What is the full transcript and sourcing for the 2005 Access Hollywood tape and where can it be found?
Executive summary
The so‑called 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape is an unaired behind‑the‑scenes recording of Donald Trump and then‑Today/Access Hollywood host Billy Bush aboard a bus en route to Days of Our Lives; The Washington Post first published the video and article in October 2016 after obtaining it from NBC archives [1]. Full verbatim transcripts and the video have been republished by major outlets — notably the BBC, The New York Times and others — and the recording has been admitted and cited as evidence in later legal proceedings involving Trump [2] [3] [4].
1. What the tape is and how it emerged from NBC’s archives
The recording dates to September 2005 and captures informal, vulgar conversation by Trump with Billy Bush on an open microphone while they were preparing for a cameo on Days of Our Lives; NBC held the footage in its Access Hollywood archives and The Washington Post published the video and accompanying reporting on October 7, 2016 after obtaining it from those archives [1] [5]. Major outlets framed the clip as “locker‑room”-style banter in which Trump boasts of kissing, groping and attempting sex with women and includes the now‑notorious line about being a star and “you can do anything,” language that became central to 2016 campaign coverage [2] [6].
2. Where the full transcript and video can be found in primary reporting
The Washington Post was the first to release the recording and published a partial transcript with the embedded video when it broke the story in October 2016 [1]. The BBC posted a “full transcript” of the exchange contemporaneously with its coverage [2], and The New York Times republished key excerpts and reporting while also noting the tape’s provenance and fallout [3]. Other news organizations and archival projects — including the AP, The Independent, and verbatim performance projects at institutions such as NYU — have preserved the full text or verbatim performances of the unedited exchange [4] [7] [8].
3. How transcripts were produced and why versions can differ
Transcripts circulating in the media were prepared by reporters and transcribers from the audio/video the Washington Post released; one commonly cited transcription credit is to Penn Bullock of The New York Times, which has been reproduced by aggregator pages and independent sites [9]. Minor differences in punctuation, labeling of speakers, or inclusion of overlapping talk are typical across outlets because the original is conversational and unedited material has been excerpted, formatted or annotated differently by each publisher [9] [6].
4. Authenticity, denials and legal use of the tape
Trump has at times acknowledged the recording and apologized in 2016, later suggesting it was “locker room talk,” while at other points he and allies have questioned or disputed its characterization or authenticity — a debate reported and chronicled by outlets such as ABC and Business Insider [10] [11]. Courts have accepted the tape as admissible evidence in civil litigation; federal judges allowed the tape to be shown to jurors in the E. Jean Carroll defamation/battery proceedings, and jurors viewed it during trial in which it was cited by a judge in post‑trial rulings [4] [1] [3].
5. Practical guidance for accessing the full text and video
For researchers seeking the primary material, the original published video and coverage are archived at The Washington Post (which first published the tape and article) and full verbatim transcripts are published by established outlets such as the BBC and reproduced across multiple news sites; academic or archival presentations (for example, NYU’s Verbatim Performance Lab) also host unedited or staged verbatim versions of the full exchange [1] [2] [8]. Because the recording was sourced from NBC/Access Hollywood archives and widely republished, consulting The Washington Post’s October 7, 2016 story and the BBC’s full transcript will provide immediate access to the primary audio and a complete transcript as published by major news organizations [1] [2].