Social media star Hasbulla has responded to allegations that he abused his cat in a video posted online.
The Russian influencer's original video has now been taken down, but it was widely shared online and received a lot of criticism.
In the clip, Hasbulla can be seen pulling one of his cat's ears and then hitting it on the head.
Viewers called the video "disgusting", some said they would file animal abuse reports and others said they "wanted to save the cat".
In his response to criticism of him, Hasbulla claimed in a video that "the cat had misbehaved" and he had "gently pulled its ear".
"I know people expect me to do something wrong to attack me, but [the cat] was misbehaving and I pulled its ear and that was it. I love my cat more than you could ever love me."
Hasbulla further added that if he "didn't love the cat", he "wouldn't keep it in the house".
"The most beautiful animal is the cat," he added. "And when she didn't comply, I scolded her a bit. You're attacking me for nothing."
As his video explaining the situation attracted attention, Hasbulla also took the opportunity to promote his NFT collection.
