In 2021, Jon Jones shared a moment from a helicopter hunt that quickly became a topic of discussion. The former MMA star posted a video of himself shooting a wild pig, and the clip soon caught the attention of Lewis Hamilton. The 41-year-old, a longtime animal advocate and outspoken vegan, strongly objected to what he saw. His reaction surprised Jones, who never expected the F1 icon to personally reach out and challenge his actions.
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“I went hunting years ago with a bunch of Army Rangers, and we ended up hunting pigs from a helicopter using AR-15s,” Jones shared. “I was so proud of myself because I killed one of the pigs from the helicopter, and my pig was donated to an underprivileged family in the community.”
“But Lewis saw me shoot the pig from the helicopter. And he wrote me a long message saying that I was a coward. And that he thought that I was better than that.”
According to Hamilton, the traditional way of killing animals should be with a bow and arrows. Rifles and helicopters did not align with the Ferrari driver’s ethics.
“He was saying like only a coward could shoot an animal from a helicopter, so give the animal a chance to fight you back at least,” Jon Jones shared. “He unfollowed me, and he blocked me, and it sucked because I was his fan. I was a fan of him, but he was very disappointed in me for shooting.”
As a long-time fan of Lewis Hamilton, Jones felt disappointed to see his favorite icon react so strongly against him. However, going back to 2021, the 39-year-old made a public apology for offending his fans with his helicopter stunt.
Everyone echoed the same sentiments as Hamilton. Maybe Lewis unfollowing and blocking Jon Jones felt like the final nail in the coffin.
Jones responded, “I apologize if this video makes some of you guys uncomfortable; at the same time I’m excited for my shipment of meat to get to Albuquerque.”
“I took my time with that first shot to make sure the animal did not suffer. Bet half you guys that are offended eats sausages and bacon on a daily basis.”
Jon Jones didn’t expect that his action would cause such disruption. Surely he didn’t see Lewis Hamilton take such a harsh action against him. Fans, too, did not respond merrily to his gameplay. Therefore, an apology followed. And years later, Jones still carries the pain of disappointing one of his favorite sports personalities.
