Pete Hegseth's Pastor Faces Backlash After Making Bizarre Claim About How Women Dress

Doug Wilson, a prominent pastor and founder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) — the sect Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth belongs to — made lewd and offensive comments about the way women dress.

In a May interview with The Times, Wilson stated that "for a woman to dress like a s--- is a… kind of degradation." He specifically mentioned yoga pants as an example of immodest clothing that he believes "degrades the currency" of a woman.

"Men know what they think of hookers, which is not very much," he raged in the interview. "When you're just giving it away to every slob on the bus who wants to look, you're degrading the currency.”

He explained, "Wrapping them up in a bedsheet is another way of degrading them. It is possible to be modest and attractive – attractive without attracting. Bundling them up the way really conservative Muslims do is a different kind of degradation."

"Like you're not a person. But for a woman to dress like a s--- is a different kind of degradation. Both kinds of degradation play off of each other," Wilson ranted.

Wilson blasted the way women walk, saying they participate in "s--- walks," and added that feminists "object to [the term s---] because I use it."

Wilson's comments on modesty are part of a broader set of controversial views that have drawn national attention due to his relationship with Hegseth, who faced scrutiny regarding a 2017 sexual assault allegation and a subsequent confidential settlement.

Wilson and other CREC pastors have advocated for the repeal of the 19th Amendment, arguing that women should not have the right to vote and that families should vote as a single unit headed by the husband.

Wilson has described homosexuality as a "bad" sin and has called for its recriminalization.

Wilson, who Hegseth invited to lead prayers at the Pentagon before the war in Iran kicked off, excoriated President Donald Trump when he hired openly gay Scott Bessent as his Treasury secretary.

Trump is "not someone I would call a godly Christian man," Wilson said, adding that the president’s widely condemned AI meme of himself as Jesus Christ was “blasphemous.”

Hegseth has publicly supported Wilson’s teachings, frequently using the phrase "All of Christ for All of Life" (the motto of Wilson’s Christ Church).

A spokesperson for the Pentagon confirmed that Hegseth "very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson's writings and teachings.”

Critics, including some Democratic lawmakers and veterans' groups, have expressed alarm over these ties, arguing such views promote discrimination within the military.

The defense secretary has faced intense scrutiny and widespread reporting identifying him as a proponent of Christian nationalism. His actions and rhetoric since taking office have sparked concern among critics who argue he is merging right-wing Christian ideology with military and national policy.

During a Senate hearing on April 30, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) blasted Hegseth as an "antisemite" after he repeatedly used the term "Pharisees" to describe members of the press.

Rosen, who is Jewish, criticized the language as a "historically weaponized" term that portrays Jewish communities as hypocritical or morally corrupt.

She told Hegseth, "I cannot stand for that... I expect anyone who is in leadership in our country to be respectful and use respectful terms and not be an antisemite.”