UFC star Jon Jones has revealed Lewis Hamilton blocked him on social media and called him a "coward" for posting a video showing him shooting a pig from a helicopter.
Hamilton unfollowed Jones after a video in January 2021 surfaced of the two-division UFC champion firing an AR-15 at the pig.
The post carried the caption: "One shot, one kill, lots of bacon. Was an honour hunting with Medal of Honour recipient Patrick Payne."
Jones revealed the interaction with Hamilton which followed during a recent interview with AFLGlobal.
"I went hunting years ago with a bunch of Army Rangers and we ended up hunting pigs from a helicopter using AR-15s," Jones said. "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.'"
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Jones appeared to offer Hamilton an apology at the end of the interview.
"He unfollowed me and he blocked me, and it sucked because I was his fan," Jones added. "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 has been a longtime advocate of animal rights, and the Ferrari driver switched to a plant-based diet in 2017.
He was named PETA's Person of the Year in 2018 for his advocacy.
Of that lifestyle change, he said in 2019: "I urge you to do some research, find the compassion I know you have within you to recognise what you are contributing to in terms of what you eat which keeps the meat and dairy industry flourishing and therefore, deforestation, animal cruelty, our seas and climate decaying on a daily basis."