The family of William Chapman, the 23-year-old who died after entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, have urged the public to stop sharing footage of the fatal attack. They described the circulating content as "deeply offensive media content" causing severe distress.
Mr Chapman died on Saturday, October 10, after being mauled by the animal and pronounced dead at the scene. His relatives have paid tribute to him as "bright, warm and engaging" and appealed for the removal of videos spreading online.
Family's emotional plea on Good Morning Britain
The family's plea was read out on Good Morning Britain, following footage of Mr Chapman inside the enclosure in the moments before his death circulating widely on social media, reports The Mirror.
ITV correspondent Katy Rickitt said: "A video emerged from William's own social media platform yesterday of him entering the tiger enclosure, and his account was shut down."
She added: "More distressing, and we're not showing any of these videos out of respect for the family, are videos of actually what happened. The tiger pawing and mouthing at him before the attack. That has been shared by no other than the President of the United States on his own socials."
Trump's AI video and investigation
US President Donald Trump's AI video, shared on Truth Social, depicts himself in the enclosure running around with the tiger. Ms Rickitt said this must be "extremely distressing for the family, who have asked people not to share these videos."
She noted: "They've asked for the process to happen here; we know that there's a health and safety investigation in the park, which is yet to open."
Yorkshire Wildlife Park, which has remained shut since the incident, confirmed the tiger would not be put down following the attack.
Family's statement on mental illness
Mr Chapman's family confirmed he had suffered from "significant mental illness" and was taking strong medication, but said it will be up to the coroner to decide what part this played in his death.
In a statement, they said: "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."
They added: "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 said they are hopeful the relevant authorities will do their utmost to find out why their son did what he did, and asked people not to approach the family, their addresses, or scrape further social media from William's or his family's accounts.
