Was Pete Hegseth sued for $50 or $60 million along with a television network after an "on-air clash" with Robert Irwin or someone else? No, that's not true: A network of spam pages on Facebook put out dozens and dozens of variations of the same story, sometimes with a slightly different dollar amount, in which the clash was variously with Carlos Santana, Rachel Maddow, Dick Van Dyke, Willie Nelson, James Hetfield, Kid Rock, Blake Shelton, Alicia Keys, Phil Collins or Jasmine Crockett. Other people named in variations of the story were Jimmy Page, Darcy Lynne, Nick Saban, Ann & Nancy Wilson, Josh Heupel, Andrea Bocelli, Cat Stevens, Keith Urban, Joe Walsh, Marty Stuart, Sophie Cunningham, Guy Penrod, Josh Groban, André Rieu, Itzhak Perlman, Coco Gauff, Bruce Springsteen, Pink, Eric Church, Alice Cooper, Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, Tom Jones, Morgan Wallen and John Foster.
One typical example of the story appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on October 19, 2025 on a page named "CH Chaves Eternos". It read:
"BEATEN, BEATEN - PAY NOW!" - Robert Irwin Sues Pete Hegseth and Network for $60 MILLION After Shocking On-Air Clash. No One Saw It Coming.
READFULL: https://amazing.colofandom.com/.../beaten-beaten-pay-now.../
What began as a calm wildlife conservation interview quickly spiraled into chaos when Pete Hegseth turned the conversation hostile, publicly ridiculing Robert Irwin's environmental stance and accusing him of being a "scripted eco-celebrity living off his father's name."
But Robert didn't flinch. With composure and conviction, he fired back -- defending his late father's legacy and the cause he's dedicated his life to. His quiet firmness cut through the tension like a blade, leaving the studio in stunned silence.
Now, the fallout has reached a boiling point.
Irwin has officially filed a $60 million lawsuit against Hegseth and the network, citing defamation and emotional distress following what many viewers have called "one of the most unprofessional outbursts ever broadcast live."
Calm, respectful, and unshaken -- Robert Irwin once again proved that strength doesn't always roar. Sometimes, it simply stands its ground.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Tue Oct 21 08:27:05 2025 UTC)
First off, a Google News search for news articles mentioning the phrases "Pete Hegseth", "network" and "sued" did not return any results (archived here) that would confirm the story, and one fact check from Snopes about a very similar story involving golfer Tiger Woods.
Lead Stories searched for the phrase "Now the aftershock: a $60 million complaint naming Hegseth and the network" on Facebook and found dozens and dozens of posts (archived here) repeating the same story with slight variations in wording and all mentioning different celebrities and topics the "on-air clash" was supposedly about:
(Image source: animation created by Lead Stories of Facebook search results for the phrase "Now the aftershock: a $60 million complaint naming Hegseth and the network".)
Among the people who were supposedly all suing Pete Hegseth were Rachel Maddow, Dick Van Dyke, Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page, Willie Nelson, Darcy Lynne, Nick Saban, Ann & Nancy Wilson, Josh Heupel, Andrea Bocelli, Cat Stevens, Keith Urban, Joe Walsh, Jasmine Crockett, Marty Stuart, Sophie Cunningham, Guy Penrod, Josh Groban, Darci Lynne (alternative spelling), André Rieu, James Hetfield, Kid Rock, Blake Shelton, Alicia Keys, Phil Collins, Itzhak Perlman, Coco Gauff, "Brewers Karen", Bruce Springsteen, Pink, Eric Church, Alice Cooper, Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, Tom Jones, Morgan Wallen and John Foster.
According to the transparency tab of the "CH Chaves Enternos" Facebook page (archived here) the page is managed by at least one person in Vietnam.
(Image source: screenshot of the transparency tab of the "CH Chaves Enternos" Facebook page.)
