In December 2014, the Discovery Channel released a special that sounded like it came straight out of a nature-run-amok horror movie: “Eaten Alive” was an overhyped, one-off documentary that promised to show viewers snake expert Paul Rosolie willingly being swallowed whole by a massive anaconda.
Discovery’s marketing for the slithery special caused a media circus, piquing the interest of viewers curious to see if a man would actually survive being swallowed by a serpent — while also drawing criticism from animal rights groups like PETA, who saw it as nothing more than a cruel stunt that tormented animals for the sake of ratings. In response, both Rosolie and the Discovery Channel insisted it was all for the sake of science and Amazonian conservation.
In “Eaten Alive,” the first 90 minutes of the special follows Rosolie as he explores a remote section of the Amazon, hoping to find a suitable snake for his promised stunt. Sadly, though, the special fails to live up to the hype. After hours of build-up, Rosolie — who is wearing a protective carbon-fiber suit doused in pig’s blood — does indeed become constricted by a massive anaconda, but the intended feast never goes any further. After the snake extends its jaws around his helmet, Rosolie worries that his arm might snap, and the stunt is promptly called off.
Eaten Alive was a ratings success for Discovery
Rosolie later spoke about his failed stunt in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “The snake did not want to eat me, at first. She wasn’t interested,” he said. “But once I showed myself as a predator and she got spooked, then she defended herself. She nailed me right in the face and the last thing I saw was her mouth wide open before everything went black. And then she wrapped me and I felt the suit cracking and my arms ripping out of their sockets. It was absolutely terrifying.”
A swift backlash followed the special. After social media erupted with viewers accusing “Eaten Alive” of false advertising, Rosolie pushed back against the criticism. “I did dozens of interviews before the show and I never said I got eaten,” he told PIX11 News. “I said we were going to try but you know, we gave it the best shot we could. We certainly got close.”
Even with that overwhelming controversy, it all paid off for Discovery in the end. According to Deadline, the special pulled in 4.1 million viewers, making it their highest-rated nature telecast since 2010’s “Life,” and its best-rated telecast of 2014 among men ages 18 to 34.