Michael Phelps Responds to 'Phelps vs Shark' Criticism, Defends the Special

Michael Phelps did a Facebook Live Q&A last night and had many people asking about his controversial special, Phelps vs Shark: Great Gold vs Great White.

Fans were disappointed with the special, because the Olympic great did not end up actually racing a shark, but a CGI shark was created using scientific date taken from actual sharks. Michael lost to the CGI Great White by 2 seconds.

“Everybody wants to pick on something or say something or complain about something, so I had fun racing a shark. And seeing those animals up close and personal. If somebody actually wants to get in the water and race side-by-side with a great white, go ahead. 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,” Michael said in defense of the show.

“You can believe whatever you want. Everything was either present on air during multiple interviews that I did throughout Shark Week or the beginning of the show. Sorry you feel that way. For me, it was something I always wanted to do. I was honored to be able to do it. So, I’m sorry that you feel that way. I feel very different,” he added about people saying the advertising was misleading.