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Jenna Bush Hager Slams ‘Today’ Crew for ‘Shaming’ Her for Past Underage Drinking With Sister
Jenna Bush Hager did not hold back from calling out her Today colleagues for the second time in the span of a month. During an episode of the talk show on Thursday, November 9, the broadcaster slammed producers for “shaming” her for underage drinking in the past.
Jenna’s twin sister, Barbara Bush, filled in for Hoda Kotb during the episode, playing a game called “First Loves” on the show. The former first daughters, both 41, were asked to reveal what their “first cocktail” was, causing them both to question the intentions of the game.
“I think they are trying to shame us with our underage drinking, minor in possession of alcohol,” Jenna said. “I think this is shame coming from my own team.”
Barbara seemingly agreed with her sister, saying, “That was rude.” Still, they continued on with the segment, with Jenna sharing that her first cocktail was probably a “wine cooler” or “natty light.”
Once their dad, George W. Bush, took office as president in 2001, the twins were under a national spotlight. They both made headlines multiple times during their college days for underage drinking, but shockingly, their dad had a rather calm response to their behavior at the time.
“He apologized to me because what we wanted more than anything was to just be normal college kids,” Jenna recalled during an episode of Today in March 2020. “So he always would say, ‘No, you can be normal, you can.’ He also wanted to give us what we wanted, some space and to grow, and also I think he wanted to give us the chance to make mistakes, not so publicly.”
After growing up in the public eye, Jenna admired her parents for letting her and Barbara find their footing and face a few mishaps on their own.
“While we were growing up, I for one had parents that let us fail, let us fall and publicly,” she said. “And I always say to them now, ‘How brave of you,’ because it didn’t reflect great on them, either.”
Regular Today viewers know that Jenna is not shy about voicing her true feelings about certain topics. In fact, it has become her signature to drop shocking bombshells about her personal life on the show. Last month, Jenna called out Today producers for mom-shaming her after she revealed that she still lets her 4-year-old son, Hal, sleep in a crib.
“At some point, do I need to move him out?” the NBC personality asked Hoda, 59, during an October 12 broadcast. Jenna’s confession drew a shocked face from her costar. She then turned to the camera to ask the viewers at home, “Ya’ll, it’s normal, right?”
Crew members standing behind the camera were heard shouting “No,” forcing Jenna to fire back, “I wasn’t even asking you!”
