Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones divided Today fans with their reaction to the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live! after Jimmy Kimmel‘s late-night show was suspended over his remarks concerning Charlie Kirk‘s death.
On Tuesday, Sept. 23, Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned to TVs across most of the nation. Following Kimmel’s emotional monologue, Bush Hager and her Jenna & Friends co-host for the week, Jones, reacted to Kimmel’s sentiments.
“I thought that that was beautifully done,” the former first daughter said on Wednesday, Sept. 24.
Jones shared, “I think there were a lot of eyeballs on him last night, obviously, and a lot of people wondered, ‘OK, what direction is he going to do?’ I mean, he’s not going to triple down on anything. And if anything, I think the theme to me is forgiveness.”
To that, Bush Hager added, “I long for a country where, and I feel like we can get back there, but where people that have different opinions sit at the same table and have conversations. And he actually said that, in part of it he said, ‘I have in my family that don’t believe the same things that I do.'”
Related: Today Fans Beg Jenna Bush Hager’s Guest Host to Sign on Permanently as ‘Jenna & Friends’ Cohost
“Absolutely, the clash of ideas is healthy,” Jones agreed. “We can have a healthy debate. We don’t have to agree, you know what I mean? But we don’t have to come at each other’s throats. And I do think that right now it’s almost at, like, a fever pitch.
Jones continued, “A friend of mine used to say, ‘Raise the vocabulary, lower the volume. Let’s all do that.”
To that, Bush Hager said, “By the way, it was as if he read that because that’s exactly what he did. In a beautiful way he said, whatever he said was misunderstood. He didn’t mean to hurt anybody.”
“And I believe it, you can feel it,” Jones pointed out, as Bush Hager agreed, “Oh, he was emotional.”
Related: Today’s Jenna Bush Hager Shares Career News in “Excited” Video Message: “Better Late Than Never”
In a clip of Bush Hager and Jones’ conversation shared via Instagram, Today viewers were divided in their reactions.
One fan declared, “Love this so much! Raise the vocabulary and lower the volume! So inspiring and yet so true!”
Another exclaimed, “I love that saying! I am going to use it!” as someone else shared, “Jimmy nailed it! ❤️.”
However, not everyone was on the same page, as one Instagram follower insisted, “Kimmel didn’t apologize..😢.”
“This is a disgrace,” a different viewer wrote.
Yet another Instagram follower commented, “I have lost all respect for this show! It’s too liberal and they showed more concern for Jimmy Kimmel than a faith based human who was assassinated because of his beliefs! Very disappointing!”
Next: The View’s Joy Behar Sends Bold Message About Jimmy Kimmel Live! Returning After Suspension
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 24, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
