Jenna Bush Hager Keeps It Classy, Won't Name NBC Coworker Who Mocked Her Nepotism

Jenna Bush Hager apparently isn't a fan of revenge. On "Today with Jenna & Sheinelle," on August 12, Hager got candid about what a colleague once said about her nepo baby status but she made sure to be the bigger person and didn't point any fingers on live TV.

We've all seen Hager's stunning transformation over the years. She was just 7 years old when her grandfather, George H. W. Bush, became president and she was 19 when her father, George W. Bush, took office. Consequently, for Hager, there's no hiding where she came from, and that has affected some people's perception of her. When Hager first started working in TV, "a correspondent said to me, 'We just thought they hired you because of your dad,'" she recalled, according to Page Six. She assured viewers she didn't intend to name names. Still, it's easy to imagine how hurtful this might have been. There have been plenty of celebs whose take on being nepo babies had us cringing. Hager, however, isn't one of them. According to Hager, she doesn't necessarily disagree with what her rather blunt colleague said. 

"I'm sure... I was on the show because my dad was president. I wrote a book," Jenna Bush Hager explained to co-host Sheinelle Jones, noting "And then my mom [Laura Bush] and I wrote a book nine months later, and she guest-hosted the 8. And so I was on, and then they kept calling." Hager's clearly aware she is, in fact, a nepo baby, but unlike some other celebs, she's under no illusions about the opportunities this has afforded her. Instead, she said she "felt like [she] needed to prove [herself]." And she's found success in TV as a result. "I feel lucky to be here," she explained.

"We have a privilege that we know...and if you can own that..." Hager said. Jones noted, "That is why we love you, because you own it. But then you still keep going. You don't sit on it." Hager knows that she wouldn't be where she is today without having grown up in the spotlight. Still, she works hard to feel like she deserves what she has. While on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" in 2020, Hager addressed rumors about her, highlighting the inaccuracies. "It's hard to tell what people think about me, but I think probably, maybe, that I'm not a hard worker," Hager explained (via People). "I try to fight against that a little." And it's clear she's been successful in doing just that.