'Thank God it wasn't Delta flying us in when we killed bin Laden... we weren't wearing masks': Ex-Navy SEAL who killed Al-Qaeda leader hits out after airline bans him for mask-less selfie

The former Navy SEAL who shot dead Osama bin Laden has lashed out at Delta Air Lines on social media after claiming the airline banned him over a maskless selfie he took on board a flight this week.  

'Thank God it wasn't Delta flying us in when we killed bin Laden... we weren't wearing masks,' Robert O'Neill mocked the airline in a tweet Thursday night.

O'Neill's post sparked further backlash and led to a war of words with comedian Steve Hofstetter with the army veteran first telling him he is 'a fan' and then minutes later calling him a 'c**t'. 

This marked the latest in a series of irate tweets from the former Navy SEAL which started when he posted a provocative tweet on Wednesday saying he wouldn't wear a mask because he's not a 'p***y' alongside a maskless selfie on board a Delta plane.  

Delta Air Lines hit back by banning O'Neill from all future flights - a move many social media users have congratulated the airline for. 

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Former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill, who faced backlash for this selfie that showed him without a mask on a Delta flight on Wednesday afternoon, says he has been banned from the airline. He is a vocal opponent on face coverings

He captioned the selfie saying he is not a 'p***y' and so wouldn't wear a mask

But O'Neill continued to lash out at the airline, saying 'thank god' the airline wasn't flying the SEALs on their mission to kill bin Laden because they didn't have masks.  

Hofstetter replied to O'Neill's tweet pointing out that Delta does not provide military planes and that the pandemic wasn't ravaging America back in 2011 during the mission.  

'Delta is a commercial airline, Bin Laden wasn't killed during a pandemic, and other people on Seal Team 6 have said you didn't kill him,' tweeted the comedian.

'Do you have no one in your life who can say 'Hey, Robert, maybe don't tweet this one?''

O'Neill responded in friendly terms initially telling Hofstetter he is a 'huge fan'.

'Dammit, Steve!! I was such a huge fan... I'm being serious. You're really good...' he wrote. 

'I'm serious... I love Steve's comedy. He doesn't have a hair on his skinny ass to say this in person... but he is funny. 

O'Neill continued to lash out at the airline Thursday night, saying 'thank god' the airline wasn't flying the SEALs on their mission to kill bin Laden because they didn't have masks

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O'Neill's post sparked further backlash and led to a war of words with comedian Steve Hofstetter with the army veteran first telling him he is 'a fan' and then minutes later calling him a 'c**t'

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'Dude... I'm a fan!'

Hofstetter responded with some 'legal advice' for the veteran suggesting it was not the selfie but his refusal to wear a mask that led the airline to ban him.

'Hey Robert, just some legal advice. If someone robs a store and then posts a picture of themselves robbing the store, they don't get arrested for posting the picture,' he tweeted. 

'They get arrested for what is IN the picture. Hope this helps!'

This seemed to rile O'Neill who quickly 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, has been a vocal critic of face mask mandates implemented by several states. 

He posted the maskless selfie on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon on what appeared to be a crowded flight, according to the New York Daily News.   

It showed O'Neill smiling on board a flight with a flight attendant in the background wearing a mask. 

Another man in a mask and Marines cap is seen in the row across from him.   

The image sparked a backlash and the veteran tweeted Thursday that he had been banned from the airline over the tweet.  

'I just got banned by Delta for posting a picture,' O'Neill posted Thursday. 'Wow.' 

A spokesperson for Delta Air Lines confirmed to DailyMail.com that O'Neill has indeed been banned from all future flights.

'Part of every customer's commitment prior to traveling on Delta is the requirement to acknowledge our updated travel policies, which includes wearing a mask,' the company told DailyMail.com. 

'Failure to comply with our mask-wearing mandate can result in losing the ability to fly Delta in the future.'  

'I just got banned by Delta for posting a picture,' Robert O'Neill posted on Twitter on Thursday. 'Wow.'

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Delta and other major US carriers require passengers to wear face coverings due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-800 commercial aircraft as seen on final approach landing at New York JFK John F Kennedy International airport in NY, USA on February 13, 2020

His ban ignited widespread reaction on social media, with O'Neill's critics praising the airline. O'Neill, however, says everyone is overreacting.

He tweeted: 'I had my mask in my lap. Everyone has gone crazy.' 

But others on Twitter said the company did the right thing.

'I'd like to thank Delta for doing the right thing and protecting it's passengers during a deadly pandemic, even if the person in question is well known,' tweeted one Twitter user.

Another Twitter user wrote: 'A play in three acts: Brags about not wearing a mask on a flight. Blames his wife for deleting his post. Gets banned from Delta. Life comes at ya fast.'

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, an organization made up of anti-Trump military veterans, tweeted: 'Life comes at you fast.' 

Others on social media, however, came to O'Neill's defense. They cited his military service while slamming the airline for turning away a war hero.

In response to the backlash on social media, O'Neill has insisted that he was kidding

On Thursday, he claimed that he 'had my mask in my lap' and said: 'Everyone has gone crazy'

VoteVets, an organization made up of anti-Trump military veterans, tweeted: 'Life comes at you fast.'

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.'

'I'd like to thank Delta for doing the right thing and protecting it's passengers during a deadly pandemic, even if the person in question is well known,' tweeted one Twitter user.

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Another Twitter user wrote: 'A play in three acts: Brags about not wearing a mask on a flight. Blames his wife for deleting his post. Gets banned from Delta. Life comes at ya fast.'

