Fox News panel clash live on air after Pete Hegseth is dubbed a ‘womanizer’

Things got heated during Sunday’s Fox News show, which saw the panel discuss the alleged sexual assault allegations made against Pete Hegseth.

FOX News panelists clash in Pete Hegseth debate

The panel of Fox News got into a fiery clash over Pete Hegseth on Sunday.

Appearing on Fox’s MediaBuzz alongside host Howard Kurtz, Oakland Corps adviser Lucy Caldwell and OutKick founder Clay Travis engaged in a heated back-and-forth after the defense secretary nominee was coined as a “womanizer” instead of acknowledging the sexual assault allegations that have been made against him.

The debate kicked off when Travis criticized the media’s coverage of Hegseth’s nomination, pointing out: “They’ve come after Pete Hegseth with everything they got.

“They started with, ‘Oh, he’s a womanizer. You can’t trust him. His wife’s fabulous. They have a fantastic family. He’s doing really well.‘”

Before he could finish his point, Caldwell interrupted him, exclaiming: “Not a womanizer! Accused of a sex crime! That’s totally not the same thing. There’s a police report about it.”

Lucy Caldwell and Clay Travis discussing Pete Hegseth on Fox News (Image: Fox News)

“Let’s not use the term womanizer,” she continued, before blasting: “Defend it. Don’t defend it. But don’t say womanizer. That’s not what’s at issue here. An alleged sex crime is what’s at issue here.”

“Hold on, Lucy,” Travis then interjected before stating: “What you are doing is everything that’s wrong with the way these are covered. You said, ‘accused of a sex crime.’ He was actually cleared of a sex crime. They investigated. The woman lied. There was no basis for it.”

Fox News host Howard Kurtz then chimed in: “He wasn’t prosecuted.” This prompted the three to talk over each other as Travis reiterated that Hegseth was “cleared,” while Caldwell doubled down, calling it “wrong” and “incorrect.”

Travis later reposted a clip of the moment to X, describing it as “TV fireworks,” and urged viewers to “Get your popcorn.”

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Hegseth has been hit with a slew of sexual assault allegations (Image: Getty)

Lucy Caldwell was infuriated by Hegseth being called a womanizer (Image: Fox News)

In 2017, a woman accused Hegseth of sexually assaulting her.

In a statement released in November, Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni said that her office declined to pursue the case in early 2018 because “no charges were supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Hegseth also firmly denied wrongdoing at the time and told police that the encounter was consensual.

While no charges were filed against Hegseth, the former Fox News host later entered into a settlement agreement with the accuser, which included a confidentiality clause and an undisclosed monetary payment.

Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, explained the settlement agreement telling CNN at the time.

Parlatore pointed out that although the former TV star characterizes the incident as a “consensual sexual encounter,” he was concerned Hegseth’s accuser would make a public allegation against him during the #MeToo movement that could have affected his job.