Pentagon bars press photographers over 'unflattering' Hegseth photos

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Washington Post

WP Exclusive
Pentagon bars press photographers over 'unflattering' Hegseth photos

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's staff took issue with images taken in a rare briefing last week and decided to shut out photographers from two subsequent news conferences.

March 11, 2026 at 11:26 a.m. EDT


Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a March 2 Pentagon press briefing. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

By Scott Nover

The Defense Department has barred press photographers from briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military conflict with Iran after they published photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that his staff deemed "unflattering," according to two people familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.

The March 2 briefing came days after a joint military strike on Iran that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28. It was also the first time the defense secretary had appeared behind the briefing room podium since June 26. Several outlets including the Associated Press, Reuters and Getty Images sent photographers to the briefing from Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

But after they published photos -- which have broad reach because they are licensed by publications globally -- members of Hegseth's staff told colleagues that they did not like the way that the secretary looked. Hegseth's aides decided to shut out photographers from the two subsequent briefings at the Pentagon.

{paywall}

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/03/11/hegseth-press-briefings-photos-iran/

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/scott-nover/

I copied the text from Joe.My.God.

https://www.joemygod.com/2026/03/pentagon-bans-photographers-from-future-iran-war-briefings-because-of-unflattering-photos-of-hegseth/

Were they dudes in dresses?

https://bsky.app/profile/scottnover.bsky.social

Scott Nover
@scottnover.bsky.social
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Media reporter at The Washington Post. GW adjunct professor of journalism. Send tips securely on Signal: scottnover.99

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Scott Nover
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Scoop: The Pentagon barred press photographers from briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military conflict with Iran after they published photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that his staff deemed "unflattering."

Pentagon bars press photographers over 'unflattering' Hegseth photos
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's staff took issue with photos taken in a rare briefing last week and decided to shut out press photographers from two subsequent news conferences.
www.washingtonpost.com
11:28 AM � Mar 11, 2026
******

Scoop: The Pentagon barred press photographers from briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military conflict with Iran after they published photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that his staff deemed "unflattering."

— Scott Nover (@scottnover.bsky.social) 2026-03-11T15:28:44.126Z

[Ocelot II]

1. So he will never be photographed again?

Because all photos of him are unflattering; he always looks exactly like the arrogant, preening, testosterone-poisoned, small-dicked neo-Nazi poltroon we know him to be.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Colin Jost can phone it in this week. NT

[CrispyQ]

4. LOL. Love your choice of the word preening! So perfect!!

Wish someone would sneak a camera in his made-to-order Pentagon styling salon for some before pics.

[BattleRow]

40. Is it even possible to capture anything flattering about this man?

Does the camera lie?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Jeepers. This would have come out just in time for Karoline Leavitt's daily press briefing, except

she probably went to Kentucky with Dear Leader.

[Bengus81]

11. Spends loads of time with her Fuhrer, even on the weekends and is now pregnant.

Let's see if Barron II pops out.............

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Stay out of the kitchen, Felicia. nt

[Buddyzbuddy]

6. Now that's a Diva-nazi.

[yorkster]

7. He was caught mid-snarl in that photo.

[get the red out]

8. Crazy face

It's a bit hard to get flattering pics, I would imagine.

[TomSlick]

19. I've never seen one.

[UpInArms]

9. Photographers cannot help how stupid he is and looks

What an insecure moron

[highplainsdem]

10. Hegseth asked for it:

Link to tweet

[k55f5r]

35. The perfect answer to this would be

To have cartoonists draw funny pictures of him to illustrate the articles. No photos? AI him in a bikini.

[vapor2]

12. Repost it

[Bengus81]

13. I never knew they were still making butch wax until that POS came along

[kairos12]

39. Kegsbreath should be so smart.

?si=RWSFERNWtCUkk57j

He would relate to FOP.

[BattleRow]

42. Not making him more" butch"..

No matter how much he slathers on,IMHO.

