A high-profile breakfast radio trio is under fire, with listeners calling for them to be dumped after they questioned the harrowing account of a shark attack survivor following her emotional television interview.
Leah Stewart, 35, a mother of one, narrowly survived when she was mauled by a great white shark while swimming between the flags at Sydney’s Coogee Beach on June 13.
Ms Stewart, who lost part of her left arm in the attack, spoke publicly about the ordeal for the first time on Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes on Sunday night, sharing vivid details of the terrifying moments in the water.
She said thoughts of her one-year-old daughter August pushed her into survival mode, as she weighed which arm to use to strike the shark and remembered looking straight into its ‘black little beady eyes’.
‘She’s not going to have a mum. She’s going to grow up without a mum’ she recalled thinking, describing the moment as a turning point that made her fight back with even more force.
‘I twisted myself around, and I just started punching it over and over and over again, just punch, punch, punch,’ Ms Stewart said.
‘It was like fighting a dinosaur, it was so big. It was like punching a brick wall.
‘I was like, ”You ugly f***er, you are not taking me away from my daughter.”
Radio hosts Fifi Box, Brendan Fevola and Nick Cody came under fire for questioning a shark attack survivor’s recollection of the horrifying ordeal.
‘I… just felt like everything was leaving my body and I was going somewhere,’ she said.
‘Just as I was about to reach the end of the tunnel, I got a vision of August. I just knew I couldn’t leave her.
‘I said ”I can’t die right now, I can’t.” I know it sounds strange, but I sort of willed myself back.
‘And I opened my eyes and I could see everyone around me at that point.’
But Melbourne radio hosts Fifi Box, Brendan Fevola and Nick Cody, from 101.9 The Fox, questioned on Monday whether Ms Stewart would have had ‘time to think’ during the horrifying attack.
Former AFL star Fevola went even further, accusing Ms Stewart of putting ‘a lot of mayo on’ – or embellishing – her account, and described his initial reaction as believing she was lying.
The comments come as Fevola and his co-hosts desperately seek publicity for their show after suffering a sharp ratings slump, with Fox FM’s breakfast audience share tumbling from 10 per cent to 8.9 per cent in the latest Melbourne radio survey.
‘Stay with me here… I’ve never been in this position and I wouldn’t understand what would go on, but if a shark was attacking you, you wouldn’t have much time to think,’ Fevola said.
Leah Stewart (above) survived a horror shark attack at Coogee Beach on June 13
Box cut in: ‘No, most people say you don’t even know what’s happening.’
The trio replayed part of Ms Stewart’s interview in which she recalled coming face-to-face with the shark and, in the moment before it bit her, deciding to hit it with her left arm because it was the arm she was more ‘willing to lose’.
‘I was on the couch with my wife Alex going, ”She’s lying! Too much time to think!” You’re not thinking all that, are you?’ Fevola said.
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Co-host Box then tried to defend Ms Stewart.
‘Mercifully, we don’t know,’ she cautioned Fevola.
‘But it does seem unusual. The only other person I know who’s punched a shark is (professional surfer) Mick Fanning.
‘He said at the time he didn’t even have a chance to think about what he was doing, it was like a reflex.’
But Fevola still believed Ms Stewart was embellishing the story.
Brendan Fevola (pictured) went as far as accusing Leah Stewart of putting ‘a lot of mayo on’ – or embellishing – her story
Ms Stewart (pictured with her one-year-old daughter, August) remembers large parts of the attack, including the moment she punched the great white shark in the face
‘Come on, oh right or left? Like bro, you are amazing – you punched a shark in the face and survived – but you’re not thinking all that. That’s a lot of mayo,’ he said.
Fevola conceded that he was petrified of sharks.
‘Had I been in the same position, I would have had a heart attack and would have been eaten,’ he said.
The radio hosts’ comments, reported by Our News Outlet last night, have upset listeners.
Many accused the trio of ‘poor form’, while others called for the breakfast presenters to be sacked.
‘Let’s add to her trauma and grief by undermining the magnitude of her experience,’ one listener wrote.
‘How utterly strong and brave is the inner spirit and fighting will in this survivor to will herself to live for her child and loved ones.
‘There is a hard lifelong road ahead of her and she is a battler. Why do these utter degenerates have a platform to spout their garbage in the first place. Fire them pronto.’
Another added: ‘Overpaid armchair shark attack experts talking crap and trying to leverage off a genuine hero’s experience. I’m surprised people tune in to listen to these pathetic losers.’
A third wrote: ‘What a sad world we now live in. Why would Fev, or anyone else for that matter, question this incredible woman that escaped a certain death, thanks to a team of incredibly selfless, skilled strangers. I was in awe of her bravery, courage and determination.’
Other listeners leapt to Ms Stewart’s defence, hailing her as a brave hero.
‘Such poor form. A woman survived a shark attack because she refused to give up and you’re only questioning her recollection of the event because the uncomfortable truth is that a lot of us would have probably just surrendered to the shark.’
Daily Mail has contacted the radio program for comment.
