NEED TO KNOW
- Hairstylist Chris McMillan and Leslie Bibb from The White Lotus visited Today with Jenna & Friends on June 16
- McMillan gave host Jenna Bush Hager a bob inspired by Bibb’s character on the The White Lotus
- The hairstylist cut several inches from the host’s hair on live television as onlookers watched
Jenna Bush Hager is taking a daring next step with her hair ahead of summer — and tapped a celebrity hairstylist for her transformation.
On the Monday, June 16, episode of Today with Jenna & Friends, Hager was joined by celebrity hairstylist Chris McMillan and The White Lotus actress Leslie Bibb, who co-hosted the episode, so she could get a haircut that she’s been waiting months for.
“When I was here back in March, Jenna vowed to get on board with the bob, and today is the day,” Bibb told the audience.
Before sitting in the hairstylist’s chair, Bush Hager gave the audience members some background on McMillan, noting that his haircut on Bibb for The White Lotus inspired several viewers of the show to also cut their hair.
NBC
“I didn’t expect it [to go viral] because it was just a grow-out of a short haircut,” he told Bush Hager. “The intention wasn’t to give her a bob, it was to grow her out into a bob.”
McMillan’s haircut on Bibb isn’t his first to spark a sensation — the hairstylist is notably famous for creating The Rachel haircut on Friends.
McMillan told Bush Hager that “bobs are like spring cleaning. There are sometimes bad damage, bad layers, it evens it up and creates a nice strong perimeter.” After the host sat down, McMillan began to snip layer after layer of her hair, revealing a bright blonde shade full of volume.
Fans will need to tune in to the Tuesday, June 17, episode of Today with Jenna & Friends to see the full reveal of Bush Hager’s new hairstyle.
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Speaking with Today.com ahead of the cut, McMillian drew similarities between Bush Hager and Aniston’s face shapes.
“Jenna has a lot of face from here to here,” McMillan said, gesturing to the jawline, “and a small forehead, very similar to Jennifer Aniston’s face shape.”
He also explained the many ways that the bob style can be worn. “You can slick it behind your ears … you can wear it natural, you can wear it wavy,” he told the outlet.
Bibb also gushed about McMillan — as well as celebrity haircolorist and OLAPLEX ambassador Tracey Cunningham — and her White Lotus hair at OLAPLEX‘s Summer Soirée, which she hosted alongside costar Michelle Monaghan and Cunningham, on Wednesday, June 4.
Jason Howard/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
“This haircut has really taken off,” the actress told PEOPLE at the event. “I said to [hairstylist] Chris [McMillan] as a joke, I was like, ‘Oh, you did the Rachel. Now you have the c—- little bob.’ ”
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The haircut going viral partially stemmed from a video of Bibb that was posted to TikTok without her knowledge, in which she and McMillan discussed the NSFW name for the haircut.
“I didn’t realize, I said it to him in jest. I didn’t realize he was filming me when I said it, because a friend of a friend had called it … Aimee Lou Wood’s friend, Ashay, had said, ‘Oh, I love Leslie and her c—- little bob,’ ” she said. “I said it to Chris and then, he made a TikTok, and then it just sort of took off. But it’s a great f——- haircut, and it’s always a great haircut when Chris McMillan cuts your hair and Tracey Cunningham colors your hair.”
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