All posts tagged: Pete

Pete Hegseth Branded ‘Absolute Bum’ Over Attack On Nato Countries At D-Day Commemoration

Pete Hegseth Branded ‘Absolute Bum’ Over Attack On Nato Countries At D-Day Commemoration

Pete Hegseth looks up as he delivers a speech at the US cemetery to commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings. via Associated Press Pete Hegseth has been condemned after he used a D-Day commemoration to accuse Nato countries of not doing enough to tackle illegal immigration. The US defence secretary was branded “an absolute bum” after saying “European beaches are [being] stormed by different, dangerous ideologies”. Critics said his comments, at the Normandy American Cemetery in north-west France on the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings, were disrespectful to the memory of those who died in the Second World War. Nearly 4,500 Allied troops were killed attempting to liberate Nazi-occupied France on June 6, 1944. Hegseth said: “Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different, dangerous ideologies. Beaches in Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria, boats and men arrive. “When will European capitals do something about that invasion or is it too late? I pray not, and I believe not.” But his comments sparked a furious backlash on social media. Former Labour MP …

The USDA secretary is a dangerous religious zealot like Pete Hegseth

The USDA secretary is a dangerous religious zealot like Pete Hegseth

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins isn’t as dramatic with religious theatrics as some of her colleagues in Donald Trump’s Cabinet, like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but that shouldn’t fool anyone. A recent lawsuit from staff members alleges that Rollins has been “promoting her own preferred brand of Christian beliefs and theology to the captive audience of employees,” largely through proselytizing emails sent to the whole staff at the USDA, which make them “fear the negative consequences of not sharing the Secretary’s religion.” The details in the lawsuit reveal that the former Cotton Bowl Queen is just as committed a Christian nationalist as the more belligerent Hegseth. That might seem like a bold claim at first blush. Hegseth has drawn attention for his aggressive, even violent rhetoric that treats Christianity as a war-mongering faith focused more on punishing non-believers than the more Jesus-like aspirations of love and charity. The defense secretary is so devoted to reimagining Jesus as a vengeful prophet that he got caught giving a sermon-like speech in which he appeared to pass off dialogue …

Elsie Hewitt seemingly confirms Pete Davidson split rumors in TikTok video: ‘Doing it on my own’

Elsie Hewitt seemingly confirms Pete Davidson split rumors in TikTok video: ‘Doing it on my own’

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Elsie Hewitt has claimed she is raising her daughter with Pete Davidson on her own after rumors surfaced that the pair broke up. Hewitt, 30, seemingly confirmed her split with the Saturday Night Alive alum, 32, in recent TikTok posts following reports from multiple news outlets that the former couple — who became parents to Scottie Rose in December — separated after dating for more than a year. After the model was spotted pushing Scottie in a stroller Friday in New York City, she said in a video that started out with a yawn: “I’m exhausted, okay? I should’ve left the house looking nicer yesterday. I should’ve known that was going to happen. “But that’s not what I’m thinking about right now because I …

Eurovision 2026: Who are Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen, representing Finland with their song Liekinheitin

Eurovision 2026: Who are Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen, representing Finland with their song Liekinheitin

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen are the musical duo hoping to bring Eurovision glory to Finland this year, as one of the favourites to win the competition. Lampenius is known around the world as a classical violinist who has been performing with orchestras since she was eight years old. She is also the subject of an award-winning documentary series and her autobiography, My Untamed Life. Parkkonen, meanwhile, rose to fame through Finland’s TV series Idols, where he placed third in 2008. He has released a number of solo albums, gone on headline tours and, in 2014, won Dancing with the Stars Finland with his professional dance partner Katri Mäkinen. They are competing at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Liekinheitin”, which means “flamethrower”. They’ve thrown everything at it, as it melds rock and pop elements with dance and techno. …

Pete Hegseth and Brett Kavanaugh go drinking in ‘SNL’ Cold Open

Pete Hegseth and Brett Kavanaugh go drinking in ‘SNL’ Cold Open

Depending on who you ask, the last people you’d want to stand next to at your neighborhood bar are the man who started the Iran war and the man who helped end abortion (their words, not ours). That’s the premise of SNL’s latest Cold Open, where Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth sulks into a barstool lamenting that nobody left in the Trump Administration can keep up with him drink-for-drink. That is, until Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh comes stumbling in, played by this weekend’s host Matt Damon. The two spend much of the sketch bonding over everything they’ve managed to accomplish — or inflict, depending on your perspective — since taking office. Hegseth is beside himself at the prospect of the Iran conflict actually ending and leaving him without a reason to exist, while Kavanaugh is in full waterworks mode over the “male loneliness epidemic.” Rough night for powerful men. Things do take a turn for the chaotic, however, when Aziz Ansari returns as FBI Director Kash Patel, instantly shifting the energy from sad-drunk to dangerous-drunk. …

