‘Disappointed’ Lewis Hamilton receives apology after blocking ‘coward’

UFC star Jon Jones has apologised to Lewis Hamilton five years after the Ferrari F1 driver branded him a “coward” before blocking him on social media for shooting a pig.

Hamilton, a long-term campaigner for animal rights, took exception to Jones shooting a pig from a helicopter in January 2021.

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Jones shot the pig with an AR-15 rifle while hunting with a group of US soldiers before boasting about it on social media.

He wrote at the time: “One shot, one kill, lots of bacon.

“Was an honour hunting with Medal of Honor recipient Patrick Payne.”

In a recent interview with AFLGlobal, Jones revealed that he received “a long message” on social media from Hamilton, who branded him “a coward” before unfollowing and blocking him.

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Jones explained: “I went hunting years ago with a bunch of Army Rangers and we ended up hunting pigs from a helicopter using AR-15s.

“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.

“He said that the traditional way of killing an animal should be with a spear or with a bow and an arrow.

“He wrote something like: ‘Only a coward could shoot an animal from a helicopter. Give the animal a chance to fight you back at least.’

“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 the pig.

“Lewis, if you’re listening, I’m sorry.”

Hamilton, who switched to a vegan diet in 2017, was named Person of the Year by PETA, the prominent animal rights organisation, in 2018.

The seven-time world champion, who turned 41 at the start of this year, sits second in the standings ahead of the resumption of the F1 2026 season at next weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

Hamilton, who claimed his first win for Ferrari in Barcelona in June, trails Mercedes driver and championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 50 points with a maximum of 12 rounds remaining.

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