'Thank God it wasn't Delta flying us in when we killed bin Laden... we weren't wearing masks': Ex-Navy SEAL who murdered Al-Qaeda leader strikes out after airline bans him to get mask-less selfie
Robert O'Neill posted maskless selfie from Delta flight on Wednesday day
'I am not a p***y,' ex-Navy SEAL, 44, wrote alongside his refusal to cover his face
The post faced instant backlash from the likes of actress Alyssa Milano
Tweet was deleted but he said wife eliminated it and that masks weren't needed
O'Neill tweeted Thursday that he had been prohibited from prospective flights
He later mocked that the airline saying'thank god' the airline wasn't flying the SEALs in their mission to kill bin Laden since they didn't have masks on
This sparked backlash and led to a Twitter spat with comic Steve Hofstetter
The military veteran first told him he's'a fan' and called him a'c**t'
The former Navy SEAL who took dead Osama bin Laden has lashed out at Delta Air Lines on societal media after asserting the airline prohibited him within a maskless selfie he took on board a trip this week.
'Thank God it wasn't Delta flying us when we killed bin Laden... we weren't wearing masks,' Robert O'Neill mocked the airline at a tweet Thursday night.
O'Neill's post sparked additional backlash and led to a war of words with comedian Steve Hofstetter with the army veteran telling him he's'a lover' and then moments later calling him a'c**t'.
This indicated the most up-to-date in a string of irate tweets from the former Navy SEAL which began when he posted a provocative tweet on Wednesday stating he would not wear a mask because he is not a'de ***y' alongside a maskless selfie on board a Delta plane.
Delta Air Lines hit back by banning O'Neill from all future flights - a movement many societal networking users have congratulated the airline for.
But O'Neill continued to lash out at the airline, saying'thank god' the airline wasn't flying the SEALs on their assignment to kill bin Laden because they did not have masks.
Hofstetter responded to O'Neill's tweet pointing out that Delta doesn't offer military planes and that the pandemic was not ravaging America back in 2011 during the mission.
'Delta is a commercial warfare, Bin Laden was not murdered during a pandemic, along with others on Seal Team 6 have said you didn't kill him' tweeted that the comic.
Do you have no one on your life who can say'Hey, Robert, maybe do not tweet this one?"
O'Neill responded in friendly terms initially telling Hofstetter he is a'enormous fan'.
'Dammit, Steve!! I had been such a huge fan... I am being serious. You're really good...' he wrote.
'I am serious... I love Steve's comedy. He does not have a hair on his lanky ass to say this in person... but he's amusing.
Hofstetter reacted with a few'legal advice' for the veteran implying it wasn't the selfie but his refusal to wear a mask which directed the airline to ban him.
'Hey Robert, just some legal advice. If someone robs a store and then posts a photo of these robbing the shop, they don't get arrested for posting the image,' he tweeted.
'They have arrested for what's IN the picture. Hope this helps!'
This seemed to rile O'Neill who immediately changed his tone from praising the comedian to calling him a'c**t'.
Alright @SteveHofstetter, you c**t. Tell me where,' the veteran replied.
O'Neill, 44, is a vocal critic of face mask mandates implemented by numerous states.
He posted the maskless selfie on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon on what appeared to be a packed flight, according to the New York Daily News.
It revealed O'Neill smiling on board a flight with a flight attendant in the background wearing a mask.
Another guy in a mask and Marines cap is seen from the row across from him.
The picture sparked a backlash and the veteran tweeted Thursday he had been banned from the airline over the tweet.
'I only got banned by Delta for posting a film,' O'Neill published Thursday. 'Wow.'
'Section of every client's devotion before traveling on Delta is the requirement to acknowledge our updated travel policies, which includes wearing a mask,' the firm told DailyMail.com.
'Failure to obey our mask-wearing mandate may lead to losing the capability to fly Delta later on.'
His ban ignited widespread reaction on social media, together with O'Neill's critics praising the airline. O'Neill, however, says everyone is overreacting.
He tweeted: 'I had my mask in my lap. Everybody has gone mad.'
But others on Twitter said the firm did the ideal thing.
'I'd love to thank Delta to do the ideal thing and protecting it is passengers during a fatal pandemic, even if the individual in question is well understood,' tweeted one Twitter user.
Another Twitter user wrote:'A drama in three acts: Brags about not wearing a mask onto a flight. Blames his spouse for deleting his article. Gets prohibited from Delta.
