Earlier this month, Game of Thrones veteran Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth) set sail with activists like Greta Thunberg aboard the Madleen. The ship was bound for the Gaza Strip, intending to distribute aid to people living through the ongoing crisis there.
The activists also wanted to use their celebrity to bring attention to the crisis. They got what they wanted when agents from Israel, which is at war with Hamas in Gaza, intercepted the ship. Thunberg has since been sent out of the country.
By the time the Madleen was intercepted, Cunningham was no longer on it. He sounded off on X, though, writing, "The Freedom flotilla was attacked during the night. The ship was rammed, boarded and the 12 volunteers kidnapped. This is more reprehensible behaviour from the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv."
That inspired MMA fighter and Irish presidential hopeful Conor McGregor to weigh in. "I thought you were on this boat Liamo, what happened?" McGregor asked. "You forgot your goggles? You got sea sick off the gargle? Bottler."
"Bottler," FYI, is Irish slang for coward. Cunningham shot back: "Didn't know you could read and write Conor. Thought you used your hands to tap out," he said, referencing a loss McGregor suffered at the hands of Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018. Cunningham's clapback went viral, and McGregor has since deleted his post.
Ha ha 🤣 the little man deleted the post but we have the screenshot 😂 pic.twitter.com/euaXC3dAsX
— rach💙 🍃 (@RaachRach) June 9, 2025
According to The Express Tribune, McGregor has a history of deleting controversial posts. I can't claim to really know the world of MMA social media feuds, so I'm inclined to take their word for it. In any case, the internet had a lot of fun dunking on the fighter.
As for Cunningham, he's been very vocal about all manner of social issues for years, and has a lot to say about the conflict in Gaza. He also continues to act; he appeared in the first season of 3 Body Problem, which was created by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss. He was great as an uncompromising government agent working to prepare Earth for an alien invasion. I'm looking forward to seeing him again when 3 Body Problem returns for a second season on Netflix, although there's no release date set as of yet.
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