Bethany Hamilton Addresses Misconceptions 22 Years After Losing Arm to Shark Bite originally appeared on Parade.
Bethany Hamilton is setting the record straight about the events that followed her 2003 shark attack.
The professional surfer famously lost her arm to a shark bite while surfing along a Hawaii beach when she was just 13 years old. Now, nearly 22 years after the incident, Hamilton is clearing up some misconceptions about what happened to the shark after the attack.
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Taking to Instagram on Saturday, July 26, Hamilton, now 35, addressed a fan-submitted question about why the shark that attacked her was ultimately killed.
“One person even asked, ‘Why did you kill the shark?'” Hamilton said in the new clip, while insisting that she had no part in the killing of the shark after her attack.
In fact, Hamilton said she didn’t even know about it when it was happening.
“I had no clue, like I was not involved. It wasn’t my choice. I did nothing in this situation,” Hamilton explained, noting that she was still in the hospital recovering at the time.
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Hamilton went on to read some negative comments from people criticizing the decision to kill the shark, while explaining that she personally doesn’t even support the shark culling industry.
“I don’t know the thought process [behind killing the shark],” Hamilton continued, while sharing a photo of the shark being held up by a crane on the beach after it was killed.
She also added that the shark’s noticeable “jagged fin” is how the shark was able to be identified as the same one that bit her.
“While I was passive in this action, I do know most of the local community was relived the shark that bit me was killed…” she added in her caption, noting that the shark had been “cruising” around the area for weeks.
Following the 2003 incident, Hamilton returned to surfing shortly after and even continued to compete at a high level. Her story was later featured in the movie Soul Surfer starring AnnaSophia Robb in 2011.
Related: Bethany Hamilton Thought She Was Asked to Be a Judge on ‘The Masked Singer’
Bethany Hamilton Addresses Misconceptions 22 Years After Losing Arm to Shark Bite first appeared on Parade on Jul 27, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
