‘It came to you for safety’: Singer Craig David tries to save fish, which then gets eaten up
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
English singer Craig David returned the fish to the water, only for it to get eaten by a bigger fish seconds later.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM CRAIGDAVID/INSTAGRAM
A vacation in the Maldives has thrown a life lesson – and a flying fish – at English singer Craig David.
The 44-year-old, known for hits such as Walking Away and 7 Days, has made headlines for a video of himself saving a fish, only to see it get eaten seconds later.
In an Instagram video posted on Feb 5, David said he was having dinner when a fish jumped out of the sea.
A blue fish with wings can be seen flapping on what looks like a deck above the water. David then picks the marine animal up and returns it into the water.
Speaking to the fish, he says in the video: “I’m just going to grab you, we’re putting you back in. Come on man, stay with me.
“You’re going back in here, my friend... I hope it’s still alive. Come on, you’ve still got it inside of you.”
But, just seconds after the fish enters the water, it gets devoured by a larger fish.
Stunned, David remarks: “Oh, my god. Oh dear.”
Taking the episode as a lesson, he wrote: “Never expected the ending though... We can’t control life’s plan.”
The video was first posted as an Instagram story before he shared it as a reel on Feb 5, which has since garnered 1.3 million views and over 3,000 comments.
A video of him singing his 2003 song Rise & Fall posted on Sept 23, 2025, has 4.3 million views and over 5,000 comments, but his other posts do not usually have more than a million views.
Most viewers were torn between being amused by the sequence of events and sad at the fish’s fate. They also poked fun at David for unwittingly sending the fish to its death.
An Instagram user said: “The situation is not very funny, but I’m sorry I laughed so much. And as you say, it’s the cycle of life.”
Referencing David’s song Walking Away, another Instagram user commented: “He was walking away... before you had him rendezvous with his maker.”
Another wrote: “It came to you for safety and you sent it to its death.”
In an Instagram story posted later on Feb 5, David reflected on what the episode has taught him.
Noting that he received many comments after posting his original video, he added: “I got the message, I got the memo. What a divine messenger that little blue flying fish was in the end, right?
“You just can’t control what the play is. You try and do the right thing... what feels right, but you have no idea what the play was that was going on so, I got the life lesson.”
