Jenna Bush Hager’s take on Beyoncé’s big night at the 2024 Grammy Awards this week has annoyed some people on the internet.
The “Cowboy Carter” singer took home three trophies for Best Country Album, Album of the Year, and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for her track “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus.
On Feb. 3, Hager did a segment about the music industry’s biggest night on the “Today with Jenna & Friends” daytime talk show. “Saturday Night Live” cast member Ego Nwodim served as a guest host for the episode.
Hager, 43, and Nwodim, 36, specifically discussed Beyoncé’s album and some of their favorite songs on it. The conversation then switched to focusing on the singer’s shocked expression after the singer won Best Country Album at the star-studded event in Los Angeles on Feb. 2.
Beyoncé became a meme as social media jokesters turned her stunned reaction into a widely-used gif.
“When she won, she was surprised and it lead to this really great meme,” said Hager, to which Nwodim replied, “She looks like she’s getting up to do the robot.”
Beyoncé has updated her website to feature a GIF of her reaction to her #GRAMMYs win. pic.twitter.com/ciyxHOD1YE
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) February 5, 2025
Hager compared Queen Bey’s viral moment to another recent viral moment from a former president of the United States, her father George W. Bush.
“Social media really went to town, and I was happy because my dad also made a couple of facial expressions at the inauguration,” Hager said, referencing Bush’s awkward reactions during President Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20.
As the show displayed side-by-side images of Beyoncé and Bush on the screen, Hager continued, “He didn’t do anything and she didn’t do anything. They just looked surprised, or delighted, bewildered… bewildered for different reasons.”
“Apparently, Jenna thinks her dad’s behavior was becoming of a former President. I don’t see anything funny about his facial expressions,” someone wrote in the Yahoo comment section.
The commenter continued, “He should have stayed home. I think they all have forgotten he left office as a very unpopular President and he started a war where many many died.”
“Jenna Bush Hager has pointed out an uncanny parallel between Beyoncé at the Grammys and her dad George W. Bush,” read a caption from The Daily Beast on X.
A few on X joked, replied, “So true… LOL.” A second X user joked, “But only one of them is really from Texas.”
Beyoncé was born on Sept. 4, 1981, in Houston, Texas.
George Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut. But he did serve as the 46th governor of Texas before winning the 2000 presidential election against his Democratic opponent, Al Gore.
Bush grabbed the internet’s attention during the inauguration of his Republican presidential successor by making comical faces inside the United States Capitol as Trump was transitioning back into the Oval Office for his second, non-consecutive term.
Hager gave some insight into the Bush family’s private conversations about her father’s meme-able facial expressions. She covered the self-described “last George W. boost” on “Today” the morning after Trump was sworn into office.
“Everybody has been talking about yesterday’s inauguration, but you all already guessed what moment has been blowing up our family group chat. My dad went viral for these cutaway shots during yesterday’s broadcast,” Hager said.
The mother of three continued, “The internet is obsessed with this little smile and goofy expression. He was next to my mom [former first lady Laura Bush]. He must have made eye contact with somebody.”
Additionally, Hager joked, “You guys, you can’t just blame him because it looks like my dad was also seated next to a bad influence.” The University of Texas graduate then cut to a video of former President Barack Obama, 63, chiming in “no” when her father was asked if he would behave at the 2025 inauguration.
Like Beyoncé, Obama is a Grammy Award winner. The “Dreams From My Father” author won two golden gramophones for Best Spoken Word Album in 2006 and 2008. Bey holds the record for most all-time Grammy wins with 35.
