Jenna Bush Hager Explains How Son Hal Has Been ‘Gaslighting’ Her Lately

TODAY -- Pictured: Jenna Bush Hager on Monday, July 24, 2023 -- (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)

Jenna Bush Hager says her young son Hal has begun “gaslighting” her when she tries to give him a kiss.

Hager, 42, explained how the 4-year-old now dodges her kisses while chatting with her Today with Hoda & Jenna co-host, Hoda Kotb, during the Thursday, Feb. 22 broadcast.

“You know how Hal’s been gaslighting me recently?” Hager asked Kotb. She then revealed that her son “tells me he’s allergic to my kisses” by faking a sneeze whenever she tries to give him one.

The show shared Hager’s revelation in an Instagram post that included a caption calling her son “too funny.”

“Have your kids ever done this?” the show asked its viewers.

Hager has previously alleged that her son “gaslights me all the time.” She offered one example last December that involved Hal excluding her from a bedtime story routine, according to Us Weekly. During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show a few months ago, the former first daughter also accused her young niece of “already gaslighting” Hager’s twin sister, Barbara Bush.

“Kids are the biggest gaslighters,” Hager said at the time.

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Many fans shared similar experiences with their kids in the Instagram post’s comment section. One person said their son “would pretend to cough and be like I’m sick (cough cough) I can’t kiss you.” Another said their kids "wipe them off, only for me to tell them they are rubbing the kisses in!”

One viewer who commented on Hager’s son specifically said Hal “just sounds funny” and that they “doubt he is consciously gaslighting u.”

Despite the humor some viewers found in Hager’s latest “gaslighting” anecdote, others appeared to be growing tired of how often the morning show host uses the term. Many also called her out for casually using a term that implies serious manipulation.

“I love JBH but,if she screams gaslighting one more time,” one fan wrote.

“Jenna needs to stop using gaslighting,” another said, while another warned, “She uses it so much I may stop watching!"

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