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Others on social media, however, came to O'Neill's defense. They cited his military service while slamming the airline for turning away a war hero

Another Twitter user wrote: 'Unreal. Probably not the best way to treat one of America's greatest heroes!'

'This is absolutely unnecessary and a disgrace,' tweeted another Twitter user.

'We stand with our brother in arms! It is not a good idea to ban veterans! 

'Do you have any idea how many there are of us? We tend to have each other's backs. 

'If you read through his feed, he has a sense of humor!'

Another Twitter user wrote: 'Unreal. Probably not the best way to treat one of America's greatest heroes!' 

Delta said on Wednesday it was aware of the now-deleted image, according to The Intercept.    

O'Neill has remained defiant, however, telling his critics to 'come get some'.   

He also claims he didn't delete the original picture despite the outrage as he doubled-down on his hatred of masks. 

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O'Neill, pictured, shot dead Osama bin Laden in the 2011 raid

'I didn't delete my tweet. My wife did,' he wrote. 

He then claimed that he was joking.

'Keep in mind, Twitter: No joking allowed!!' he sarcastically commented on Wednesday. 

But the backlash was in full force even before the tweet was taken down.

The selfie was screenshot and shared by a deputy editor at the New York Times, Dan Saltzstein.

'I deleted a previous version of this tweet because I broke my own rule about name-calling,' he said of the selfie. 

'So let me try again: I honor O'Neill for his sacrifices to his country and his heroism. It's sad that he can't extend the same for the safety of his fellow passengers.'

His previous tweet had read: 'I don't know this man but: counterpoint, you might just be because you're not willing to sacrifice and be a little uncomfortable for your fellow humans (including that marine behind you)!'

Many were outraged at O'Neill's picture with actress Ayssa Milano responding directly to tell him he could have killed people. 

'You do realize you may be a-symptomatic and give the virus to other people that could potentially kill them,' she wrote to him in a tweet. 

'I think that makes you a sociopath. Besides, p*****s are actually so strong that we can deliver human beings out of them. Please, I'm begging you, wear a damn mask.'

Others rushed to his defense, however, stating that O'Neill put his life on the line for the U.S. and couldn't be called selfish for not wearing a  mask. 

O'Neill claimed he did not make the decision to delete the selfie himself

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Actress Alyssa Milano criticized O'Neill for the maskless selfie

Some users defended O'Neill's actions and said he is not 'selfish'

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Spectator Washington Editor Amber Athey called the criticism 'beyond parody'

'That's right. Life on the line and three shots into OBL for all of us...but doesn't wear a mask (that doesn't really work anyway) and he's all of the sudden selfish,' wrote Benjamin Prol. 

'NYT editor tells the Navy SEAL who killed Bin Laden that he's not willing to sacrifice,' said Spectator Washington Editor Amber Athey of Saltzstein's comments. 'Beyond parody.'

'I think he should've just worn the mask, but also maybe Google who you're tweeting at before you make an ass out of yourself and undermine your own argument?!'  

O'Neill himself was ready for the backlash and continued to tweet throughout Wednesday evening, calling out those who tried to condemn him and claiming that masks weren't needed to protect lives.   

'I shook thousands of hands and gave thousands of hugs this week. I flew on some planes. I'll be alive next week,' he wrote, while others such as Milano argued that people he shook hands with may not be.  

'I do wear a mask, @Alyssa_Milano,' he responded. 'This attempt at a joke did NOT go over well ... '

'I'm not afraid of the mob. Come get some,' he added in another tweet. 

'I am not the bad guy. I Killed the bad guy.'

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The former Navy SEAL rushed to his own defense against Milano

He posted a string of tweets Wednesday evening defending himself from critics

This is not O'Neill's first anti-mask Twitter rant. Just last month he called on people to 'wise up' and said they could not be forced to have their temperature taken or quarantine. 

'They can't make you wear masks. They can't make you take your temperature. They can't make you quarantine. Wise up,' he wrote on July 31.

O'Neill's actions Wednesday, however, were in direct contradiction of new rules imposed by most US airlines that requires passengers to wear a face covering at all times, as social distancing can not be maintained on board. 

Deltas, which it appears he was traveling with, has said it is cracking down on customers who try to get away with it. 

The airline said on Wednesday that it was aware of the incident and that he may face a lifetime ban. 

O'Neill is a vocal critic of masks. He claimed you could not be forced to wear them in this tweet from July 31. Deltas has since said he could face a ban from the airline over the incident

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O'Neill was forced from SEAL Team Six shortly after the Bin Lade raid in 2011 after it was discovered he was openly bragging about being the man to shoot the terrorist leader

'We're aware of this customer's tweet and are reviewing this event,' a spokesperson for Delta told The Intercept. 

'All customers who don't comply with our mask-wearing requirement risk losing their ability to fly Delta in the future. Medical research tells us that wearing a mask is one of the most effective ways to reduce the COVID-19 infection rate.'

O'Neill served in the Navy since 1995. 

He was the person who shot bin Laden three times in the head during a top-secret May 2011 raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.  

The Intercept states he was forced from the team shortly after the raid after it was discovered that he was openly bragging about being the man to shoot bin Laden as 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 mission was later the subject of a Tom Hanks movie named 'Captain Phillips'. 

His Twitter bio reads: 'Kentucky Colonel. I shot a famous guy. Thrice.'