One Twitter user wrote:'Thank you Delta for enforcing your safety policy and banning selfish, thoughtless, and entitled people like [O'Neill]. I look forward to flying with you in the future.'
VoteVets, a company comprising anti-Trump military veterans, tweeted:'Life comes at you quickly.'
Others social media, nevertheless, came into O'Neill's defense. They cited his military service whilst slamming the airline for turning away a war hero.
This is absolutely unnecessary and a disgrace,' tweeted another Twitter user.
'We stand with all our brother in arms! It's not a fantastic idea to ban veterans!
'Do you have any clue just how many there are people? We tend to have each other's backs.
'If you browse through his feed, he has a sense of humor!'
Another Twitter user wrote:'Unreal. Probably not the best method to treat one of America's greatest heroes!'
Delta said on Wednesday it had been conscious of this now-deleted image, according to The Intercept.
He claims he didn't delete the original picture despite the outrage as he doubled-down on his hatred of masks.
I didn't delete my tweet.
He claimed he was joking.
'Remember, Twitter: No staged let!!'
But the backlash was in full force before the tweet was taken down.
The selfie has been screenshot and shared by a deputy editor at the New York Times, Dan Saltzstein.
'I deleted a previous version of the tweet because I broke my own rule about name-calling,''' he said of the selfie.
'So allow me to try again: I respect O'Neill for his sacrifices to his nation and his heroism. It's sad he can't extend the exact same for the security of his fellow passengers'
His previous tweet had read:'I do not know this guy but: counterpoint, you might just be because you are unwilling to sacrifice and be a little uncomfortable for your fellow humans (including that marine supporting you)!'
Many were outraged at O'Neill's picture with celebrity Ayssa Milano reacting directly to tell him he could have murdered people.
'You do understand you may be a-symptomatic and give the virus to other people that may possibly kill them,' she wrote to him in a tweet. In any case, de *****s are actually so powerful that we can deliver human beings out of them. Please, I'm begging you, put on a damn mask.'
Others rushed to his defense, but saying that O'Neill put his life at stake for the U.S. and couldn't be known as selfish for not wearing a mask.
That's right. Life on the line and three shots into OBL for every one of us. . .but does not wear a mask (that doesn't really work anyway) and he's all the sudden selfish,' wrote Benjamin Prol.
'NYT editor tells the Navy SEAL who killed Bin Laden that he's not willing to forfeit,' explained Spectator Washington Editor Amber Athey of all Saltzstein's remarks. 'Past parody.'
'I believe he should have only worn the mask, but maybe Google who you are tweeting at prior to making an ass out of your self and undermine your argument?!'
O'Neill himself was ready for the backlash and proceeded to tweet throughout Wednesday evening, calling out those who strove to condemn him and claiming that masks were not needed to safeguard lives.
'I shook tens of thousands of palms and gave tens of thousands of hugs this week. I flew on a few planes. I'll be alive next week,' he wrote, although others such as Milano argued that people he shook hands with may not be.
'I really do wear a mask, @Alyssa_Milano,' he responded. 'This attempt at a joke did NOT go over well ... '
'I'm not frightened of the mob.
'I'm not the bad guy. I Killed the poor man'
This is not O'Neill's first anti-mask Twitter rant. Just last month he called on individuals to'wise up' and said they couldn't be forced to have their temperature or quarantine.
'They can't cause you to wear masks. They can not make you take your temperature. They can not make you quarantine. Wise up,' he wrote on July 31.
O'Neill's action Wednesday, however, were in direct contradiction of new rules enforced by most US airlines which requires passengers to put on a face covering constantly, as social distancing can't be kept on board.
Deltas, which it seems he was traveling with, has stated it's cracking down on customers who attempt to eliminate it.
The airline said on Wednesday it had been aware of the incident which he could face a lifetime ban.
We are mindful of the customer's tweet and are reviewing this event,' a spokesperson for Delta informed The Intercept.
'All customers who don't comply with our mask-wearing condition risk losing their ability to fly Delta later on. Medical research tells us that wearing a mask is among the most effective ways to decrease the COVID-19 disease rate.'
O'Neill served in the Navy since 1995.
He had been the individual who shot bin Laden three times in the head through a top-secret May 2011 raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The Intercept says he was forced in the group shortly after the raid after it had been found he was openly bragging about being the man to take bin Laden because he frequented Virginia Beach bars.
O'Neill also took part in the 2009 rescue of the captain of a merchant ship taken hostage by Somali pirates.
