On May 20 Brooke Shields, 60, spoke on 'TODAY With Jenna & Sheinelle' about 23-year-old Rowan Henchy joining the cast of Peacock's 'Next Gen NYC' and did not hide her nerves: "Oh, I was sick to my stomach!"
Shields described how she spoke directly to Henchy before the show aired: "Look, don’t be a [mumble] up. Don’t! Be the voice of reason. You’re going to be fine," she recalled, and she emphasized that Henchy wants to be in broadcast journalism and "also likes being on camera." Shields said the experience "It’s given her a lot of confidence in a way that it’s so nice to see," and framed the decision as practical — "a business choice."
The numbers underline the generation gap here: 'Next Gen NYC' follows 20-somethings trying to make careers in New York City, and Henchy, at 23, fits that bill. The Peacock series — Peacock is owned by NBCUniversal — mixes names from reality-TV families and Gen-Z New Yorkers, and Shields noted the medium is different from what she knew: "They didn’t have reality shows though."
That difference matters to Shields. She pointed out a cultural shift in how behavior is rewarded on television: "And you were not praised for bad behavior, you know. Bad behavior was not really the goal," and she warned that reality-show metrics can be "geared toward" praising less-than-stellar actions. That friction—between a parent's protective instinct and the commercial logic of modern reality TV—is the tension at the heart of her reaction.
Still, Shields did not dismiss the opportunity. She said appearing on the show could "translate that into another opportunity" and called the choice "a business choice," adding hope that "this should be a stepping stone of some kind." On air, co-host Sheinelle Jones offered her own reassurance: "I’m confident that the seeds you’ve sewn in her are going to bloom, and she’s going to be just fine," a counterpoint to Shields's initial alarm.
Shields's response is therefore twofold: immediate worry over the format and its incentives, and a pragmatic acceptance that Henchy's appearance could serve career aims. Given Shields's public line — warning, counsel and the repeated framing of the appearance as a strategic move — the clearest outcome is that she expects Henchy to use the show as a platform and, despite her early stomach-churning reaction, believes it can help her daughter-figure grow into broadcast opportunities and greater confidence.
