Relatives of William Chapman, a 23-year-old man killed by a tiger at a wildlife park in the UK, have expressed their "severe distress" over the circulation of online media following Donald Trump's reposting of a video of the incident.
Incident Overview
William Chapman was mauled to death after entering an enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, near Doncaster, on Saturday. His family described him as "bright, warm and engaging" but noted that he suffered from severe mental illness.
Family's Statement
The family stated that the online footage being shared was "deeply offensive" and causing them significant distress. They urged people to stop circulating the content, especially after the US president shared a video clip of the attack to his Truth Social platform, reaching 13 million followers on Tuesday. The clip depicted the tiger attacking Chapman while he was in the enclosure, including a moment where he wags his finger at the animal. Trump captioned the footage:
“"Don’t ever mess with nature! President DJT."
While the video did not show Chapman being killed, Trump later posted an AI-generated video of himself playfully interacting with a tiger, set to the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by The Tokens. This video featured Trump mimicking Chapman’s gesture and concluded with a scene of him hugging the tiger.
