Pete Hegseth's Mother Walks Back Comments on His Alleged Abuse Toward Women

Since being named as the forthcoming nominee for U.S. secretary of defense in Donald Trump's second cabinet, Pete Hegseth has been hit with a tidal wave of scandal. Reports of sexual misconduct, wild drinking, and financial mismanagement of veterans' groups are flooding the news — talk about a career killer!

But the real kicker? An explosive email from 2018 has just resurfaced, showing that none other than Pete's own mother, Penelope Hegseth, accused him of being abusive toward women. If that doesn't raise some serious red flags, we don't know what does.

On Nov. 29, 2024, The New York Times published a 2018 email from Penelope Hegseth to her son, Pete, in which she called him an "abuser of women." In the email, written during Pete's messy divorce from his ex-wife, Samantha, Penelope didn't hold back, even defending Sam.

"I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego," she wrote. "You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth."

Penelope continued, bringing attention to Pete's cruel behavior over the years. She told her son that his "abuse over the years to women (dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, debasing, belittling) needs to be called out."

She concluded, "On behalf of all the women (and I know it's many) you have abused in some way, I say… get some help and take an honest look at yourself."

Penelope has since backtracked, telling The New York Times that their decision to publish the message was "disgusting." She also claimed that the initial email's contents were "not true" and "has never been true."

In a December 4 appearance on Fox & Friends, she expressed regret over the email and pleaded with President-elect Donald Trump not to drop Pete as his nominee for secretary of defense. She also noted that the email didn't tell the whole story and insisted that Pete was a different person now.

Penelope chalked the harsh words up to an emotional time during Pete's divorce, saying she wrote the message "in haste, with deep emotion, as a parent." She also claimed that, just hours later, she sent an apology email and retracted the statements.

As for the media's role in publishing the email, Penelope was direct in her criticism: "When they contact you, I let a few phone calls go. They call and threaten you, first thing they do," she explained. "Unless you make a statement, we will publish it as is. That is a despicable way to treat anymore, threats are dangerous and they are hard on families."

But with the email now public, it's hard to ignore the serious accusations and whether Pete can really escape the past.