How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Pete Yorn

How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Pete Yorn

Pete Yorn moved to Los Angeles almost exactly 30 years ago. “I remember it was May 16, 1996 — maybe three weeks after I graduated from Syracuse,” says the singer and songwriter known for his smart, tender folk-rock stylings. “Which means I’ve lived here longer than anywhere else. But when people ask where I’m from, I still say I’m from New Jersey.” He laughs. “I guess I identify very strongly with my upbringing.” In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends. Jersey pride notwithstanding, Yorn’s 2001 debut album, “Musicforthemorningafter,” is suffused with his experiences as a young transplant moving and shaking in a busy L.A. social scene he compares now to Doug Liman’s classic “Swingers” movie — “at least if you take away the swing dancing,” he says. “But the driving around and the going to parties — it was all the same stuff.” (Yorn’s older brothers, Kevin and …

“The man, the myth, the liability”: SNL’s “Pete Hegseth” shares cold open with new “Kash Patel”

“The man, the myth, the liability”: SNL’s “Pete Hegseth” shares cold open with new “Kash Patel”

This weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” kicked off its latest episode with a familiar face and a surprise cameo, as Colin Jost returned as Pete Hegseth and Aziz Ansari dropped in as Kash Patel. Jost’s Hegseth stuck to a now well-worn bit: an oversized glass of “scotch” in hand, he “took questions” from the press while mostly ignoring them, pivoting instead to insults and non-answers. The sketch nodded to recent headlines, including Hegseth’s widely mocked citation of a Bible verse that doesn’t exist — though it does sound suspiciously like something out of “Pulp Fiction.” But the biggest reaction came from Ansari’s new appearance as Patel, which the show played for blunt, self-aware laughs. “I’m a trailblazer. I’m the first Indian person to suck at their job,” Ansari’s Patel said. “Everyone says Indian people are smart, hardworking, incredibly intelligent. I prove without a shadow of a doubt that we can be just as incapable and incompetent as the whites.” With a high five from Jost’s Hegseth, the line landed well, cutting through the sketch’s chaos with …

SNL skewers Pete Hegseth and uses Aziz Ansari as Kash Patel in brutal mocking of Trump officials

SNL skewers Pete Hegseth and uses Aziz Ansari as Kash Patel in brutal mocking of Trump officials

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Saturday Night Live brutally mocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel in its latest cold open sketch, with Aziz Ansari stepping in to play the embattled bureau chief. In the sketch, Hegseth, played by Colin Jost, riding high from his Congressional testimony this week, and Ansari’s Patel took questions from an exasperated press corps in the White House briefing room. The cold opening is the latest to feature the SNL cast mocking members of the Trump administration. “Now, listen up, dingbats, OK? As you might have seen on our sick a** TikTok, we’ve been bombing stuff, doing sick air raids. This war has been a movie, specifically the NeverEnding Story,” Jost’s Hegseth bragged of the war in Iran. The real-life war with Iran has now lasted roughly 60 days, though President Donald Trump has said he received a …

Pete Hegseth looked bad in the House. He looks even worse in the Senate

Pete Hegseth looked bad in the House. He looks even worse in the Senate

There are two versions of Pete Hegseth. There is the one who comes to press conferences, where questions are brief, interruptions are plentiful, and confidence is easily mistaken for competence. And then there is the one who appears before Congress, where the questions are longer, the pauses are quieter, and someone will, eventually, ask him to try again. The second version is much harder to watch. We saw it with the House on Wednesday, when he got sweaty and angry at the harsh words of the lawmakers pressing him on inconvenient issues like the actual cost of the Iran war, the projected amount of time it might continue, and the effects on both the national and international economies. At one, embarrassing point, he really tried to shut a congressman’s questioning down with: “Whose side are you cheering for?!” Today, in the Senate, it looked a little different. The talk was slower and the questions were more probing. Once again, however, Hegseth came up short. At the beginning of proceedings, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) said that …