Ocean Ramsey, the Hawaii freediver known for her videos of swimming with great white sharks, is denying allegations of bullying and abuse against her shark tour company employees.
Several women who used to work for One Ocean Diving, the company Ramsey and her husband, Juan Oliphant, run in Oahu, shared their experiences on Instagram in October, saying they had to undergo unpaid training, were yelled at, and were physically intimidated, Dexerto and People reported. One of the ex-workers reported that Ramsey grabbed her while they were diving and forced her to go further than she could hold her breath.
Ramsey claimed that she never verbally or physically abused anyone. In her interview with People, she said all physical contact in the water was for safety reasons.
According to Jenna Konyok, who claims she worked for the company in 2019 for about a year, trainees worked 10 to 12 hours daily without breaks or pay, Dexerto reported. According to Konyok, after six months of training, she faced a 30-day challenge and had to sign a nondisclosure and a three-year noncompete agreement before starting work.
Konyok also said Ramsey swam after her during one of the freedives, grabbed her hand, and forced her to continue, even though Konyok was no longer comfortable with it.
Taylor Cunningham worked at One Ocean Diving as an intern in 2017, when she was 20, and later became a safety diver, DeeperBlue, a diving news site, reported. She claimed that she worked at the company until 2021 and experienced verbal and physical abuse from Ramsey, who screamed at her, shoved her, grabbed her hard enough to leave a bruise, and slapped her in the water.
“During that time, I witnessed and was subject to workplace abuse,” Cunningham wrote.
Alexis Araw, who worked for the company as a boat captain from 2016 to 2021, reported years of night terrors, crying in the shower, severe anxiety, and fear. She said that Ramsey often reminded her that she once broke horses and could break people as well, People reported.
Other people spoke up as well. DeeperBlue said it examined public posts from six former workers, beginning with a post by Mariana Perez Varona published on Oct. 13.
“The reality of that company is extremely dark behind the scenes,” another former employee said in a TikTok video cited by Inc. magazine. This person also claimed that there was unpaid labor, 30 days of continuous work, threats related to noncompete agreements, and constant video surveillance at the office.
Ramsey responded in an Instagram video saying that she has never verbally or physically abused anyone. In her interview with People, she claimed that she has never slapped or hit any of her employees; however, she admitted that sometimes she guided, pushed, or pulled people in the water in order to prevent them from hitting the boat or getting too close to a potential shark attack.
She also said loud voices sometimes came from wind, waves, and water in people’s ears, especially when someone had to get out of the water fast, Dexerto reported.
Regarding pay, Ramsey said it depended on trainees’ certificates, water skills, and progress. She added that the month-long challenge was not mandatory and aimed to prepare guides for the fatigue they would face while guiding customers. In her interview with People, Ramsey said working hours varied greatly depending on weather, ocean conditions, and bookings. According to Ramsey, the company paid some trainees throughout the program before they left to work for another dive operator.
In a joint statement to People, Ramsey and Oliphant denied that the claims “accurately represent our company, either historically or today.”
In the video posted on Oct. 16, Ramsey said the company asks for two- to three-year noncompete agreements to cover training costs but has not enforced them for more than six years, DeeperBlue reported. The company said that it will now pay the trainees and will give up noncompete agreements for new employees, and that the training is hard because the job is dangerous.
“We love our staff and want their success,” the company told the site.
Ramsey, born in 1987 in Oahu, gained her popularity by posting videos of herself swimming next to great white and tiger sharks without a cage, according to Discover Wildlife. She runs One Ocean Diving along with Oliphant, an underwater photographer, providing freediving tours with sharks.
Her popularity increased after the release of the documentary “Shark Whisperer” on Netflix on June 30, 2025. The film drew heavy criticism from some shark scientists, Undercurrent reported. Moreover, one marine science blog, Southern Fried Science, claimed that her work was neither shark science nor conservation.
Some online posts claimed sexual misconduct at One Ocean Diving, though Inc. and Surfer magazine reported that the claims are yet to be proven. The company said on Instagram that it condemns sexual abuse and has a zero-tolerance policy.
The allegations come in the context of a broader investigation into harassment and abuse in diving and ocean tourism, Surfer reported. According to a 2025 industry survey, 35% of 1,066 people reported experiencing sexual harassment, though researchers noted that the voluntary survey could overrepresent those who were affected.
“The reality is that our industry is still completely unregulated when it comes to safeguarding,” Francesca Trotman, founder of the conservation group Love The Oceans, wrote.
