Model Molly Cavalli was doing a promotional underwater shoot for the adult video website CamSoda when she was bitten by a lemon shark, with the harrowing attack caught on camera.
Cavalli teased the shoot before she took the plunge, writing: “Shark diving for CamSoda today. Wish me luck.”
The grisly footage, uploaded by the company to YouTube, saw mixed reactions from commenters.
“It is a fake publicity stunt. She was not bitten,” one user wrote.
But Cavalli maintains that she was indeed injured by a shark, and released a statement, saying: “I want to thank my fans for their outpouring of support as I heal my foot following the shark bite. Luckily it only required 20 stitches. I’m fine. It’s not that bad. I had a great experience anyway and now I have a story to tell forever.”
She also put up a post on Instagram, assuring fans she was healing.
“It’s not as bad as it seems,” she wrote. “It was still an amazing experience.”
Lemon sharks are not generally considered a threat to humans, CamSoda vice president Darren Press told media outlets.
“Our intention was to have Molly quickly dive into the shark cage with the camera and begin broadcasting as lemon sharks circled nearby,” Press said.”From what we gathered, lemon sharks are predominantly docile and relatively harmless.
“During the broadcast, a shark approached the cage which made Molly nervous. She swam up to the surface as the shark approached. Her foot rose above the protective net and was bitten.”
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