The assignment was later the subject of a Tom Hanks film named'Captain Phillips'. I got a famous guy. Thrice.'
Robert O'Neill posted maskless selfie from Delta flight on Wednesday day
'I am not a p***y,' ex-Navy SEAL, 44, wrote alongside his refusal to cover his face
The post faced instant backlash from the likes of actress Alyssa Milano
Tweet was deleted but he said wife eliminated it and that masks weren't needed
O'Neill tweeted Thursday that he had been prohibited from prospective flights
He later mocked that the airline saying'thank god' the airline wasn't flying the SEALs in their mission to kill bin Laden since they didn't have masks on
This sparked backlash and led to a Twitter spat with comic Steve Hofstetter
The military veteran first told him he's'a fan' and called him a'c**t'
The former Navy SEAL who took dead Osama bin Laden has lashed out at Delta Air Lines on societal media after asserting the airline prohibited him within a maskless selfie he took on board a trip this week.
'Thank God it wasn't Delta flying us when we killed bin Laden... we weren't wearing masks,' Robert O'Neill mocked the airline at a tweet Thursday night.
O'Neill's post sparked additional backlash and led to a war of words with comedian Steve Hofstetter with the army veteran telling him he's'a lover' and then moments later calling him a'c**t'.
This indicated the most up-to-date in a string of irate tweets from the former Navy SEAL which began when he posted a provocative tweet on Wednesday stating he would not wear a mask because he is not a'de ***y' alongside a maskless selfie on board a Delta plane.
Delta Air Lines hit back by banning O'Neill from all future flights - a movement many societal networking users have congratulated the airline for.
But O'Neill continued to lash out at the airline, saying'thank god' the airline wasn't flying the SEALs on their assignment to kill bin Laden because they did not have masks.
Hofstetter responded to O'Neill's tweet pointing out that Delta doesn't offer military planes and that the pandemic was not ravaging America back in 2011 during the mission.
'Delta is a commercial warfare, Bin Laden was not murdered during a pandemic, along with others on Seal Team 6 have said you didn't kill him' tweeted that the comic.
Do you have no one on your life who can say'Hey, Robert, maybe do not tweet this one?"
O'Neill responded in friendly terms initially telling Hofstetter he is a'enormous fan'.
'Dammit, Steve!! I had been such a huge fan... I am being serious. You're really good...' he wrote.
'I am serious... I love Steve's comedy. He does not have a hair on his lanky ass to say this in person... but he's amusing.
Hofstetter reacted with a few'legal advice' for the veteran implying it wasn't the selfie but his refusal to wear a mask which directed the airline to ban him.
'Hey Robert, just some legal advice. If someone robs a store and then posts a photo of these robbing the shop, they don't get arrested for posting the image,' he tweeted.
'They have arrested for what's IN the picture. Hope this helps!'
This seemed to rile O'Neill who immediately changed his tone from praising the comedian to calling him a'c**t'.
Alright @SteveHofstetter, you c**t. Tell me where,' the veteran replied.
O'Neill, 44, is a vocal critic of face mask mandates implemented by numerous states.
He posted the maskless selfie on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon on what appeared to be a packed flight, according to the New York Daily News.
It revealed O'Neill smiling on board a flight with a flight attendant in the background wearing a mask.
Another guy in a mask and Marines cap is seen from the row across from him.
The picture sparked a backlash and the veteran tweeted Thursday he had been banned from the airline over the tweet.
'I only got banned by Delta for posting a film,' O'Neill published Thursday. 'Wow.'
'Section of every client's devotion before traveling on Delta is the requirement to acknowledge our updated travel policies, which includes wearing a mask,' the firm told DailyMail.com.
'Failure to obey our mask-wearing mandate may lead to losing the capability to fly Delta later on.'
His ban ignited widespread reaction on social media, together with O'Neill's critics praising the airline. O'Neill, however, says everyone is overreacting.
He tweeted: 'I had my mask in my lap. Everybody has gone mad.'
But others on Twitter said the firm did the ideal thing.
'I'd love to thank Delta to do the ideal thing and protecting it is passengers during a fatal pandemic, even if the individual in question is well understood,' tweeted one Twitter user.
Another Twitter user wrote:'A drama in three acts: Brags about not wearing a mask onto a flight. Blames his spouse for deleting his article. Gets prohibited from Delta.
One Twitter user wrote:'Thank you Delta for enforcing your safety policy and banning selfish, thoughtless, and entitled people like [O'Neill]. I look forward to flying with you in the future.'
