The mother said people were ‘quick to judge’ after her three-year-old fell into Harambe’s enclosure

The mother of the child who fell into Harambe’s enclosure was forced to defend herself after the gorilla was fatally shot to protect her son.

If you had to pinpoint a moment where things really started to feel off in the world, many would argue 2016 was that year.

And among the most infamous events of that year was the killing of Harambe, the 17-year-old silverback gorilla shot dead at Cincinnati Zoo on May 28, 2016, after a three-year-old boy fell into his enclosure.

Harambe’s death sparked global outrage, countless memes, and ongoing debates about human-animal interactions and parental responsibility.

The boy’s mother was forced to issue a statement at the time, addressing the intense scrutiny she faced.

In a since-deleted Instagram post, she defended herself against criticism over how her child managed to climb into the enclosure.

Harambe’s death was one of the most viral moments of 2016 (John Sommers II/Getty Images)

She wrote: “As a society, we are quick to judge how a parent could take their eyes off their child. And if anyone knows me, I keep a pretty tight watch on my kids.”

She explained that it only took a moment for her son to slip away: “Accidents happen, but I am thankful God protected my child.”

The incident unfolded when her son climbed over a barrier and fell into the gorilla enclosure’s moat. As the boy splashed around, Harambe approached, showing a mix of protective and concerning behaviours.

He alternated between seemingly propping the boy up and dragging him through the water, actions that sparked fear among the crowd of onlookers.

With the boy’s life at risk, zookeepers made the difficult decision to shoot Harambe, fatally wounding the gorilla with a single bullet.

Despite their efforts, questions lingered over why tranquilisers weren’t used instead.

The director of the 2023 documentary Harambe addressed this during an interview with UnchainedTV.

Erik Crown explained that tranquilisers don’t work like they do in movies.

“It can take up to 20, 25 minutes to become active, especially inside of a large gorilla,” he said.

“That may have agitated Harambe, may have led to a different outcome or a very dangerous outcome for the boy.”

While some argued Harambe’s actions were protective and potentially aimed at returning the child to safety, the zoo maintained they had no choice but to act as they did.

The zoo said they had no choice but to kill Harambe (FilmHub)

The boy was rescued with minor injuries, but the backlash against the zoo and the boy’s family was severe.

The aftermath of Harambe’s death saw the gorilla posthumously elevated to global fame, becoming a symbol of memes, debates, and even statues. In 2021, a seven-foot bronze statue of Harambe was placed facing Wall Street’s Charging Bull.

Harambe’s story continues to resonate, raising questions about the ethics of keeping animals in captivity.

As Crown put it: “As much as we would have liked to have seen a non-lethal ending, the reality is these situations shouldn’t exist in the first place.”

Years on, the boy’s mother still faces judgment, but her perspective remained clear: “I want people to know that my son is OK, and accidents can happen to anyone. We were fortunate that day, even if it came at such a tragic cost.”Featured Image Credit: John Sommers II/Getty Images

Topics: Harambe, Parenting, Viral

Sara Keenan

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Updated 12:34 14 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 12:29 14 Dec 2024 GMT

Mum of student who tore out her own eyeballs while taking drugs spoke out one year after incident

The woman was in a state of psychosis during the terrifying incident at just 20 years old

Jess Battison

Warning: This article contains graphic content which some readers may find distressing

The mum of the student who tore out her own eyeballs while on drugs spoke out one year after the incident.

Back in 2018, Kaylee Muthart was suffering from a drug addiction, recovering from a mental breakdown and experiencing a tumultuous breakup when she ended up permanently blinding herself.

Just 20 years old at the time, she was under the illusion she had to ‘right the world’ when she gouged out her own eyes during a meth-induced psychotic episode in South Carolina, US.

Kaylee Muthart was hallucinating at the time (SWNS)

Muthart’s memories of the terrifying incident are ‘fuzzy’ due to her ‘hallucinating’ but explained to People: “I thought I had to take my eyes out to survive and save the world.”

Reflecting nearly a year after her daughter ripped out and squished her own eyeballs, mum Katy Tompkins said she had ‘been given a second chance’.

“Mentally and physically Kaylee has come so far. We take one day at a time, but each of her days gets better,” she explained.

“Her thoughts are very goal-oriented, and now she completely understands her path. Part of that path is to help people with her story.”

Following the episode, Muthart spent weeks in a psychiatric facility, underwent surgery to ready her eye sockets for future prostheses and did a month-long inpatient drug treatment program.

Tompkins said her daughter is determined as she explained: “When she sets her mind to something, she does it. This is a girl who bought her own car with money she earned from working – before she even got her license.”

