Michael Phelps: 'Not my fault' some viewers thought he was going to be racing an actual shark on TV
Swimmer Michael Phelps defended himself Tuesday against criticism he’s received for not racing against an actual great white shark during the Discovery Channel’s heavily promoted “Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White,†which kicked off the network’s ever-popular Shark Week on Sunday night.
The 28-time Olympic medalist did swim in the open water during the program, but the shark that appeared to be racing right next to him wasn’t really there. Instead, it was a simulated shark that ended up beating Phelps by two seconds.
“If somebody actually wants to get in the water and race side-by-side with a great white, go ahead,†Phelps said during a Facebook Live session. “You’re not going to get the shark to swim in a straight line . And, uh, yeah, it would be interesting to see. We’ll leave it at that.â€
Many viewers felt they were misled into watching the show. And some of those disgruntled viewers tried confronting Phelps about the issue during the Facebook Live session.
But Phelps wasn’t about to accept the blame for any confusion.
"Everything was either presented on air during multiple interviews that I did throughout Shark Week or the beginning of the show,†Phelps told one Facebook user.
He said to another: "Some people just decide not to listen to some of the things that we do, and that's not my fault that you don't do that."
And also, "It's pretty easy to open up your ears and listen to either what the TV is saying, what the announcers are saying, or what I'm saying in interviews."
In more than one interview leading up to the broadcast, Phelps did mention the actual format of the race. But he didn't bring it up at every opportunity while promoting the show.
In the aftermath of the broadcast, Discovery also felt the need to defend itself. "All the promotion, interviews and the program itself made clear that the challenge wasn't a side-by-side race," the network said in a statement.
Um, really?
Twitter: @chewkiii
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