Yorkshire tiger latest: Victim’s family hits out at ‘deeply offensive’ online content as Trump AI video prompts fury
Yorkshire tiger latest: Victim’s family hits out at ‘deeply offensive’ online content as Trump AI video prompts fury Chapman’s family say he ‘suffered from significant mental illness’ and had been prescribed ‘strong medication’ - Bookmark Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join todayAlready a member? Log in The family of William Chapman have said “deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress” after US president Donald Trump shared a controversial AI-generated video mimicking the tragic incident. Mr Trump posted footage of Mr Chapman being fatally attacked by a tiger at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park to 13 million followers on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday evening, before following this up with an AI-generated video of the US president grappling with a tiger. The 23-year-old’s family posted a tribute, also on Tuesday evening, describing him as a “bright, warm and engaging young man”, criticising the online reaction to his death and questioning what part his “significant mental illness over a number of years” and prescribed strong medication played in the incident. Mr Trump’s sharing of the two pieces of footage on social media has prompted outrage. The official Republicans Against Trump account on X responding to the A.I. video by writing: “WTF.” “Someone take Grandpa’s phone away,” another post uploaded to the account read. Watch: Trump sparks outrage for posting AI video of himself wrestling Yorkshire tiger that killed a man Full Statement: William Chapman's family pay tribute The family of William Chapman, who died following an incident at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday shared the below statement on Tuesday night. “William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved - and William loved them back. "Sadly, William suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication. "It will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death. We would ask everybody to respect that process. "The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened. The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this. "The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their utmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did. "In the meantime, please do not approach the family, their addresses, or scrape any further social media from William’s or his family’s accounts.” Mr Chapman's family have asked for privacy at this difficult time. What happened in the Yorkshire tiger attack? Police issue update on man killed in enclosure What happened in the Yorkshire tiger attack? Inquest to open into William Chapman's death on Thursday An inquest has been scheduled to open for William Chapman on Thursday after he died in a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday. The inquest will open at Doncaster Coroner’s Court, Civic Office, Waterdale, at 10am tomorrow. Downing Street call on people to respect the views of William Chapman's family Downing Street said people should respect the views of the family of William Chapman, who was killed by a tiger at a wildlife park, over the sharing of footage of the incident but would not directly comment on Donald Trump posting the video online. The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “I think obviously the family have made their position clear. Of course, we respect that position.” But he added: “I’m not going to comment on the president’s social media channels, he’s got a press secretary who can speak to that.” Victim's family hits out at 'deeply offensive' online content after Trump posts controversial AI video The family of William Chapman, who was killed by a tiger at a wildlife park, have said “deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress” after US president Donald Trump reposted a widely shared video of the incident. Mr Trump posted footage of Mr Chapman being fatally attacked by a tiger at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park to 13 million followers on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday evening. The 23-year-old’s family posted a tribute, also on Tuesday evening, describing him as a “bright, warm and engaging young man”, criticising the online reaction to his death and questioning what part his “significant mental illness over a number of years” and prescribed strong medication played in the incident. The US president accompanied the short clip – which showed the animal biting and clawing Mr Chapman as he sat in the enclosure, but not him being killed – with the signed message: “Don’t ever mess with nature!” On Wednesday morning Mr Trump followed this up with another post – this time an AI-generated video of him grappling with a tiger, which appears to mimic the original. The clip, which is accompanied by the Tight Fit song The Lion Sleeps Tonight, features the president copying the pointing gesture made by Mr Chapman, and ends with him hugging the animal. No 10 refuse to comment on Trump's AI social media post A spokesperson for No 10 said: “I’m not going to comment on the president’s social media channels, he’s got a press secretary who can speak to that.” Trump slammed over AI clip of himself wrestling Yorkshire tiger that killed a man Trump sparks outrage for posting AI video of himself wrestling Yorkshire tiger that killed a man President Trump has been shredded on social media after posting an A.I. video of himself wrestling a tiger that mauled a man to death. Trump initially shared the real-life footage of William Chapman being attacked by an Amur tiger to his 13 million followers on Truth Social on Tuesday night. It was recorded at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in the UK, with the attack having taken place on October 10. The president captioned his post: “Don’t ever mess with nature! President DJT”.