediately walked back into the interview location to apologise to Martin, and said, '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.'
The Nobody Wants to Be Lonely singer then transparently told 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.'
He continued, 'It is deeply personal to me. I appreciate you coming back in here. I forgive you.'
Martin eventually came out as gay in 2010, approximately seven years after his interview with Bush.
He announced on his website at the time that he was a 'fortunate homosexual man.'
The She Bangs singer added, 'These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn't even know existed.'
The revelation came after years of speculation about Martin's sexuality from fans and journalists, like Bush, who pried into the details about his personal life.
The now-late Barbara Walters infamously asked the She's All I Ever Had singer about the 'rumours' in a sit-down for '20/20' in 2000, which the renowned news anchor later regretted.
Martin has said that interview left him feeling 'violated' and with 'a little PTSD' because he wasn't ready to come out.
Bush shared that, for his part, he was able to make amends with the Grammy winner two years after their uncomfortable exchange.
'He gave me a great big hug, and we had went through it and I learned a valuable lesson that day,' the Hot Mics with Billy Bush host said.
'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.'
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