Donald Trump criticized for sharing graphic video of fatal UK tiger attack

US President Donald Trump has drawn fierce international condemnation for posting graphic, unverified footage of a fatal tiger attack in the UK just days after the victim's family explicitly begged the public to stop circulating the video. Readers attempting to follow the fallout online have instead been confronted with the distressing footage, captioned Don’t ever mess with nature! President DJT on Truth Social, followed by a montage of big cat attacks and a manipulated video depicting the president himself wrestling the animal.

The controversy centers on the death of 23-year-old William Chapman, who was killed on Saturday, October 10, after entering the Amur tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster. Eyewitnesses Anthony Hunt and his girlfriend, Scarlet Hogan, told The Telegraph that Chapman wore headphones, paced, sang, and knelt on all fours to pray before approaching a 200kg male Siberian tiger named Altai. Chapman filmed his final moments on his phone, including the tiger biting his neck, while visiting the park alone. Emergency services were called at approximately 1.30pm, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Why did Donald Trump share the footage?

Mr. Trump shared the real attack footage on Tuesday, October 13, framing the tragedy as a warning to America with his Don’t ever mess with nature! President DJT caption. Rather than stopping there, the US President posted a compilation featuring multiple incidents of lions, tigers, and lionesses attacking humans. By Wednesday morning at around 5am, he followed up with an AI-generated video showing himself in the enclosure chasing Altai, tackling the animal to the ground, and hugging it while smiling as The Lion Sleeps Tonight played in the background. The posts turned a grieving family's tragedy into viral online content.

Who is condemning the posts and what are they saying?

The backlash from political commentators, social media users, and watchdogs was immediate and severe. Journalist Aaron Parnas took to Threads to slam the posts, writing, Donald Trump is currently posting videos of animals mauling and eating humans on Truth Social. Literally snuff films. Social media users flooded responses to call the US President depraved of heart, with one writing, You are posting the death of an extremely vulnerable young man. Even for you that is low. You are a disgrace. Another user wrote, Using someones death for likes on social media when the family requested not to share this footage online. Donald Trump is a piece of s***.

How is the victim's family responding to the fallout?

William Chapman's family issued a heartfelt tribute describing him as a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved – and William loved them back. They disclosed that he had suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and had been prescribed strong medication. A coroner will determine if his undisclosed mental illness played any role in his death. As a child, Chapman appeared in ITV's May Contain Nuts alongside actress Shirley Henderson and in the BBC's True Stories series, and previously attended the Jackie Palmer Stage School in High Wycombe. In the wake of his death, South Yorkshire Police asked the public not to share distressing footage. The family reinforced this plea, stating that the publication of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time and asked people to stop.

What investigations are underway now?

Multiple authorities have stepped in to examine the safety and circumstances surrounding the tragedy at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. Dan Swaine, executive director of place at City of Doncaster Council, announced that the local authority launched a health and safety investigation in line with its statutory duties as the relevant licensing authority. The council is collaborating with police and health agencies to support the park. Meanwhile, the park remained closed on Wednesday for a fifth day.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park officials confirmed that Altai will not be euthanised. South Yorkshire Police continue to support Chapman's family with specialist officers.