She had to undergo surgery and a treatment program (SWNS)

Muthart went on to attend a school for the blind and was given her first set of prosthetic eyes in 2020. Saving up some cash before returning to her studies, she works in a restaurant and tries to live her life as normally as she can.

However, her life has had a much different trajectory to what she may have imagined as a teenager due to that day she ‘thought everything would end abruptly’ if she didn’t tear out her eyes ‘immediately’.

Muthart told Cosmopolitan: “I pushed my thumb, pointer, and middle finger into each eye. I gripped each eyeball, twisted, and pulled until each eye popped out of the socket – it felt like a massive struggle, the hardest thing I ever had to do.

“Because I could no longer see, I don’t know if there was blood. But I know the drugs numbed the pain.”

If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or contact through their website 24/7, or livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week.Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: Drugs, Mental Health, US News

Jess Battison

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Updated 16:14 31 Aug 2024 GMT+1Published 16:15 31 Aug 2024 GMT+1

Woman who sold fake booze that killed six and left 37 fighting for life spoke out following incident

She said she was ‘guilty and sorry’ for what had happened

Joe Harker

A woman who sold bootlegged ‘rotgut’ alcohol which has killed six people and seriously affected 37 others in Thailand has since spoken out.

An investigation is currently underway in Bangkok over allegations of fake booze mixed with chemicals such as methanol and isopropanol being sold from street stalls.

Local news reported that six people had died after consuming the illegal alcohol with 37 more hospitalised, and Thai Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin has said that 15 individuals had been placed on respirators, while 22 required kidney dialysis and 21 had suffered from blurred vision.

A 49-year-old woman has been charged on suspicion of illegal production of alcohol, and has been identified with the name Phatrasa.

She spoke out at a press conference on 26 August and said that she felt ‘guilty and sorry’ for what had happened.

Six people have died and many more were hospitalised in Bangkok by the ‘rotgut’ fake booze. (Roberto Moiola / Sysaworld/Getty)

“A year ago, I hired two men, who were brothers, to make rice whiskey for me. The batches they made tasted normal, so I continued ordering from them,” she said, further insisting that she’d never meant to kill anybody.

“However, last week, my customers reported that the flavour of the liquor had changed. They said it tasted weaker and fizzier, and seemed to have a lower alcohol content.

“I called the brothers to ask if they had changed the ingredients, but they refused to tell me, only saying they had improved it.

“When I tasted the latest batch of liquor, I had a little diarrhoea, but it wasn’t serious. Later, I found out that someone had died from drinking it and I was very shocked. I couldn’t believe it could happen.”

Surasak Insam, 46, and Surachai Insam, 44 have since been arrested, and both have allegedly claimed to diluting the alcohol but also say they do not know how methyl alcohol got into the fake booze.

An investigation into the possible source of the chemicals is underway. (ViralPress)

Police Major General Kiatikul Sonthinen, commander of the Metropolitan Police Bureau Division 3, said: “Phatrasa will be charged with negligently causing death and severe injury to others, and violating the Excise Act by producing and selling liquor without permission.”

Officers are also investigating a factory to discover whether it sold chemicals to Surasak and Surachai.

They have also urged anyone who has drunk alcohol that they may have bought from locations flagged as dangerous to see a doctor as soon as they can.

LADbible has reached out to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration for comment.Featured Image Credit: Viral Press

Topics: World News, Crime, Alcohol, Health

Joe Harker

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Published 07:29 5 Jun 2024 GMT+1

Comedian who was punched on stage after ‘sexualised’ comment about man’s child speaks out

The dad was so furious he stormed the stage

Jess Battison

The comedian who ended up getting punched on stage after making a ‘sexualised’ comment about a man’s child has spoken out.

It seems the funnyman took a joke too far for this bloke as he ended up storming the stage to land a blow – Will Smith 2.0?

Jaime Caravaca was performing in Madrid, Spain, on Monday (June 4) when a video was captured of the altercation and soon went viral.

The clip showed a man, since identified as Alberto Pugliato, rushing over to the comedian while he was delivering a monologue.

And then as he seems to nervously ask ‘who are you’, Pugliato emerges from the crowd, bounds on stage and throws a punch.

Understandably, Caravaca looked pretty shaken up as the dad began demanding he repeated a controversial comment he had made on X the day before about his three-month-old son.

Pugliato interrupted the set. (TrimFeed via YouTube)

A well-known far-right activist, Pugliato said he was furious over a post the comedian made when responding to a snap of him with his little boy and the caption: “Pride and joy.”

Caravaca had responded to this selfie to say: “No one will be able to avoid the possibility of [your son] being gay.” He then added that when the kid is older, he’ll become sick of ‘sucking black d**k’.Play

Pugliato accused him of making ‘paedophilic comments’ as he ranted on the stage and got very riled up.

