Jenna Bush Hager Discusses Controversy With George W. Bush and Ellen DeGeneres
It’s been months since George W. Bush and Ellen DeGeneres were spotted sitting next to each other at an NFL game, igniting a slew of hatred from LGBTQ activists.
Now, Today show co-anchor Jenna Bush Hager is speaking out about the controversy that followed in the recent episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen alongside Hoda Kotb.
Jenna admitted that she initially didn’t pay much attention to it.
“Well, I mean, I had just had a baby so to be totally honest I didn’t pay that much attention to it,” says the mom to daughters, Margaret, 6, and Poppy, 4, and 6-month-old son Hal, according to Entertainment Tonight.
“But I do think that people can have different beliefs and still be friends,” she added. “And I also think decency and humanity should be at the basis of all conversations.”
Of course, Ellen had faced backlash as well. Many activists slammed her for being friends with George, who has a bad record of anti-LGBTQ+ policies. She eventually addressed the criticism on her talk show, calling for tolerance.
“Here’s the thing: I’m friends with George Bush,” Ellen said on her talk show at the time. “In fact, I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have. We’re all different and I think that we’ve forgotten that we’re all different. For instance, I wish people wouldn’t wear fur. I don’t like it, but I’m friends with people who wear fur and I’m friends with people who are furry, as a matter of fact.”
Well, at least Jenna was open enough to talk about it. We like that people can be friends!