JUSTIN Sylvester has revealed why he appeared to push Today host Jenna Bush Hager out of the way during a recent appearance on the morning show.
He claimed he was flirting- but not with the former president’s daughter.
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On Wednesday’s episode, the Daily Pop star stepped in for Hoda Kotb and guest hosted the fourth hour of the show with Jenna.
Fans complained after he was seen pushing Jenna away from him during a cooking segment with New York Times Bestselling author Andy Baraghani.
Many claimed Jenna was “invading his personal space.”
But on Friday, Justin broke his silence, saying the truth was actually a childish competition between the two.
“What we were doing was we were both flirting,” Justin wrote on his Instagram stories.
“Well, I was flirting with the chef because he was cute, and I was pushing her out of the way so I could have a one-on-one moment with the chef.”
He went on to call Jenna “one of the nicest, most welcoming people that I’ve ever met,” and concluded by saying he “hates that people are taking [the moment] out of context.”
During the original segment, Justin seemed to be a big fan of Andy’s, as he asked Jenna if he could stand next to him.
FLIRTING WITH DISASTER
Justin had a huge smile on his face and moved closer to the cook as he tried to flirt with him throughout the segment.
However, Justin’s smile faltered quickly when Jenna touched him on his upper back and shoulders.
When Andy talked about making the glaze, Justin shimmied out of her touch.
A few seconds later, she did it again and he physically pushed Jenna away from him.
After his hand left her stomach, she chuckled and looked at the camera as he stayed invested in what the chef was saying.
Jenna moved closer and put a hand on Justin’s back again.
He continued to stir the glaze and left his hand up in front of Jenna to keep her back.
GLAZED AND CONFUSED
The co-host seemed very uncomfortable with her unwanted touches and closeness.
About 20 seconds later, Justin once again lightly pushed her out of the way and Jenna couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Do you want me to go?” she asked.
The men smiled at each other and then continued preparing the chicken.
Jenna seemed to get the hint and stopped giving him light touches.
She even moved over to the other side of the counter and said: “I’m going to step over here to taste it.”
Justin mouthed a “thank you” and continued to help cook.
FANS REACT
Online, fans didn’t find the flirting playful.
“Omg?? He was sick of her,” one fan commented.
“He tried to be nice the first time, then had to use force the second time,” a fa tweeted.
“He non-verbally alerted her that her touches were unwanted. It’s his body, he doesn’t need a reason why he didn’t want it touched by her,” one fan said after someone asked why he pushed her away.
A fourth chimed in: “Right! He made it very clear. I watched it several times…what we all saw was he didn’t want her touching him.”
To that, another fan replied: “And she got back up on him AGAIN after he moved her back. Like, hello???”
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