Former “Shark Week” host Mike Rowe had a few thoughts about a recent Washington Post article claiming that the Discovery Channel’s regular summer event “lacks diversity” and “overrepresents men named Mike.”
Rowe, who hosted the annual week-long event in both 2006 and 2008, responded to the Post’s assertion by crowd-sourcing a response via social media. Having not yet had his coffee, he explained, he needed a little outside help.
“Good Morning. As a white male named Mike who hosted Shark Week more than once, this headline caught my eye in The Washington Post,” Rowe began, explaining that he had come across the article while in New York City to promote another new season of the show that made him a household name: “Dirty Jobs.” The new season, he noted, is set to premiere on Discovery on Sunday at 8 p.m.
“I have not yet had my coffee, or time to formulate a cogent response, but in the course of promoting a new season of ‘Dirty Jobs,’ (Sunday at 8pm on Discovery,) I suspect I might be asked to respond specifically to this headline,” Rowe continued, calling on his fans to make suggestions as to how he should respond.
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“If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please leave them in the comments below,” Rowe added, warning, “Unless of course, you’re a white guy named Mike. I think we’ve all heard quite enough from you …”
Rowe concluded the message with a postscript reminding fans once again about the upcoming Sunday premiere of the new season of “Dirty Jobs” — and then added a second postscript, musing, “Gotta wonder how former Shark Week host, Mike Tyson, is taking the news …”
During 2020’s Shark Week, Tyson participated in a stunt labeled “Rumble on the Reef,” during which he placed a shark into tonic immobility by grabbing it by the nose. “I am champion of the shark!” Tyson shouted upon his success.
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Yet another “Mike” — history’s most decorated Olympian of all-time Michael Phelps — has also appeared as a part of Shark Week programming in 2017, “racing” against a great white shark.
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