The family of William Chapman, who was mauled to death by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, have spoken of their “severe distress” at the circulation of online media after Donald Trump reposted a video of the incident.
Chapman, 23, was killed after entering an enclosure at the park near Doncaster on Saturday. His family described him as “bright, warm and engaging” and said he suffered from severe mental illness. They said online footage being shared was “deeply offensive” and causing them “severe distress”.
Trump posts video and AI clip
The US president posted a video clip of the tiger attack to 13 million followers on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday. The clip showed the tiger biting and clawing Chapman as he sat in the enclosure. At one point he wagged his finger at the animal. The footage did not show Chapman being killed.
Trump signed the footage with: “Don’t ever mess with nature! President DJT.” Later, he posted an AI-generated video of himself grinning and play fighting with the tiger, accompanied by the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens. The clip features Trump copying the pointing gesture made by Chapman and ends with him and the tiger hugging.
Family statement and tribute
Will Travers, executive president of the Born Free Foundation, said the AI post was “not only incredibly insensitive” but also reckless. “It increases the risk to the lives of humans and captive wild animals,” he said. “Such images and videos can encourage individuals to seek out direct, unrealistic and high-risk contact with captive wild animals.”
In a statement released on Tuesday evening, Chapman’s relatives said: “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 upmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did.”
The statement continued: “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.”
As a child, Chapman appeared in ITV’s 2009 comedy drama May Contain Nuts and in BBC Learning’s True Stories series, according to IMDb. He previously attended Jackie Palmer stage school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, which paid tribute on Facebook and posted a picture of Chapman as a child student.
The school said it was “deeply saddened” by Chapman’s death, adding: “We loved watching William grow, both as a person and as a performer. It was a privilege to be part of his journey and he will be remembered with great fondness by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. William will be truly missed, and he will always hold a special place in our hearts. Rest in peace, William.”
Investigation and inquest
The wildlife park has said the Amur (Siberian) tiger called Altai, who was in the enclosure, will not be euthanised. The park has remained closed since the weekend, and Doncaster city council, which is responsible for licensing the park, said it had started a health and safety investigation.
An inquest is due to open into the death at Doncaster coroner’s court on Thursday morning.
