Bart Sibrel

Bart Sibrel
Born 1964
Occupation Taxi driver, conspiracy theorist
Years active 1985–present

Bart Winfield Sibrel (born 1964) is a conspiracy theorist who claims that the six Apollo Moon landings between 1969 and 1972 were hoaxes. He has produced four amateur films on the subject, and is mostly known for having been punched in the face by Buzz Aldrin for harassing and insulting him.

Confrontation with Buzz Aldrin

Most astronauts have refused to grant him interviews. The most infamous incident involved Apollo 11 crew member Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon. According to Aldrin, he was lured to a Beverly Hills, California, hotel on September 9, 2002, under the pretext of an interview on space for a Japanese children's television show.[1] As he was leaving the hotel, Sibrel was there demanding that he swear an oath on a Bible that he had walked on the Moon.[2]

When Aldrin refused, Sibrel followed him and repeatedly called him "a coward, and a liar, and a thief".[3][2] Aldrin finally punched Sibrel in the jaw, while being recorded.[4] Sibrel later attempted to use the tape to convince police and prosecutors that he was the victim of an assault. However, it was decided that Aldrin had been provoked and no charges were filed. Many talk shows aired the clip, usually siding with Aldrin's response.[5] Sibrel said later that he wrote a letter of apology to Aldrin.[6][7]

Moon hoax-related appearances

In the 2001 documentary, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon, Sibrel states that he believed the Moon landings were faked. The program features footage which Sibrel says was accidentally sent to him from NASA, which, according to Sibrel, was evidence that the Apollo 11 astronauts were staging shots of the Earth to make it appear that the spacecraft was en route to the Moon when Sibrel believes it was still in low Earth orbit.[8][9] The purportedly secret NASA footage Sibrel uses is actually widely available and shows the astronauts practicing for an upcoming live telecast.[10]

Sibrel believes that the technology of the United States during the era was behind that of the Soviet Union. He points to what he calls a "five-to-one superiority" in man-hours in space held by the Soviets over the United States as well as highlighting several Soviet space firsts.[9] The veracity of the "five-to-one" figure has been challenged by Jay Windley whose website, Moon Base Clavius, is dedicated to the debunking of the Apollo Moon landing hoax accusations: Windley states that the Americans had a clear lead in man-hours in space by the time Apollo 11 was launched.[11]

Jim McDade, writing in The Birmingham News, characterized A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon as "full of falsehoods, innuendo, strident accusations, half-truths, flawed logic and premature conclusions." According to McDade, the "only thing new and weird" in the film, is the claim that video footage of Earth was actually filmed through a small hole to give the impression that Apollo 11 was not in low earth orbit. "Bart has misinterpreted things that are immediately obvious to anyone who has extensively read Apollo history and documentation or anyone who has ever been inside an Apollo Command Module or accurate mockup," says McDade.[12]

Sibrel has also stated the life-threatening events that occurred during the Apollo 13 mission were actually manufactured by the government to force people to pay attention to the space program.

Bart Sibrel participated in the Fox television network special, Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?[13] In it, Sibrel stated, "I'd bet my life on it that we didn't go to the Moon."

Legal issues

In July 2009, Sibrel, who works as a Nashville taxicab driver, was charged with vandalism when he jumped up and down on the hood of a car owned by a woman with whom he was having a parking dispute. Court documents show he was arrested after the driver refused to pull out of a parking space he wanted. The arresting officer wrote, "A few moments later the parking space in front of the victim opened up and [Sibrel] drove into it and parked." Sibrel "then walked up to the victim's car and jumped onto the hood, and then jumped up and down several times." The report says he caused about US$1,400 worth of damage,[14] after which Sibrel pleaded guilty to vandalism and was placed on probation.[15]

Selected filmography

Year Film Director Producer Writer Run time (minutes) Other Notes
2001 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon Yes Yes Yes 47
2004 Astronauts Gone Wild: An Investigation Into the Authenticity of the Moon Landings Yes Yes 53
Apollo 11 Monkey Business: False Photography Unedited Yes 108
Apollo 11 Post-Flight Press Conference Yes 83

References

  1. ↑ Bancroft, Colette (September 29, 2002). "Lunar lunacy". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Sibrel, Bart Winfield (Director, Producer) (2004). Astronauts Gone Wild: An Investigation Into the Authenticity of the Moon Landings (DVD). AFTH, LLC. OCLC 70182896.
  3. ↑ "Ex-astronaut escapes assault charge". London: BBC News. September 21, 2002. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
  4. ↑ "Buzz Aldrin Punches a Jerk in the Face for Calling Him a Liar". The Week. July 21, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Buzz Aldrin Punches Moon-landing Conspiracy Theorist". The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. October 16, 2002. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  6. ↑ Richardson, Valerie (July 20, 2009). "Skeptic spreads word of NASA 'folly'". The Washington Times. News World Communications. p. 2 of 3. Archived from the original on July 26, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  7. ↑ Tim Binall (November 25, 2006). "BoA:Audio, Season Two: Bart Sibrel". Binall of America (Podcast). Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  8. ↑ Sibrel, Bart Winfield (Writer, Producer, Director) (2001). A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon (DVD). Fairway, TN: AFTH, LLC. OCLC 426135438.
  9. 1 2 Sibrel, Bart (2001). "The Top Ten Reasons Why No Man Has Ever Set Foot on the Moon". Moonmovie.com. Nashville, Tennessee: AFTH, LLC. Archived from the original on March 30, 2001. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  10. ↑ Windley, Jay. "Clavius: Bibliography - bart sibrel's top fifteen". Moon Base Clavius. Clavius.org. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
  11. ↑ Windley, Jay. "Clavius: Technology - beating the soviets". Moon Base Clavius. Clavius.org. Retrieved May 29, 2013. The relevance of some of the Soviet "firsts" in relation to a landing of the Moon has also been called into question.
  12. ↑ McDade, Jim (April 1, 2001). "Lunar Lunacy Shooting Down Theories that Apollo Moon Landing was Hoax Conspiracy". The Birmingham News. Retrieved May 17, 2007. Extract of article courtesy of Keith Mayes. Full article available for purchase from the NewsLibrary.com newspaper archive.
  13. ↑ John Moffett; Bruce M. Nash (2001). Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? (Documentary). Hollywood, California: Nash Entertainment, Inc. OCLC 52473513.
  14. ↑ "SibrelAffidavit.pdf" (PDF). New York: WorldNow. Retrieved May 29, 2013. Bart W. Sibrel's February 26, 2009, arrest affidavit for vandalism.
  15. ↑ Williams, Phil (July 27, 2009). "Inside Story: Apollo Conspiracy Theorist Arrested After Tirade". NewsChannel5.com. Nashville, TN: WTVF. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2010.

External links

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