On October 7, 2016, one month before the United States presidential election, The Washington Post published a video and article about then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and television host Billy Bush having a lewd conversation about women in September 2005.

Trump gave a statement in which he apologized for the video's content, but he attempted to deflect attention by saying that Bill Clinton had "said far worse to me on the golf course".

[24] Reaction was swift, with Trump's general election opponent Hillary Clinton among the first political figures to respond to the tape, tweeting shortly after its release, "This is horrific.

"[27] At the second presidential debate two days later, Clinton said of the tape, "With prior Republican nominees for president, I disagreed with them, politics, policies, principles, but I never questioned their fitness to serve.

"[28] In the second episode of season 42 of Saturday Night Live (first aired on October 8), Alec Baldwin parodied the controversy as Trump.

[32] Singer-songwriter Carly Simon donated her 1972 song "You're So Vain" for use in an anti-Trump advertisement – the first time she has ever allowed its use for political purposes – and announced her opposition to Trump in response to the tape.

[44][45] On October 8, CNN aired segments from multiple interviews Trump gave to The Howard Stern Show prior to his political career in which he made comments similar to those on the Access Hollywood tape.

[49] Politico noted that the audience of Today is disproportionately female so that a significant ratings drop in the wake of the controversy could still lead to Bush's dismissal.

[49] On Monday, October 10, NBC reversed course and announced that Bush would be suspended from Today indefinitely pending further review;[50] as he was an anchor, his suspension was briefly addressed during that day's broadcast.

The Economist noted, "Who would have thought that Mr. Bush, a presenter of NBC's Today news show, could end up playing a more influential role in this election than his cousin Jeb, whom many Republicans had expected to win it?

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus said, "No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner.

[62][64] Many members of the Republican Party rescinded their endorsements as a result of the release of the video,[65][66] including Governors Bill Haslam[67] and Robert J. Bentley;[68] Representatives Bradley Byrne,[66] Jason Chaffetz,[69] and Joe Heck;[70] and Senators Kelly Ayotte,[71] Mike Crapo,[72] and John McCain.

Representatives Jason Chaffetz of Utah, Bradley Byrne of Alabama, Rodney Davis of Illinois, and Ann Wagner of Missouri.

After the release of the Access Hollywood video, Trump's first public response came in the form of a written statement published on his campaign website: This was locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago.

[103][104] The release of the tape led to a renewed anticipation towards the October 9 debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton, as it would be the first time for each candidate to directly address the controversy.

Less than two hours before the debate began, Trump held a surprise press conference in St. Louis with Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, and Juanita Broaddrick, who have previously accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct, and Kathy Shelton, a rape victim whose rapist had been represented in the 1970s by Hillary, an appointed public defender.

Campaign chairman Steve Bannon told Trump, "[Broaddrick, Jones, Shelton, and Willey are] going to rub up on you and be crying... [a]nd you're going to be empathetic."

In response, Bannon recalled, Trump closed his eyes, moved his head back "like a Roman emperor", and said "I love it".

"[39] It was later revealed that Trump had arranged for the women from his press conference to sit in his family box and that they were to walk into the audience at the same time as Bill Clinton and confront him on live TV, but debate officials intervened and prevented the planned stunt from happening.

[109] Shortly after the story first broke on October 7, Canadian writer Kelly Oxford posted on Twitter, "Women: tweet me your first assaults.

[110] Numerous professional athletes and coaches rejected Trump's claim that what he said on the tape was "locker room talk", saying that such comments were not normal or acceptable.

[111][114] Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brett Anderson tweeted, "What kind of fucked up locker rooms has Donald Trump been in".

[114] NBA point guard Kendall Marshall tweeted, "PSA: sexual advances without consent is NOT locker room talk.

"[111][114][115] LA Galaxy midfielder Robbie Rogers tweeted, "I'm offended as an athlete that @realDonaldTrump keeps using this "locker room talk" as an excuse.

[111] Eleven months after the footage was leaked, retired professional boxer Floyd Mayweather defended Trump's comments stating, "People don't like the truth ...

'"[116][117] The backlash from the comments prompted a "Pussy Grabs Back" hashtag urging women to vote against Trump on Election Day.

[123] In response to the recording, Shannon Coulter started a viral campaign called #GrabYourWallet, which urges individuals to boycott various companies that sell Trump related products.

[128] Since the tape's release, Bill Pruitt, a producer of the first two seasons of the television series The Apprentice, claims there is behind-the-scenes footage of Trump saying things that are "far worse".

In December 2017, the organizer Aaron Holman posted an update stating that he will donate $25,000 of the fundraised amount to The Nation Institute, with the remaining used to reimburse expenses of "investigative work" done by the campaign.

In declining this request,[140] Kaplan cited, among other things, the Access Hollywood tape in his decision, saying, "Mr. Trump's own words from the Access Hollywood tape and from his deposition – that (a) stars '[u]nfortunately or fortunately' 'c[ould] do anything' they wished to do to women, including 'grab[bing] them by the pussy' and (b) he considers himself to be a 'star' – could have been regarded by the jury as a sort of personal confession as to his behavior.