{"id":193989,"date":"2026-09-03T04:41:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T04:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/193989\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T04:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T04:41:14","slug":"george-clooney-rips-hegseth-over-body-shaming-post-of-canadian-cadet-whats-wrong-with-you-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/193989\/","title":{"rendered":"George Clooney rips Hegseth over body-shaming post of Canadian cadet: \u2018What\u2019s wrong with you?\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p>Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n<p>Hollywood star George Clooney, an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/tv\/news\/george-clooney-defends-jimmy-kimmel-melania-trump-b2966896.html\">outspoken Democrat<\/a>, condemned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for being \u201ccruel\u201d after <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/pete-hegseth-body-shaming-social-media-b3042805.html\">Hegseth posted a photo of two members of the Canadian cadet program,<\/a> seemingly to mock their physical appearance. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re at a moment in time that\u2019s unfortunate,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/uV5tdb0Y7qo?si=1b0got36p7wCyP55&amp;t=4326\">Clooney told reporters at the Venice Film Festival<\/a> on Wednesday after he was asked about his view of the United States.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou see what the Secretary of Defense just tweeted out? A picture about women in the military from Canada. You\u2019re going, \u2018What\u2019s wrong with you? Where\u2019s the sense of decency in all of this?\u2019\u201d the Good Night, and Good Luck director said, referring to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PeteHegseth\/status\/2094593108755562927\">Hegseth\u2019s post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week, Hegseth posted a photo of a member of the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CEC.Vernon.CTC\/posts\/vernon-cadet-training-centre-2026-we-are-excited-to-see-all-the-course-cadets-th\/1360028242982318\/\">Vernon Cadets <\/a>receiving an award from a cadet instructor with the caption \u201cthis is real\u201d \u2013 seemingly an attempt to disparage the two\u2019s appearance amid the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/trump-canada-tariffs-jet-b3043731.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">U.S.\u2019s trade feud with Canada.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hegseth has been accused of body-shaming the Canadian cadet and the instructor, leading to outrage from critics. The post remained on his personal X page as of Wednesday. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788410473_384_2292598034...jpeg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Actor George Clooney condemned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for posting a photo, attempting to mock members of the Canadian cadet youth program\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>Actor George Clooney condemned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for posting a photo, attempting to mock members of the Canadian cadet youth program (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n<p>Clooney told reporters he was \u201cashamed\u201d of the defense secretary\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know, the idea that cruelty is the base that being cruel and unkind is part of the fun of all of this\u2026 I\u2019m ashamed of that, but we\u2019ll get through it,\u201d the Oceans 11 actor added. <\/p>\n<p>The defense secretary\u2019s latest insult to the Canadian military comes as President Donald Trump feuds with Canadian leaders over a trade deal that fell apart last week. <\/p>\n<p>In retaliation for the failed negotiations, Trump and members of his administration <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WhiteHouse\/status\/2092635994319163798\">have taken to social media to mock Canada<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that trade discussions would only begin \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/us-canada-trade-dispute-mark-carney-trump-b3043018.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">when the Americans stop doing memes<\/a>, stop throwing shade, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/trump-lake-ontario-video-carney-canada-b3043424.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">stop trying to be tough <\/a>and start being serious about having those discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Pentagon said Hegseth\u2019s post &#8220;speaks for itself.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788410474_744_Hegseth-Post.png\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing criticism for 'body shaming' a Canadian youth cadet instructor on social media\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing criticism for &#8216;body shaming&#8217; a Canadian youth cadet instructor on social media (Pete Hegseth\/X)<\/p>\n<p>The cadet and instructor singled out by Hegseth are part of Canada\u2019s national cadet program, overseen by the Canadian military. The program teaches skills to people aged 12 to 18.<\/p>\n<p>Gen. Jennie Carignan, Canada\u2019s chief of defense staff, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/world\/pentagon-hegseth-canada-cadets-controversy-9.7327986\">said<\/a> both cadet members were receiving support from the Canadian military and had been consulted about steps forward.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are very much focused in supporting the affected members, and I have a lot of pride in what our Canadian Armed Forces do and who we are, what we are about,&#8221; <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/world\/pentagon-hegseth-canada-cadets-controversy-9.7327986\">Carignan told CBC News.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Carignan added: &#8220;We have professional, competent personnel. And again, reinforcing this aspect, my U.S. counterparts are absolutely well versed in understanding how much of a contribution we are making.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193990,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[60813,14940,35380,17,14939,60815,2955,420,416,40944,10259,60814,2956,60812,35381,33003,47645],"class_list":["post-193989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-accessbygettyimages","tag-arts-culture-and-entertainment","tag-bestof","tag-canada","tag-celebrities","tag-cinema","tag-essential","tag-fashion","tag-film","tag-film-festival","tag-film-industry","tag-general-view","tag-horizontal","tag-red-carpet-event","tag-topix","tag-venice","tag-venice-film-festival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}