TODAY’S PAPER | October 31, 2025 | EPAPER

JD Vance criticizes HasanAbi over dog collar controversy, prompting response from streamer

JD Vance’s comments on the viral dog collar video drew a response from Hasan Piker.


Pop Culture & Art October 30, 2025 1 min read
-Reuters

During a recent appearance on the “Pod Force One” podcast, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance weighed in on the “CollarGate” controversy involving Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, better known as HasanAbi, after a viral clip appeared to show his dog, Kaya, yelping during a livestream.

When asked by host Miranda Devine whether he had ever “zapped” his own dog while training, Vance replied:

“No, no, no. Like Hasan Piker? No. No electrocution of dogs here. … If you can actually cause suffering to an innocent animal, you’re probably the kind of person who doesn’t worry about suffering in people as well.”

Vance’s comments quickly spread online, framing the streamer’s controversy as a moral issue. He went on to suggest that mistreating animals is “almost a 100% sign” of being “a really terrible person.”

HasanAbi responded during a livestream, accusing Vance of hypocrisy and political opportunism.

He pointed out that Vance had admitted to using spot training methods with his own dog, the same technique he was now condemning, and called it “transparent” that the Vice President was amplifying the issue for attention.

Hasan also referenced Kristi Noem, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, who previously admitted to shooting her puppy and disposing of its body.

He argued that politicians willing to overlook such acts “don’t care about animal welfare, or human welfare either.”

 

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