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/

---

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
7.3K followers
1.1K following
1.4K posts
Media reporter at The Washington Post. GW adjunct professor of journalism. Send tips securely on Signal: scottnover.99

******
Scott Nover
‪@scottnover.bsky.social‬

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?

[forgotmylogin]

55. But but but...he installed a dedicated makeup station!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hegseth-orders-makeup-studio-installed-pentagon/

Hegseth orders makeup studio installed at Pentagon

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently ordered modifications to a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room to retrofit it with a makeup studio that can be used to prepare for television appearances, multiple sources told CBS News.

The price tag for the project was several thousand dollars, according to two of the sources, at a time when the administration is searching for cost-cutting measures.

"Changes and upgrades to the Pentagon Briefing Room are nothing new and routinely happen during changes in an administration," a Defense Department spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News.

[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?

[ShazzieB]

64. My money is on hair styling fel.

If you touched his hair (ewwwwww), I'll bet it would feel crunchy rather than 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.

[Rebl2]

59. My thought too

[Ritabert]

60. Who cares what your photos look like?

[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)

[DFW]

53. Meanwhile, the David Copperfield magic award has been proposed to....

……any photographer who manages to take a photo of Hegseth that could be considered “flattering.”

[riversedge]

54. "So the bottom line is no one should ever put Pete's picture in any publication ever again."

hashoggi's Ghost‬ ‪@urocklive1.bsky.social‬
· 38m
So the bottom line is no one should ever put Pete's picture in any publication ever again.

So the bottom line is no one should ever put Pete's picture in any publication ever again.

— Khashoggi's Ghost (@urocklive1.bsky.social) 2026-03-11T20:05:04.295Z

Pentagon blocks photographers from Hegseth's briefings on the Iran war

The Pentagon has not permitted photographers to cover Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's last two briefings on the war in Iran, and hasn't explained the change in longstanding policy
ByDAVID BAUDER AP media writer
March 11, 2026, 12:36 PM
https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/pentagon-blocks-photographers-hegseths-briefings-iran-war-130975590?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

[LeftInTX]

56. Well, if he gives a press conference, it is guaranteed to have some unflattering screenshots.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

57. Pentagon bans photographers for 'unflattering' photos of Pete Hegseth: report

Pete is a vain idiot

The Pentagon apparently shut out photographers from attending press briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war in Iran after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's staff decided recent photos of him were "unflattering," The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2026-03-11T21:40:10Z

https://www.rawstory.com/pete-hegseth-pentagon-2676083316

The Pentagon apparently shut out photographers from attending press briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war in Iran after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's staff decided recent photos of him were "unflattering," The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

The images from the March 2 briefing came after Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed during a joint military strike on Feb. 28. It was the first time Hegseth had appeared in the briefing room and spoken to press since June 26.

The Associated Press, Reuters and Getty Images were among the media groups that sent photographers to the briefing with 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," two people who were familiar with the decision told The Post. They asked to speak under the condition of anonymity, citing concerns over potential retaliation.

Hegseth's aides then barred photographers from joining two other briefings at the Pentagon on March 4 and March 10.

“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 written 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.”

[LetMyPeopleVote]

58. The press will have fun with this

#cabinetofclowns

— XamnosiddA (@johnmedved.bsky.social) 2026-03-11T21:41:42.752Z

[Exp]

61. What a Snow Flake! Where are your "Big Boy Pants" Kegsbreath? Put them on! nt

[Ruby the Liberal]

62. When the only qualification for cabinet is through Central Casting

image is everything.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

63. MaddowBlog-Pentagon puts restrictions on photographers, adding to Hegseth's anti-press campaign

Whether the secretary realizes it or not, it’s not the photographers who are making him look bad.

Whether Hegseth realizes this or not, it’s not photographers who are making him look bad.

He’s managing to do that all on his own.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-03-12T14:44:53.756Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/pentagon-puts-restrictions-on-photographers-adding-to-hegseths-anti-press-campaign

When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke in the Pentagon briefing room on the third day of the war in Iran, he was an unfamiliar sight: It was the first time the former Fox News host had appeared in the room since June. Not surprisingly, media photographers took a barrage of pictures of the secretary at the briefing.

That ordinarily wouldn’t be especially notable, except in this instance, the developments led the Defense Department to make some unexpected changes. The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon has barred press photographers from war briefings after Hegseth’s staff deemed published images of the secretary “unflattering.” From the article:

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, on March 4 and March 10, according to the two people familiar with the decision.

....But the shift on photographers pushes the broader effort to a new and more embarrassing level: The Defense Department isn’t just concerned about substance, it now seems to be focused on appearances.

For all of Hegseth’s rhetoric about the importance of “lethality,” the secretary and his team continue to indulge in an endless parade of distractions. In the days leading up to the U.S. military offensive in Iran, Hegseth spent his time distancing the Defense Department from some of the nation’s leading universities while whining about “wokeness,” feuding with Anthropic over artificial intelligence safeguards, and forcing Scouting America to abandon programs and policies aimed at promoting diversity.

Now, while the Pentagon is ostensibly focused on ongoing operations in the Middle East, he and his team are taking time for reprisals against photographers over “unflattering” images of the secretary.

The gap between Hegseth’s tough-guy posturing and his real-world efforts is large and growing. Whether Hegseth realizes this or not, it’s not photographers who are making him look bad. He’s managing to do that all on his own.