Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has sparked controversy after reciting a prayer at the Pentagon that closely mirrors a fake Bible passage from Quentin Tarantino's film Pulp Fiction. The prayer was delivered on Wednesday (April 16) during a service marking the rescue of US Air Force crew members downed by Iran earlier this month.
Hegseth's prayer included lines such as: 'The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men... And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother.' This closely resembles the speech by Samuel L. Jackson's character in Pulp Fiction, which begins: 'The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish...'
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell defended Hegseth on X, stating that the prayer was a 'custom prayer' used by the rescue team and was 'obviously inspired by dialogue in Pulp Fiction.' Parnell added that both the prayer and the film dialogue were reflections of Ezekiel 25:17, which Hegseth referenced in his remarks.
Critics online quickly noted the similarities, with many accusing Hegseth of misquoting scripture. Parnell dismissed such claims as 'fake news,' insisting that the Secretary correctly referenced the biblical verse.
