Stephen Colbert Brutally Mocks Pete Hegseth's 'Pulp Fiction' Prayer Speech

Stephen Colbert magnificently mocked Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during The Late Show after the former Fox News weekend host delivered a prayer at a Pentagon service that closely mirrored the famous (and largely fictional) Ezekiel 25:17 monologue from the movie Pulp Fiction.

At a Pentagon worship service on Wednesday, April 15, Hegseth emphatically read a prayer he called "CSAR 25:17" (Combat Search and Rescue), which he stated was meant to reflect the biblical verse Ezekiel 25:17.

However, the text he read was almost word-for-word from Quentin Tarantino's script for Samuel L. Jackson's character, Jules Winnfield, rather than the actual biblical passage.

Colbert ridiculed the blunder by playing a mashup of Hegseth’s prayer alongside Jackson’s performance in the film, joking that the Christian nationalist Hegseth, whose recent actions have been deemed problematic to say the least, was quoting from a new gospel where "Jesus says the N-word a lot.”

Hegseth reportedly blocked the promotions of four Army officers — two Black men and two women — to one-star general, a move critics and senior officials labeled as potential racial or gender bias.

“Hegseth quoting from the gospel of Quentin Tarantino!” the outgoing late-night host said. “If you’re not familiar with that gospel, it’s like the regular Bible, but Tarantino’s Jesus says the N-word a lot.”

Colbert also compared the two versions, saying Hegseth’s reading felt like "your self-tape versus the guy who actually got the part,” and ended by reciting his own parody prayer composed entirely of famous movie lines from Taxi Driver, Forrest Gump and Jackson’s Snakes on a Plane.

“Despite all this, I want Hegseth to succeed. He’s the Secretary of Defense. If he succeeds, that means America succeeds. So, please join me in prayer,” Colbert joked.

“God, I’m talking to you. You talking to me? Are you talking to me? War is like a box of chocolates. I am tired of these motherf------

An embarrassed Pentagon later defended the remarks, calling it a "custom prayer" that was "obviously inspired" by the film.

“Secretary Hegseth on Wednesday shared a custom prayer, referenced as the CSAR prayer, used by the brave warfighters of Sandy-1 who led the daylight rescue mission of Dude 44 Alpha out of Iran, which was obviously inspired by dialogue in Pulp Fiction,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X.

“However, both the CSAR prayer and the dialogue in Pulp Fiction were reflections of the verse 25:17, as Secretary Hegseth clearly said in his remarks at the prayer service,” Parnell admitted.

Jackson's character in the film was a scripture-quoting professional killer.

Hegseth's unintentional Tarantino tribute had everyone quoting Pulp Fiction, including journalist Nick Kristof, who cited "Book of Tarantino."

At the same time, California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted a meme of the film's poster, replacing star Uma Thurman with a photo of the embattled defense secretary, who has bigger issues than combative pressers and video-game cosplaying.

On Wednesday, April 15, House Democrats filed six articles of impeachment against Hegseth, alleging unauthorized war actions, targeting of civilians and the politicization of the armed forces.