


Hoda Kotb was out for Thursday’s (Nov. 9) episode of Today With Hoda and Jenna. But Jenna Bush Hager had a surprising guest host ready to fill in: her twin sister, Barbara Bush!
The twins discussed the “complicated” time Barbara had in the ’90s because she was named after their grandmother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, who was in the White House at the time. But she dished on a hilarious mix-up their family had, prompting Jenna to share a rather cringey joke about the former First Lady.
“Well it was more in the 2000s that [sharing a name] got funny. It was complicated for me, but it was complicated for family members,” Barbara explained. “One time, as you know, our cousin Wendy wrote me an email, the subject line was ‘laser hair removal or electrolysis?'”
She recalled the email read, “Yo, whats up? I’m thinking about getting laser hair removal or electrolysis on my bikini line. Do you have any recommendations?” But, Barbara explained, it accidentally sent to their grandmother’s address instead of her’s.
She recalled that their grandma “replied right away and she said she had never done either, and all she could offer was to avoid harsh products like Nair.” She and Jenna shared a laugh at the memory.
Jenna remarked, “Which makes us wonder if she tried Nair down there.” She seemed to regret making the awkward, NSFW joke about the former First Lady and added, “No, no! Erase!”
The stage crew did laugh, but Jenna noticed someone whistling in the background. “Did that just bomb?” Jenna asked the crew. “Who just whistled?”
The sisters shared a touching moment earlier in the broadcast as they looked back on their grandmother, whom they called Genny. Barbara admitted that she used to be “embarrassed” by the attention she received for having the same name as the former First Lady.
“I didn’t want attention but then, of course when Genny passed away, the night she passed away, I felt shamed that I had felt that way and proud that I had her name,” she admitted.
Jenna noted that her sister’s voice cracked as she spoke and joked, “Are we already crying? I thought you were dehydrated.”
Today with Jenna and Hoda airs on weekdays at 10/9c on NBC.