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Seth Meyers Rips Into Patel Over US Hockey Team Claim

Source: E! OnlineView Original
entertainmentApril 23, 2026

by Anthony OrricoHuffPost Contributor

Late Night host Seth Meyers had some tough love for Kash Patel on Wednesday, after the FBI director claimed that members of the USA hockey team were his “friends.”

Late Night with Seth Meyers / NBC / Via youtube.com

“I’m like an everyday American who loves his country, loves the sport of hockey and champions my friends when they raise a gold medal and invite me in to celebrate,” Patel said during a Justice Department press conference on Tuesday.

PBS / Via youtube.com

“Oh sweetie, no, no sweetie,” Meyers said. “Friends? No, sweetie. I’m gonna say to you what I said to John and Jim about Mr. and Mrs. Met, they’re not your friends.”

Late Night with Seth Meyers / NBC / Via youtube.com

Patel was referring to an incident in February, when he was filmed chugging beer in the Team USA locker room after their gold-medal game victory at the Winter Olympics. Last week, Patel attempted to rebut criticisms of his taxpayer-funded trip to Italy by claiming he was there for “security” purposes.

Elsa / Getty Images

“We (FBI) were there for the Milan Olympics. The FBI was leading the security for 250,000 Americans that went to Milan for the Winter Olympics,” Patel said on The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.

Elsa / Getty Images

"...And I was fortunate enough to be there with the men’s hockey team and my friends on the team and celebrating something that hadn’t been done in what, 50 ― my math is terrible ― 50 some years," he continued.

PBS / Via youtube.com

Outside of the Olympics incident, Patel has been mired in scandal since the publication of an article in The Atlantic, which detailed incidents of “excessive drinking” and erratic behavior – all of which he has denied. Patel filed a $250 million lawsuit against the magazine on Monday.

Bloomberg / Getty Images

Watch Meyer’s full A Closer Look segment from Wednesday’s show here:

View this video on YouTube

NBC / Via youtube.com

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

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