description: Al Roker called Jenna Bush Hager “Big Red” when she wore red on October 20, 2026. Why the TODAY women objected, and why “Tall Red” did not fix it.
Al Roker was referring to Jenna Bush Hager’s bright red outfit, but the word “big” can sound like a remark about a woman’s body. His colleagues immediately objected. When he tried “Tall Red” instead, Jenna rejected that nickname too. The comedy came from a well-meant greeting that grew more awkward with every attempted repair.
Two different broadcast dates
The original encounter happened on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, on NBC’s TODAY. Roker, the show’s veteran weather presenter, greeted Bush Hager in red clothing. On Thursday, October 22, Bush Hager and cohost Sheinelle Jones recounted the moment on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle. Reports published that afternoon by People and Entertainment Weekly describe the retelling. The footage from October 20 and the discussion on October 22 are separate events, not a single continuous clip.
What exactly bothered the women?
“Red” referred to the color; “big” was the trouble. It is an ordinary adjective in other contexts, but as part of a personal nickname it can suggest body size. Bush Hager explicitly said that calling a woman “big” was unacceptable to her. Jones remembered Savannah Guthrie and the other women reacting in alarm. Roker reportedly asked Jones what he had done wrong. The scene is not evidence that he intended an insult: the joke depends on the mismatch between his apparent intention and how the words landed.
Why did “Tall Red” make things funnier?
Jones playfully proposed “Skinny Red.” Roker’s own attempted correction was “Tall Red,” which Bush Hager also rejected. He had removed one risky adjective while retaining the entire formula of attaching a physical descriptor to “Red.” That is the second beat of the joke: a solution that reproduces the underlying problem. It was recounted with humor, not announced as a disciplinary dispute.
Is this connected to “Biggie” and “Big Back”?
In May 2026, Bush Hager said her children sometimes called her “Biggie,” a nickname she linked to “Big Back,” a slang expression that can be used teasingly about bodies or appetite. She worried about children repeating it to people outside the family. That earlier story provides context for her sensitivity to the word, but it did not cause Roker’s “Big Red” greeting. They are distinct incidents.
Bottom line
“Big Red” was meant as a red-outfit nickname, heard as a body-size comment, and followed by a correction that still sounded like a body-based nickname. The explanation is linguistic and social, not a claim of a feud. We verified the broadcast dates and reported dialogue against NBC’s linked October 20 clip and contemporaneous reporting; we did not independently watch both broadcasts in full. Coverage is documented in US entertainment media, not proven as a worldwide trend.
