A rumor that circulated online in March 2025 claimed U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stormed off the set of CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." The rumor made the rounds in the aftermath of the Signal chat controversy involving Hegseth and other high-level officials in President Donald Trump's administration.
For example, users on Facebook, LinkedIn and X
However, while Stephen Colbert — a mostly left-leaning late-night TV host — has featured Hegseth as a subject of his many monologues, no record of the defense secretary ever appearing as a guest on "The Late Show" existed on the CBS website or in
We contacted a spokesperson for CBS, who did not comment on the matter.
Fictional story about Colbert confronting Hegseth
The Vibrant Living YouTube video's description featured the first bits of the made-up story:
Last night's episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" detonated into one of the most jaw-dropping confrontations in late-night television history.
It started like any other segment — Stephen Colbert behind the desk, flashing his signature smirk, his band playing out their jazzy interlude as the audience cheered. The night's guest: Pete Hegseth, former Fox News contributor turned the freshly minted Secretary of Defense under President Trump's 2025 administration. The audience buzzed with unease from the start. The appointment had already stirred controversy on social media, especially given Hegseth's lack of formal military strategy experience beyond his punditry and prior service record. But nothing could've prepared viewers for what happened on-air.
Colbert opened with pleasantries — light jabs about Trump's third campaign and Pete's unorthodox rise to power — but there was a sharpness to his tone that hadn't gone unnoticed. Hegseth, dressed in a crisp navy suit, responded with the smug confidence of a man freshly anointed by power. It was only five minutes into the interview before the tension snapped.
"So Pete," Colbert said, cocking his head with faux innocence, "I think the audience—and probably most of the Pentagon—has one burning question. Is it true you accidentally leaked classified war plans for a U.S. air strike on Yemen… in a WhatsApp group chat called 'Liberty Bros 2.0'?" The audience gasped.
The video's description also displayed the following disclaimer:
The stories featured on this channel are purely fictional and created for entertainment purposes only. Any similarities to real events, people, or situations are completely coincidental and unintentional. These narratives are not based on, nor meant to portray, any actual persons, events or entities.
Near the end of the video, the AI-generated narrator said Colbert walked around his desk to confront Hegseth. Had such a confrontation occurred, news media outlets around the world would have reported the moment.
The fictional story claimed Colbert confronted Hegseth at length until the late-night host said, "You don't defend the country by running your mouth. You defend it by knowing when to shut it, and listen." At that moment, Hegseth supposedly walked off the set, according to the tale.
The Vibrant Living YouTube channel also featured another video from March 25 making similar claims about Hegseth leaving Colbert's set. That clip included a fake thumbnail image depicting Hegseth and Colbert engaging in a fierce, finger-pointing debate. Other videos on the same channel falsely claimed Colbert kicked other prominent individuals — including Trump, tech billionaire Elon Musk, stand-up comedian Bill Burr and Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro — off his show, or that those people "stormed off" the set.
For further reading, a previous fact check examined whether Hegseth once owned the Russian-registered email address phegseth@mail.ru.