Who Is Jessica Radcliffe? The Truth Behind the Viral Orca Attack Video
A disturbing clip has taken social media by storm, claiming to show a 23-year-old marine trainer named Jessica Radcliffe being fatally attacked by an orca during a live show at a fictitious “Pacific Blue Marine Park”.
In the viral footage, Radcliffe is seen performing on top of the orca before the whale lunges, pulling her under the water. As the clip spread like wildfire, rumors circulated that she died moments later.
However, investigations have firmly confirmed that the entire video is AI-generated, created with manipulated visuals and synthetic audio, and completely fictional. No trainer named Jessica Radcliffe exists, and no footage shows any real orca attack like the one portrayed.
Media outlets, fact-checkers, and experts widely agree that the clip is a hoax engineered for shock value.
Despite being false, the footage exploited familiar and tragic real-life incidents to amplify its impact, particularly the well-known cases of Dawn Brancheau at SeaWorld Orlando in 2010 and Alexis Martínez at Loro Parque in 2009, both genuine orca-related fatalities that drew widespread media attention.