'Woke garbage': Pentagon slams Netflix series 'Boots' featuring gay soldier as 'ideological agenda'

The Pentagon, under MAGA rule, has slammed Netflix over its new gay military series 'Boots,' calling it “woke garbage” and accusing the streaming platform of promoting an "ideological agenda.

"The comments come as the show continues to trend on the platform since its October 9 release.“Under President Trump and Secretary [Pete] Hegseth, the U.S. military is getting back to restoring the warrior ethos. 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,” Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told Entertainment Weekly.Furthermore, Wilson also said that the military under Donald Trump is “restoring the warrior ethos” and will not compromise its standards.He continued, “We 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.” Netflix has not yet responded to the Pentagon’s remarks.The Trump administration and entertainment platforms have been actively locking horns, with the US president accusing major media outlets of promoting liberal social values.

What is Netflix series 'Boots' based on?

Boots is based on former Marine Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine, which follows a closeted gay teen who enlists in the US Marine Corps alongside his straight best friend. The series explores friendship, identity, and survival under the command of a tough drill instructor, Sgt. Sullivan, played by Max Parker. Vera Farmiga stars as the protagonist’s distant mother, who struggles to understand her son’s choices.

A 'classic gay coming-out story' for the lead actor

The lead protagonist, Miles Heizer, said he related deeply to the story. “I had a very, unfortunately, classic gay coming-out story. It was a nightmare, and everyone was upset,” Heizer was quoted as saying to Variety. “I'm lucky my sister, who's my best friend, could not have cared less and was very there for me. My friends around me were super-supportive, and things have gotten so much better in that regard with my family over the years.

But at the time, I definitely had the old Christian upbringing.”

Coming out in a 'super-conservative' family

Heizer was born in Greenville, Kentucky, in 1994. He revealed that coming out to his “super-conservative, religious family” at 19 was difficult. He later moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, which was life-changing for him.

Gist of gender policy in US military

The row surrounding Boots comes amid renewed efforts by Trump’s defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, to roll back diversity and inclusion policies in the US military.

Hegseth previously pushed to dismiss transgender service members. In September, he also convened senior military leaders in Virginia, vowing to end “woke” culture within the ranks and introduce “gender-neutral” or “male-level” fitness standards.Conservatives across the United States have consistently said they are preserving a sense of purity in the US military, which the GOP often associates with masculinity and heterosexuality, and have reiterated that they remain firm in their stance against the inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community in the armed forces.