TORONTO – Viewers of Discovery Channel’s Eaten Alive quickly became critics Sunday night after the two-hour special failed to show a man being eaten alive by an anaconda.
Leading up to the airing, the show claimed filmmaker and adventurer Paul Rosolie would enter “the belly of an anaconda in a custom-built, snake-proof suit.”
Well, it didn’t happen.
For most of the show, Rosolie and his team searched for a giant anaconda. The actual swallowing attempt began with only about 30 minutes left in the program.
The anaconda did wrap itself around the filmmaker, constricting Rosolie’s movements.
The snake did start to eat Rosolie’s helmet but not before the adventurer had to “tap out” and be rescued after feeling his arm begin to break.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly before the show aired, Rosolie was asked how far inside the snake he went.
The only thing eaten alive Sunday night was the show itself, on social media.
On Monday, Rosolie addressed the outrage some viewers felt after the show had ended without him being eaten alive.
“Well, we tried as hard as we could,” Rosolie told Global News during an online Q&A. “It was an honest attempt. So I did what I could — the point was to show how awesome and important the Amazon is.”
In November, animal rights group PETA asked Discovery Channel not to air the show.
On Monday, PETA blasted the show again.
“Last night, despite protests by conservationists, biologists, herpetologists, and decent people everywhere who oppose the abuse of wildlife, the Discovery Channel aired the inexcusable torment of a captured wild green anaconda and several other snakes,” said Lisa Lange, PETA senior VP communications, in a statement.
“The animals were removed from their water habitat and transported to a filming location, and the chosen snake was deceived into using her precious energy reserves to constrict a human being pretending to be a pig, all for a publicity stunt.”
Addressing animal cruelty concerns, Rosolie said the attempt wasn’t stressful for the snake and it’s “alive and well.”
“Anacondas and wildlife are dying every day from poaching and habitat destructions,” he said. “People who are worried about the animal should focus their attention on saving the species, and the habitat the species needs.”
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