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A Massachusetts lobster diver relived his incredible story during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday (June 16) night.
Michael Packard and his first mate, Josiah Mayo, appeared alongside the ABC talk show host, with Packard clarifying that he was inside the mouth of the whale, not swallowed, as has been reported.
“I wasn’t swallowed, Jimmy. I was in its mouth. Let’s get that straight,” Packard said via the Boston Globe.
Mayo, who was driving the boat during the incident, provided more details from his perspective.
“We’d done a couple dives, caught [about] 100 pounds of lobster, and [Packard] went down for a third dive. Everything was normal ... His bubbles went away from the boat, and then I just saw these huge boils, splashing and splashing all over the water," Mayo said.
Mayo said he initially thought the incident was a shark attack, but then saw the whale parts.
"I saw the whale fluke and the whale’s head and I suddenly knew it wasn’t a shark attack, but still, something crazy was happening,” Mayo said.
Packard provided more details of what it felt like going underwater.
“I just got hit by a freight truck,” Packard recalled of the moment he became trapped inside the whale’s mouth. “There was this bang and everything went instantly dark.”
Both men said they questioned whether Packard had gotten eaten by the shark, but after further reflection, Packard said, “No, sharks mouths aren’t that big. I don’t feel any teeth. Oh great! I didn’t get eaten by a shark!”
Last week, the Massachusetts lobsterman participated in a question-and-answer session on Reddit with help from his son and said he wanted Cambridge native Matt Damon to play him if a movie is made about the incident, NBC Boston reports.
Kimmel continued his long-running joke feud with Damon by saying, “I wonder why you would aim so low?” And if he does play you, can the whale eat him? Can that be his final destination?”
In a post shared to a Provincetown, Massachusetts community page, Packard revealed he was inside the humpback's closed mouth for 30-40 seconds, NBC Boston reports.
"I was lobster diving and A humpback whale tried to eat me.I was in his closed mouth for about 30 to 40 seconds before he rose to the surface and spit me out.I am very bruised up but have no broken bones," Packard wrote, thanking local first responders for rescuing him.