Buzz Aldrin punched a conspiracy theorist who accused him of faking the Moon landing

If you stroll up to Buzz Aldrin with a head full of conspiracy theories, you have to be pretty ballsy – and be prepared to take a punch right in the face.

The legendary astronaut, now 94, doesn’t play games when it comes to people questioning his integrity, or the authenticity of his Moon landing with Neil Armstrong.

No one knew Aldrin had such a decent right hook until and such a strong dislike for bonkers theories until he fatefully ran into one of the kings of conspiracies, AKA documentary maker Bart Sibrel.

Take a look at this:

Sibrel had released several films looking into the legitimacy of the Apollo Moon missions, claiming that details of the landmark achievements for humanity didn’t marry up – even though the majority of his allegations have been debunked.

He didn’t give up that easily though and instead decided to repeatedly try and trick space icons such as Armstrong, Alan Bean, Eugene Cernan and Edgar Mitchell into an interview when he spotted them.

Aldrin was obviously also in the firing line too due to the fact he was the Lunar Module Eagle pilot on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission as well as the second man to walk on the Moon.

Which is why he ended up clocking Sibrel in the face after being ambushed outside of a hotel in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, in September 2002.

YouTube/Bart Sibrel

In footage which has recently resurfaced on social media, Aldrin can be seen trying to cross the street as the filmmaker follows him while demanding that the astronaut ‘swears on the Bible’ that his lunar walk was legit.

A hotel concierge interjects in the kerfuffle which is beginning to unfold, while a frustrated Aldrin can be heard saying: “Will you tell him to get out of here? We’ll call the police!”

Like a dog with a bone, Sibrel continued spouting his conspiracy theories as Aldrin approached the hotel entrance.

Sibrel said: “You’re the one who said you walked on the Moon when you didn’t. Calling the kettle black if I ever thought it. Saying that I misrepresented myself?”

By this point, it’s clear the then-72-year-old Aldrin is losing the will to live despite managing to stay relatively calm throughout the exchange, as he yells: “Will you get away from me!”

Donato Sardella/Getty Images for OMEGA

Sibrel then snarls: “You’re a coward, and a liar, and a…”

We never did get to find out the third thing which Aldrin supposedly is, as he decided to give Sibrel a knuckle sandwich after having his fill to the space-related taunts.

But his attempt to knock some sense into the conspiracy theorist did little to shut him up, as the self-proclaimed ‘lunar truther’ still believes that the whole Moon landing debacle was a huge hoax.

Aldrin dodged prosecution despite the incident being caught on camera, as the Los Angeles County district attorney decided that he had been provoked into using his fists.

A statement from deputy district attorney Elizabeth Ratinoff at the time said: “Ultimately, Sibrel called Aldrin a thief, liar and coward. Video depicts Aldrin striking Sibrel once in the face with a fist.

“Sibrel immediately turns to the camera crew present and appears to twice state, ‘Did you get that?’

YouTube/Bart Sibrel

“Based on the totality of the circumstances it is unlikely a jury would find Aldrin guilty of a misdemeanor battery charge.”

Sibrel said he had chosen not to prosecute Aldrin due to his celebrity status, but told the St. Petersburg Times that the astronaut ‘has a good punch’.

“It was quick, too. I didn’t see it coming,” he added.

And just to clear up any confusion – Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering at Purdue University, James Longuski, says it would have taken about 400,000 people to pull of a fake Moon mission.

Imagine hundreds of thousands of astronauts, scientists, engineers, technicians, and skilled labourers keeping that quiet for all this time? I doubt it.

Longuski reckons it would actually be easier to complete the Moon landing than it would be to keep hundreds of thousands of people in check with the conspiracy.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Bart Sibrel

Topics: Celebrity, Conspiracy Theory, Space, US News