VoteVets, a company comprising anti-Trump military veterans, tweeted:'Life comes at you quickly.'
Others social media, nevertheless, came into O'Neill's defense. They cited his military service whilst slamming the airline for turning away a war hero.
This is absolutely unnecessary and a disgrace,' tweeted another Twitter user.
'We stand with all our brother in arms! It's not a fantastic idea to ban veterans!
'Do you have any clue just how many there are people? We tend to have each other's backs.
'If you browse through his feed, he has a sense of humor!'
Another Twitter user wrote:'Unreal. Probably not the best method to treat one of America's greatest heroes!'
Delta said on Wednesday it had been conscious of this now-deleted image, according to The Intercept.
He claims he didn't delete the original picture despite the outrage as he doubled-down on his hatred of masks.
I didn't delete my tweet.
He claimed he was joking.
'Remember, Twitter: No staged let!!'
But the backlash was in full force before the tweet was taken down.
The selfie has been screenshot and shared by a deputy editor at the New York Times, Dan Saltzstein.
'I deleted a previous version of the tweet because I broke my own rule about name-calling,''' he said of the selfie.
'So allow me to try again: I respect O'Neill for his sacrifices to his nation and his heroism. It's sad he can't extend the exact same for the security of his fellow passengers'
His previous tweet had read:'I do not know this guy but: counterpoint, you might just be because you are unwilling to sacrifice and be a little uncomfortable for your fellow humans (including that marine supporting you)!'
Many were outraged at O'Neill's picture with celebrity Ayssa Milano reacting directly to tell him he could have murdered people.
'You do understand you may be a-symptomatic and give the virus to other people that may possibly kill them,' she wrote to him in a tweet. In any case, de *****s are actually so powerful that we can deliver human beings out of them. Please, I'm begging you, put on a damn mask.'
Others rushed to his defense, but saying that O'Neill put his life at stake for the U.S. and couldn't be known as selfish for not wearing a mask.
That's right. Life on the line and three shots into OBL for every one of us. . .but does not wear a mask (that doesn't really work anyway) and he's all the sudden selfish,' wrote Benjamin Prol.
'NYT editor tells the Navy SEAL who killed Bin Laden that he's not willing to forfeit,' explained Spectator Washington Editor Amber Athey of all Saltzstein's remarks. 'Past parody.'
'I believe he should have only worn the mask, but maybe Google who you are tweeting at prior to making an ass out of your self and undermine your argument?!'
O'Neill himself was ready for the backlash and proceeded to tweet throughout Wednesday evening, calling out those who strove to condemn him and claiming that masks were not needed to safeguard lives.
'I shook tens of thousands of palms and gave tens of thousands of hugs this week. I flew on a few planes. I'll be alive next week,' he wrote, although others such as Milano argued that people he shook hands with may not be.
'I really do wear a mask, @Alyssa_Milano,' he responded. 'This attempt at a joke did NOT go over well ... '
'I'm not frightened of the mob.
'I'm not the bad guy. I Killed the poor man'
This is not O'Neill's first anti-mask Twitter rant. Just last month he called on individuals to'wise up' and said they couldn't be forced to have their temperature or quarantine.
'They can't cause you to wear masks. They can not make you take your temperature. They can not make you quarantine. Wise up,' he wrote on July 31.
O'Neill's action Wednesday, however, were in direct contradiction of new rules enforced by most US airlines which requires passengers to put on a face covering constantly, as social distancing can't be kept on board.
Deltas, which it seems he was traveling with, has stated it's cracking down on customers who attempt to eliminate it.
The airline said on Wednesday it had been aware of the incident which he could face a lifetime ban.
We are mindful of the customer's tweet and are reviewing this event,' a spokesperson for Delta informed The Intercept.
'All customers who don't comply with our mask-wearing condition risk losing their ability to fly Delta later on. Medical research tells us that wearing a mask is among the most effective ways to decrease the COVID-19 disease rate.'
O'Neill served in the Navy since 1995.
He had been the individual who shot bin Laden three times in the head through a top-secret May 2011 raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The Intercept says he was forced in the group shortly after the raid after it had been found he was openly bragging about being the man to take bin Laden because he frequented Virginia Beach bars.
O'Neill also took part in the 2009 rescue of the captain of a merchant ship taken hostage by Somali pirates.
The assignment was later the subject of a Tom Hanks film named'Captain Phillips'. I got a famous guy. Thrice.'