UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn has been known to voice his share of wild conspiracy theories, but his latest is genuinely concerning.
On Monday, Penn posted a pair of Instagram videos in which he appears to not recognize his mother, Lorraine Shin. Penn believes that his mother has been murdered and replaced with another woman.
In the first of two videos, Penn started with a selfie-style, expletive-filled message directed toward “Paul Abiley.” The text caption overlaid on the video reads: “F*ck the Abiley Family. Paul Abiley (Carlos Riveira) with the help of the government murdered my mom and brother!!!! Like & Share. They are trying to steal everything from my family.”
The video then showed Penn’s mother cooking in a kitchen and walking a dog as he continued to explain his theory, while admitting he’s had thoughts of resorting to physical harm.
“This lady right here, look at her ass and legs. She is acting like my 79-year-old mother, but she is not my 79-year-old mother,” Penn stated, as he recorded his mother. “And it’s interesting when you Google ‘Lorraine Abile,’ our house pops up, ’cause this lady acts like Lorraine Inouye. So, you Google ‘Lorraine Abile,’ and this house pops up, and then you look, and my mom’s name starts popping up.”
“… She’s trying to steal everything, and this is not my mother. And I’m putting this out because she’s saying she’s going to get an attorney and try to do something. She’s trying to throw me out and if I attack her, she’ll try to do something, TRO (temporary restraining order) or something else.”
The second video posted to Instagram is similar to the first, but without Penn’s selfie portion, and includes different text captions. “Hilo police, this lady is not Lorraine shin! She is at our Penn family house right now #hawaii,” Penn wrote.
The woman in the video is Penn’s mother.
Penn, 46, has posted multiple pictures and videos with her over the years, which are easily found with an internet search. She was a also key supporter of Penn’s failed political campaign for Hawaii governor in 2022, which she promoted in videos posted to his Instagram account.
In the years before and following his retirement in 2019, Penn has experienced a number of legal troubles, including DUI arrests and a bar brawl assault that led to his UFC release.
A UFC Hall of Famer, former champion and No. 12 on MMA Junkie’s 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time list, Penn’s legacy as a fighter inside the cage has been solidified. However, outside of the cage, his actions have raised speculation of the effects of brain trauma as he continues to display deeply concerning behavior.