[Callie1979]

14. So do we know WHICH photos he's referring to? There are so many.

[QueerDuck]

16. I'm going to guess ALL OF THEM.

[Vinca]

15. If that's one of the photos, I'd say that's about as good as it gets. He's a whole lot more greasy looking with

a mean, nasty smirk on his face. Exception: when he's half in the bag. He looks more like Trump at a Cabinet meeting.

[BattleRow]

43. They share a hair fetish.

[ffr]

17. The snowflake projecteth!

Pictures hurt their little feewings.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

18. Meh, I wonder how many proofs Trump looked at ...

... before he approved his infamous "mug shot".

Trump and his cabinet are all so pretty. Or is it spelled "petty"?

[GiqueCee]

20. WAAAAAAAAH!!!

Poor widdoo Petey got his widdoo fee-fees hurt! Grow the fuck up, you witless turd!

[2naSalit]

21. Not his call to make...

[OMGWTF]

22. Pete Kegstand's own mother hates him.

[StarryNite]

23. I wonder how many jars of Vaseline he goes through

a week to make his hair look that greasy?

[pfitz59]

24. Trumplethinskin has competetion

for vainest man in government.

[Attilatheblond]

34. Maybe he fell off the wagon (again) and is worried about more pics of him shitfaced?

[William Seger]

25. It doesn't bother me -- I'll be just fine if I NEVER see another photo him -- but what a diva (nt)

[Ritabert]

26. Pretty snowflakey behavior from macho man.

[uncle ray]

27. thin skinned snowflake secretary of war.

[Fil1957]

28. Uhmm, how are they going to do that? All pictures of Hegseth are unflattering...

[3825-87867]

29. I think I understand

He has a square face...and blockish head. So there's too much to remind people of Lucy's derogatory comment to Charlie,"You Blockhead",: Brown.
And when you look at him, and know just how much he's like CB, it makes sense to not let the Public connote him with anything that would remind people he is a blockhead,

[Figarosmom]

30. Wow, what a conceited prick.

I have never seen a photo of him that was flattering in any way. He always looks like a prick.

[twodogsbarking]

31. Where I grew up they would say "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear".

[-misanthroptimist]

32. How can we win a war when our military...

...is managed by such delicate snowflakes?

[Attilatheblond]

33. What if he gave a presser and nobody showed up

except maybe process servers?

[MLAA]

36. Was his eyeliner smudged? Does he need TSF's makeup artist?

[Faux pas]

37. The photographers have

no control over how stoopid kegsbreath looks ffs.

[Fla Dem]

38. What an f'ing crybaby.

[0rganism]

41. Banned for that picture? What goddam snowflakes: it's not like they busted into his makeup room or a bathroom stall.

It's recognizably him. He seems to be fully dressed and awake. Yeah, he sneers, so what? If he had previously shown any degree of competence or humility or, really, any redeeming qualities whatsoever, no one would give a fuck. People would take a look at the pic, maybe say, "he usually looks better than this," and move right on to the next thing. Now it's a front-page story, and the picture is receiving serious scrutiny along with the response; so, nicely played, fuckwits.

You could have simply brought in a few fainting couches for troubled staff members. Wait, lemme guess, were the couches all getting roofied in the big party at the VP's place? So otherwise occupied, then. Pentagon should hire a few dedicated fainting couches to sooth our most delicate warfighters, lord knows they have the money.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

44. A real sensitive war fighter

[NBachers]

45. Maybe the staff in his office beauty salon are stealth Democrats.

[Pinback]

48. It's probably a beauty saloon. (nt)

[marble falls]

46. Has the Pentegon issued any guidence on photographing the best side of a sack of shit?

[twodogsbarking]

47. Just wear your white hood pretty boy.

[LudwigPastorius]

49. What a manly warfighter!

Fuck your feefees, Pete.

[sakabatou]

50. "How dare they show the public how bad he looks! Block them!"

[kacekwl]

51. Pete, do like your supreme leader and

boss and use more makeup. Then you'll look like a man.

[muriel_volestrangler]

52. He's been so drunk he didn't realise he always looked that way (nt)