Hegseth Bans Press Photographers From Pentagon Over Ugly Photos of Him

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is banning press photographers from department briefings on the U.S. war on Iran because he didn’t like the way he looked in recent photos.

Anonymous sources told The Washington Post that Hegseth and his staff called photos of him taken by photographers from large outlets like Reuters, The Associated Press, and Getty Images at a March 2 briefing “unflattering.”

“In order to use space in the Pentagon Briefing Room effectively, we are allowing one representative per news outlet if uncredentialed, excluding pool,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement. “Photographs from the briefings are immediately released online for the public and press to use. If that hurts the business model for certain news outlets, then they should consider applying for a Pentagon press credential.” Photographers have been kept out of the past two briefings since.

When Post reporter Scott Nover emailed the White House Press Office asking plainly why the Pentagon wasn’t allowing photographers into press briefings, deputy press secretary Anna Kelly replied, “Didn’t the Washington Post just fire all of its White House photographers?”

It’s unclear what photo set Hegseth off, or if this is just another excuse to kick more journalists out of the Pentagon. It’s a sensitive move for an extremely public figure who used to be on television frequently.