Nationally syndicated radio personality Dana Loesch criticized Jenna Bush Hager on Tuesday while defending Shane Gillis and the comedian’s controversial joke about women during his Saturday Night Live appearance.
Loesch, 48, challenged the Today host’s comments in a social media post after Bush Hager, 44, argued that Gillis’ remarks contribute to a culture that increasingly reduces women to their appearance.
“And who is he to comment on women’s bodies?” Bush Hager, the daughter of former President George W. Bush, said Tuesday on Today with Jenna and Sheinelle. “It’s not OK. It’s not OK.”
She added: “If we want to be good role models for our children, we need to stop talking about the way women look. Period.”
“I think many women have said, ‘This is enough.’”
Bush Hager went on to say that, given the current cultural climate, she would not want her son to hear such comments. She also said she would be “disgusted” if her husband, Henry Chase Hager, spoke that way about someone, while adding that “he would never.”
Loesch, who describes herself as the country’s top nationally syndicated female talk-radio host, responded with a point-by-point rebuttal.
Her post addressed several of Bush Hager’s criticisms individually.
Conservative radio host Dana Loesch, 48, challenged Jenna Bush Hager’s response after releasing a 13-minute video defending Shane Gillis and criticizing what she described as the current state of comedy
Bush Hager, 44, said Gillis’ comments on Tuesday’s Today with Jenna and Sheinelle reflected a culture that increasingly judges women by their looks
“What is your kid doing watching a Gillis monologue on SNL late night?” Loesch wrote in one section of the post.
“2),” she continued. “[Bush Hager] said she would be disgusted if her husband made a joke like that.”
“OK, good for you. Live your life. It doesn’t make Gillis wrong.”
A little more than two minutes into his SNL return, Gillis joked: “I haven’t been to the gym in so long I didn’t know women just dress like wh**es now?”
The comedian’s comment about women’s workout clothing quickly triggered a wave of backlash.
Loesch, a former CNN political analyst, posted a 13-minute video about the controversy Tuesday before directly responding to Bush Hager. Her nationally syndicated program, The Dana Show, replaced Rush Limbaugh’s show in nearly a dozen markets in 2021.
“3),” Loesch wrote. “She goes on to say the word ‘whore’ is a pejorative, and that if a girl wants to be proud of her body, then let her.”
“OK, so can we let her be ‘proud of her body’ dressed like a whore at home, not at the gym, where treating the space like a pole isn’t exactly hygienic when nobody wants to sit on the seat after your bare butt sweat.”
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Gillis made the remark just over two minutes into his Saturday SNL return, saying: “I haven’t been to the gym in so long I didn’t know women just dress like wh**es now?”
“YAY, we all win,” Loesch concluded.
In her video, Loesch expanded on her argument, saying that she had visited several gyms and that not every woman dressed in the manner referenced by Gillis.
“Women go there to get the job done and work out, because they have stuff to do,” said the former Democrat-turned-Republican radio host.
“But we have all seen the chicks in there that do that,” she continued.
“And yeah, just because you’re in a gym, if you’re working—I mean, yes: don’t dress like a whore at the gym. This is not difficult.”
She added: “Sometimes, you’ll have that one woman who looks like a whore at the gym.”
“And if you don’t want to be called, looking like a whore at the gym, then don’t dress like a whore at the gym. This is not difficult.”
Loesch left the Democratic Party shortly after Bush Hager’s father became president in 2001. She has said she became disillusioned with the party following the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the September 11 terrorist attacks.
She later worked as a paid spokesperson for the NRA from 2017 to 2019 and said during a CNN appearance that she owned an AR-15.
Loesch, a former CNN analyst, now hosts the country’s top nationally syndicated female talk-radio show. She left the Democratic Party in 2001 and is pictured appearing on Fox Business’ The Evening Edit last month
Bush Hager joined Today in 2009, shortly after her father completed his second presidential term.
The Daily Mail has contacted NBC for comment. Both SNL and Today air on the network.
Gillis, 38, was dismissed from SNL in 2019, just days after being announced as a cast member, following criticism of racist and homophobic posts. His Saturday hosting appearance marked his third return to the show, as his profile has grown significantly.
His monologue continues to draw criticism, with stars including Schitt’s Creek actor Dan Levy describing it as “misogynistic.”
The Daily Mail previously contacted Gillis’ representatives for further comment but has not received a response.
