//players.brightcove.net/416418724/default_default/index.min.js
Billy Bush is close to reaching a settlement with NBC, a source confirms to PEOPLE.
In the wake of a leaked tape published Oct. 7 by The Washington Post that featured Donald Trump and then Access Hollywood host Bush making lewd comments about Nancy O’Dell and Arianne Zucker in 2005 on-board the entertainment TV program’s bus, the Today show host is nearing his exit from NBC.
“Negotiations are going well and a settlement is near,” an NBC source tells PEOPLE. A second source also confirmed the negotiations, informing PEOPLE, “Talks are going well and a settlement is near.”
After the 11-year-old video surfaced last Friday, Bush issued an apology: “Obviously I’m embarrassed and ashamed,” Bush said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “It’s no excuse, but this happened eleven years ago – I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I’m very sorry.” But despite him being put on indefinite suspension from the morning show, an insider told PEOPLE that his Today show coworkers wanted him fired.
A day after news of the audio had leaked, Bush left New York and was spotted Saturday at Los Angeles International Airport.
On Thursday, PEOPLE reported that Bush recently hired high-profile defense attorney Marshall Grossman as well as power entertainment lawyer Bob Lange to lead the charge on his legal battle with NBC in order to keep his job.
“If Billy had been passive or responded ‘Shut the f— up’ to Trump, Billy would have been out of a job the next day,” Grossman, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Grossman did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
