NEW YORK, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Matt Lauer and other members of NBC's Today bid farewell to departing anchor Billy Bush Tuesday on-air following his termination.
"NBC announced last night that Billy Bush would be leaving the Today show, effective immediately, noting that he was a valued colleague and longtime member of the broader NBC family," Lauer said.
"Of course, all of us here at Today wish Billy the very best," he continued.
The clip was shared on Today's official Twitter account shortly after.
Last night, @NBCNews announced that Billy Bush would be leaving TODAY, effective immediately. https://t.co/zqxYx0rTYS pic.twitter.com/HiDTdRh5DY
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 18, 2016
Today anchor Tamron Hall, who co-hosted the morning show's third hour with Bush, also commented on his exit stating, "As you may have heard, our former co-host Billy Bush is no longer with the Today show."
"This comes after his involvement in an Access Hollywood taping with Donald Trump in 2005. As a longtime member of the NBC family, we wish Billy all the best as he moves forward," she continued about the reason behind the departure.
In Today's fourth hour, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb said goodbye as well with Gifford noting, "He was here about nine weeks. He was so much fun to be around. He was always up for anything—a real team player. We are really, really going to miss him. Our thoughts and prayers go to him and his family."
Bush landed in hot water with NBC for his part in an audio recording with Trump in which the GOP nominee made insensitive remarks about groping women. Bush can be heard laughing on the tape at Trump's comments.
"Obviously I'm embarrassed and ashamed. It's no excuse, but this happened eleven years ago," Bush said shortly after the tape was released. "I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I'm very sorry."
Trump would apologize for the vulgar remarks and stated during the second presidential debate that the conversation he had with Bush was "locker room talk."
