Biden’s Pentagon poured money into Kelly Clarkson and Guy Fieri shows in desperate bid to recruit Gen Z

Joe Biden’s Pentagon tried to avert a military recruitment crisis by offering deals to celebrities including Gen Z YouTube star MrBeast.

Other agreements were made with talk shows hosted by Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson, and TV chef Guy Fieri, according to documents obtained by Rolling Stone.

Such deals are known as Production Assistance Agreements (PAAs) and involve support in the form of equipment and expertise.

They have often been used in the past for Hollywood action movies, including Top Gun, to boost the military’s image.

It emerged earlier this year that the Pentagon also engaged in a recruitment drive that involving social media posts by The Rock, which ultimately failed. 

A government report on recruitment released in November identified the ‘strategic goal’ for all branches as ‘Generation Z’.

The report said: ‘Favorable views about the military are declining among Generation Z – the generation born in 1997 through 2012 – that today’s military recruiters are striving to reach.’

It said only 35 percent of Gen Z had a favorable view of the military and this was due to ‘young people’s general mistrust in institutions and their limited knowledge of military service.’

Young people increasingly ‘view the real world through social media discussions, videos, and memes,’ the report said.

In 2023 the Navy, Army and Air Force all failed to meet their recruitment goals, while the Marine Corps and the tiny Space Force met their targets.

The Army brought in just over 50,000 recruits, falling well short of its publicly stated goal of 65,000.

The Department of Defense has been involved with Hollywood for a century, particularly through the loan of military hardware for shoots, which saves money for film producers.

Movies that have benefited include Armageddon, Black Hawk Down, the Transformers and James Bond franchises, Top Gun and its sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

However, as big screen audiences decline due to the popularity of streaming, military promoters are looking elsewhere as they try to reach potential young recruits.

A deal was explored with Jimmy Donaldson, 26, the YouTube star known as ‘MrBeast,’ for a potential filming trip to Puerto Rico, Rolling Stone reported.

“We did complete a PAA for the Social Influencer Mr. Beast, but ultimately did not support the production as he did not go to Puerto Rico for the Hurricane relief, so that PAA is cancelled,’ an email obtained by the outlet stated.

Other shows that had PAAs included The Price Is Right and America’s Got Talent.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Army cut a separate $11 million deal with the United Football League (UFL) and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

It included promotional social media posts to the star’s 396 million Instagram followers.

However, the campaign failed to win a single recruit, according to internal documents seen by Military.com.

In response to missing recruitment targets in 2023, the military launched a sweeping overhaul to focus more on young people

In September 2024 it was revealed the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Force were all set to meet their recruiting goals, and the Navy was close.

The results represented a slight uptick in young people joining the military, reversing the dismal trend.

That trend was affected by severe restrictions on in-person recruiting due to the pandemic, and the low unemployment rate. 

Army leaders are concerned that an expected drop in the youth population may signal more difficult times ahead.

The expected drop of about 10 percent in the number of college-age young people in 2026 comes 18 years after the financial recession in 2008, which triggered a decrease in the number of children born.

Military leaders have also noted that only about 23 percent of young adults are physically, mentally and morally qualified to serve without receiving some type of waiver.