Shark attack survivor Leah Stewart responds to radio hosts who accused her of ‘lying’

Exclusive: Shark attack survivor Leah Stewart has responded after radio hosts came under fire for casting doubt on part of the story she shared in a 60 Minutes interview.

Stewart, 34, who lost her left arm when she was attacked by a great white shark while swimming between the flags at Sydney’s Coogee Beach on June 13, said she wasn’t wasting her energy on the comments aired in the now highly criticised radio segment.

“I have been so busy with my rehabilitation and embracing being home with my family that I haven’t had a chance to listen to the segment. I have picked up the general sentiment from a few headlines, but the truth is I haven’t given it much thought,” Stewart said in a statement to nine.com.au.

“What I do know is that everyone who was on that beach with me, my incredible medical team at St Vincent’s, and every first responder who helped save my life that day, they know what happened. And so do I.

“I am genuinely blown away by the support from Australians, and the wider community. It has meant so much to me and my family. I have chosen to put my energy where it belongs, into my recovery, into [daughter] August, and into being grateful for the second chance at life I have been given.

“The love and support from this country has far outweighed anything else. I am just so grateful.”

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‘You ugly f---er’: Leah Stewart’s incredible survival as four-metre shark attacked on Coogee Beach

Stewart described the moment she went into survival mode to save her life for her one-year-old daughter August on 60 Minutes, a program broadcast by Nine Entertainment, which also publishes this website.

“I’ll never forget its face. It was huge and its teeth and its mouth was massive and its eyes, it’s just black little beady eyes, we were just looking face to face,” Stewart said.

Radio hosts Brendan Fevola and Kate Langbroek questioned how Stewart could think clearly at that moment on the Fifi, Fev and Nick show on Monday.

Langbroek was filling in for regular presenter Fifi Box on the show.

“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.

Langbroek cut in: “No, most people say you don’t even know what’s happening.”

They played clips of Stewart recalling the terrifying event of coming face-to-face with the shark that she lost part of her arm to, and then questioned how she could recall the details.

Fevola even went as far as to accuse Stewart of lying about choosing which limb she was willing to lose considering she was right-handed.

“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.

Fevola continued: “I’m so sorry for what happened to you and you’re an amazing woman because you have fought off a shark, but you’re not thinking all that.”

In the days since, listeners have slammed the radio trio for their discussion around Stewart’s shark attack.

“You had every opportunity to comment on what an incredible survival story it was instead you had to dampen it. Yet again the same old rhetoric of a man questioning the credibility of a woman’s story,” one said.

Another 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.”

Nine.com.au has contacted representatives of the Fifi, Fev and Nick show for comment on this story but is yet to receive a response.