The Pentagon has issued a statement decrying what they call Netflix’s “ideological agenda” in response to the streamer’s new sleeper hit, Boots.
Set in the 1990s, when being openly gay in the U.S. military was still illegal, Boots follows a closeted teenager from Louisiana who impulsively enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Entertainment Weekly asked the Pentagon about the LGBT+-centered drama, to which Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson responded with a statement.
“Under President Trump and Secretary [Pete] Hegseth, the U.S. military is getting back to restoring the warrior ethos,” Wilson wrote. “Our standards across the board are elite, uniform, and sex neutral because the weight of a rucksack or a human being doesn’t care if you’re a man, a woman, gay, or straight.
Wilson went on to note that military officials “will not compromise our standards to satisfy an ideological agenda, unlike Netflix whose leadership consistently produces and feeds woke garbage to their audience and children.”
The Independent has contacted Netflix for a response.
On X, the Pentagon is now facing criticism for wading in on popular culture.
“Are there not more important things going on at the Pentagon than playing movie critic?” One person asked in response to EW’s story.
“1) This series is based on a veteran’s memoir,” wrote another, “2) I miss when the White House didn’t feel the need to whine about TV.”
“Damn now I really need to watch it,” joked a third.
“Why is the Pentagon On NETFLIX. Do ur job,” a fourth demanded.
Since he was appointed United States Secretary of Defense in January, former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth has been accused of having an anti-LGBT+ agenda.
In February, the Defense Department implemented a Trump administration policy forcing transgender troops out of the military.
And in June, Hegseth ordered that the ship bearing the name of gay rights icon and Navy veteran Harvey Milk be renamed.
“Without becoming a polemic, I think what we’re trying to do is shine a real light on the personal cost of these policies,” series creator Andy Parker told The New York Times of the drama.
“We get to see what it does psychologically, spiritually, emotionally to people who have to distort themselves or lie or put themselves away or be shunned from an organization that they love and a country that they want to serve.”
Boots, released October 9, stars Miles Heizer as Cameron Cope and is based on former US Marine Greg Cope White’s memoir, The Pink Marine.
It is streaming now on Netflix.
The Netflix documentary exposing the horrors of America’s deadliest law
Meghan Markle says her new Netflix partnership is similar to the Obamas’
Everything we know about Bridgerton series four as release date is finally announced
KPop Demon Hunters directors explain why a live-action adaptation won’t work
Vicky Pattison says Strictly wardrobe malfunction left her ‘stressed out and angry’
Kate Garraway felt ‘chaotic and confused’ during Celebrity Traitors
