UK2 min(s) read
William Chapman’s family make tragic plea as Trump shares ‘offensive’ AI video of tiger attack
The family of William Chapman, the man mauled to death by a tiger at a Yorkshire wildlife park, has made a tragic plea to the public following an "offensive" AI video of the incident being shared by Donald Trump.
Chapman was named yesterday as the man killed after breaking into a tiger's enclosure, but his family is now desperately trying to stop AI-generated videos being made that recreate elements of Chapman's death.
One of those videos was actually circulated by the President of the United States himself, Donald Trump.
William Chapman's family beg Trump to stop spreading "deeply offensive" video
The video in question was posted to Trump's official account on Truth Social - it sees Chapman himself replaced inside the video with an AI-generated avatar of Trump pointing his finger at the tiger, something that Chapman did in real life.
However, most of the ire stems from Trump sharing a video that's not AI at all. On his Truth Social page, he shared an unedited clip taken at the time that Chapman had broken into the tiger's enclosure and was attacked by the animal.
Trump shared the video with the caption: "Don't ever mess with nature!"
Now, the family of Chapman have spoken out about the circulation of such clips online...and have called for it to stop.
In their first public statement, which was read out on UK breakfast show Good Morning Britain, William Chapman's family asked for the "deeply offensive" videos taken of his attack to stop being circulated online.
William Chapman's family's full statement following his death
The first full statement from William Chapman's family came from the UK breakfast morning news show Good Morning Britain.
Chapman, who was a former child actor, was also confirmed by his family to have suffered from "significant mental illness" over the last few years.
"The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time," the statement reads.
"The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened. [Chapman's] 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."
They concluded: "William was a bright, warm, and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved - and William loved them back."