While making one of his movies, Bart Sibrel and a cameraman ambushed Armstrong at a 2001 EDO Corporation (now ITT) aerospace event in New York City. James Smith, then the president of EDO, recalls that Sibrel held up a Bible and demanded that Armstrong place a hand on it and swear that he'd really gone to the moon. The conspiracy theorist was swiftly ejected.
This wasn't the only time Sibrel filmed himself accosting an Apollo veteran. He issued the same spontaneous Bible challenge to many other space travelers, including Apollo 14's Edgar Mitchell. And as Michael Collins told Air and Space Magazine in 2016, the conspiracy peddler once tried to corner him in a supermarket. For the record, Collins says that he finds lunar hoax theories laughable.
Buzz Aldrin, on the other hand, sure wasn't amused when Sibrel and a cameraman ran up to him outside a Beverly Hills hotel in 2002. Sibrel had lured Aldrin under the false pretenses of an interview. Once Aldrin arrived (with his stepdaughter in tow), Sibrel started poking him with a Bible and unleashed a torrent of insults. Finally, the 72-year-old had enough. With a swift left hook, Aldrin punched Sibrel in the jaw. Sibrel, who quickly fled the scene, tried to sue Aldrin for assault, but the charges were dropped. To his credit, the filmmaker has since apologized for his behavior.
In 2012, Armstrong gave what was to be his last interview before his death at age 82. During a taped exchange with Australian CEO Alex Malley, the first man on the moon talked about everything from his Ohio childhood to NASA's future. Perhaps inevitably, Armstrong was asked — point blank — if the moon landing had been a hoax. "People love conspiracy theories," he replied. "I mean, they are very attractive. But it was never a concern to me because I know one day, somebody is going to fly back up there and pick up that camera I left."