Viral Baby Wombat Kidnapper Issues Unconvincing Apology After Backlash

The American influencer who sparked outrage after a video of her snatching a baby wombat from its mother in Australia went viral has issued an explanation: “I ran, not to rip the joey away from its mother, but from fear she might attack me,” Sam Jones wrote on social media, according to the Associated Press. The video, which was widely condemned, showed Jones sprinting away from the wombat’s mom while dangling the young marsupial. In her statement, Jones said she felt “truly sorry” about the incident. She claimed that she stopped her car when she saw the wombat on the side of the road out of concern for its safety. “However, as is seen from the video, when I walked up to them, the joey did not move or run off,” she wrote. “I was concerned it may have been sick or injured, and made a snap judgement to pick up the joey and see if that was the case.” The video, which Jones later deleted, shows her declaring, “I caught a baby wombat” as an unknown man films and laughs. Even Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the incident was an “outrage.” Jones left the country voluntarily.