Trump shares AI tiger video after fatal Yorkshire Wildlife Park attack

The attack at Yorkshire Wildlife Park

A 23-year-old man was killed by a tiger after entering its enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster. Emergency services were contacted shortly after 1.30pm on Saturday, 10 October, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said he had been visiting the park alone. He was a former child actor who appeared as a child in ITV's May Contain Nuts and the BBC's True Stories series. He had also attended a stage school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, whose staff said in a tribute that they were deeply saddened by the loss of their former student. Footage of the attack spread quickly across social media in the days that followed.

Trump's posts and the AI-generated video

On Tuesday evening, 13 October, Donald Trump posted footage of the fatal attack to his 13 million followers on Truth Social. The footage carried a caption telling viewers not to mess with nature. He then shared an AI-generated video in which he himself confronts the tiger, pointing at the animal, before the two end up embracing. The attack footage was also posted on the White House's account on X. Hours later Trump shared further videos, some also AI-generated, showing lions attacking people. He had faced criticism before over AI videos that mocked marginalised groups, and after religious groups objected he deleted an image that showed him as Jesus Christ.

Family response and online reaction

The family of the man said deeply offensive media content was causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time, and they asked people to stop sharing it. In a tribute posted on Tuesday evening, they described him as a bright, warm and engaging young man whom they dearly loved. They said he had suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and had been prescribed strong medication. The family also said it would be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death, and asked everybody to respect that process. Users commenting on the White House's post on X called the video disrespectful to the family, and one asked whether the account could not have assigned an intern to manage its social media.

Council investigation and inquest

City of Doncaster Council, which licenses the park, said on Monday, 12 October, that it had started a health and safety investigation. A hearing is scheduled at Doncaster Coroner's Court at 10am on Thursday, 15 October, when the inquest into the death is set to open. The timeline below sets out the key dates reported so far.

The inquest will examine the circumstances of the death, including the role the man's mental health and medication played, a question the coroner has yet to decide.