Following the viral altercation, the comedian spoke out on X as he shared an apology.

“After what happened, what was intended to be a joke was ultimately an unfortunate and not at all appropriate comment on my part,” Caravaca wrote.

He really went for it. (TrimFeed via YouTube)

“My apologies to anyone who feels affected. Let’s put violence aside and leave a good world for people to grow free.”

In the viral video, Pugliato can be heard shouting the likes of: “What’s up huh? What have you said? This is for the paedophilic comments he has made about my son. Will you repeat now what you said about my son?”

As others tried to calm the situation and the comedian asked to chat, he continued: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m just a father who is defending his child. He has made sexualising comments about my three-month-old son.”

Following Caravaca’s public apology, Pugliato responded to say: “I accept your apology, Jaime. I defend freedom of expression in the same way that I defend the right to respond.

“I do not wish you any harm and I hope this helps others understand that children are sacred. All the best.”Featured Image Credit: TrimFeed via YouTube

Topics: Parenting, Social Media, Viral

Jess Battison

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Updated 11:18 3 Feb 2024 GMTPublished 11:11 3 Feb 2024 GMT

Woman whose boobs fell out trying to break into house admits that wasn’t the worst part

Turns out having her t*ts all over social media wasn’t the most embarrassing part for Lisa

Jess Battison

If you’ve been anywhere near social media these past few days, or even if you’ve watched daytime telly, there’s one woman who you’ve probably had a bit of an eyeful of.

Obviously, I’m talking about that lady whose boobs fell out when she was trying to break into her house.

But it turns out, that wasn’t even the worse part for Lisa Rowland. Watch the viral clip here:

0 seconds of 1 minute, 59 secondsVolume 90%

The mum appeared on This Morning yesterday (2 February) to explain the hilarious full story from 20 June last year.

You might not recognise her with all her clothes on but she told Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary that she’d left the house for the school run and to run a few errands.

But halfway through her supermarket shop, nature called and Lisa was absolutely bursting for the toilet.

When the hosts asked why she didn’t empty her bladder before she left, she responded: “I don’t think that far ahead – as we can see.”

And, after rushing home, she made the horror realisation she had left her house keys inside, while she was anxiously crossing her legs on her doorstep.

But Rowland then spotted a window of opportunity, which she says was the ‘only option’ for her to get into her property.

ITV

She hatched a plan with her sister Lisa which involved her getting a leg up off the windowsill and slipping through the open window – while her sibling comically balanced one of her legs on her shoulders.

But as she was hoisted upwards, it soon became clear that her legs wouldn’t fold through as she expected.

Donning a bandeau maxi dress, Rowland struggled to slide through as she intended and got stuck half in, half out of the tiny window – but then things really went t*ts up.

When the fabric of her dress got caught up in the mess, it lowered itself and left Lisa exposed.

That’s because the fabric of her dress had got caught up in the kerfuffle and ended upside down with her naked chest on full display, all while Aretha Franklin’s ‘I Say a Little Prayer’ is playing in the background.

ITV

Her sister was doubled over in laughter and admitted she gave up trying to help

as soon as ‘the left one’ also emerged from inside the dress.

“When I turned around and actually saw her lills hanging out it was like…I was completely dead,” Lisa laughed.

But here comes the worst part, as you remember, the mum really needed a wee.

She told Alison and Dermot: “I weed. Yeah. I did. I couldn’t move, I was hanging like a bat. When I fell to the ground covered in urine, I think I was past the point of panic! I think I’d passed every point.”

Her sister chimed in: “She come out the house and she was like literally, it’s gone down my neck. I couldn’t breathe, there was nothing I could do.”

When asked if she had also lost control of her bladder, the sister said ‘no comment’ – but you can hardly blame her if she did p*ss herself while that’s going on.

ITV

Luckily for us, Lisa’s partner decided to film the whole thing as she knew it was ‘going to go one of two ways’, however, it wasn’t any of them who shared the footage online.

Lisa said: “I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or lie. When I saw the amount of positive comments….the response, everyones just like – the laughter! I love a bit of laughter. If it’s laughter it’s all good.

“We didn’t put it on any social media, we sent it between my mum’s friends. Some woman – cheers Ruth in Northern Ireland! No one knows her, we don’t know her, we don’t know how she got it. But thank you Ruth, we’ve had a nice day out out of it.”

Rowland has now started wearing her house keys on an elastic around her neck to ensure she never ends up in a similar situation again, as one whirl through the window while drenched in her own wee is enough to last her a lifetime.