A visibly shaken Jenna Bush Hager publicly apologized on Monday for mistakenly referring to Hidden Figures as “Hidden Fences” during NBC’s Golden Globes pre-show.
While interviewing Pharrell, who scored the period drama, the Today correspondent said, “So, you’re nominated for ‘Hidden Fences,'” which triggered a confused expression from the prolific music producer. The clip instantly went viral and a backlash quickly ensued.
Fighting back tears, Hager said on Monday’s Today show, “If I offended people, I am deeply sorry. It was a mistake… What I didn’t want to do is make anyone feel lesser than who they are. It was a mistake and I hope we can all move on.”
Al Roker, who was seated alongside Hager as she delivered her mea culpa, defended his colleague before blasting the pile-on mentality of social media and the media itself. “Honest mistakes happen in live television,” he said. “And this culture of Twitter and people waiting to pounce on people — it’s gotta stop. It’s just ridiculous… And for the New York Times to repeat these tweets, it’s a cheap shot.”
You can watch Hager’s apology in full below, and then scroll down to check out the inciting incident itself.
WATCH: “If I offended people, I am deeply sorry. It was a mistake… I am not perfect.” @JennaBushHager on Golden Globes red carpet mistake pic.twitter.com/0dOLPHuJCO
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 9, 2017
“you’re nominated for Hidden Fences” pic.twitter.com/7My6dtEkbG
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) January 9, 2017
