Below Deck Down Under’s Captain Jason Chambers and Chief Stew Aesha Scott have broken their silence after their co-stars Luke Jones and Laura Bileskalne were fired for misconduct.
**TRIGGER WARNING: The following details sexual assault and harassment and may be triggering to some readers.
During the show’s second season, production was forced to step in on two separate occasions after cast members engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviours, which included Luke entering Margot Sisson‘s bed naked while she was unconscious.
On August 9, Jason uploaded a video to Instagram addressing the “unacceptable” situations that transpired on-screen.
“I’ve had a flood of messages over the past 24 hours of people in similar situations, some not so lucky [with the] outcome, so my heart goes out to them,” the 50-year-old started.
“I’d like to thank the production team for breaking the fourth wall, stepping in, then reforming and allowing Aesha to come to me in an authentic manner and us dealing with it.”
He then explained that he isn’t told what goes down on crew nights out. However, production always informs him if any “inadequate behaviour” takes place.
“Unless a crew member actually complains… I wouldn’t know. And as soon as Aesha brought it to my attention, I addressed it straight away. So it’s real, it’s real-time,” he added.
Jason then stressed that both incidents happened “over a year ago” and that the people involved “are all on a journey to better themselves”.
Whilst stating that the situations were both “unacceptable”, he finished his video urging people to spread “less hate” and “more love”.
Below Deck Down Under’s Aesha Scott says everyone deserves to ‘have fun and feel safe’
The same day, Aesha also broke her silence on Instagram.
“I wanted to take the opportunity to remind everyone of the main message that was shown on the episode[s], which is that women — and everyone — has the right to go out and have fun and feel safe and that’s the f*cking end of it,” she said.
“There’s no questions of ifs or buts, that’s the end of it. So please, keep an eye on your friends and each other.
“We don’t actually know what would’ve happened. But [Luke] being in [Margot’s] bed naked [whilst] she’s got no idea — it actually makes my skin crawl. You have no right to put someone unconscious into that position,” she finished.
Why were two cast members fired on Below Deck Down Under?
Following a crew night out, Aesha noticed Bosun Luke getting quite close to his drunk castmate, Margot.
As such, she opted to keep an eye on Margot, but as soon as she was left alone back on the charter, Luke entered her room totally naked and climbed into her bed.
Producers then tried to force Luke out of the room, and Aesha rushed to tell Captain Jason what had transpired.
“Basically, we came home tonight and I just kind of felt like Luke was kind of wanting to take advantage of Margot’s drunkenness, a little bit,” she explained. “She was pretty out of it.”
“Next thing I know, the power goes out and Luke is f*cking running out of Margot’s bed naked. She was completely unconscious.”
Luke was soon kicked off the boat with his employment terminated.
Below Deck Down Under‘s Laura Bileskalne was also fired for misconduct
Second stew Laura was similarly sacked after she repeatedly made moves on an uncomfortable Adam Kodra.
She first came onto him in the hot tub and, despite his refusal, later climbed into his bed to attempt to give him a massage.
However, things went from bad to worse when she learned Luke had been fired.
“I’m so sad, I can’t believe Luke is gone,” she fumed. “If he comes naked in my cabin, I’d be like, ‘Hello! Yes!’
In a later conversation with Margot, she suggested that his firing was “unfair”.
“I think he just meant it as a joke, he’s a funny guy. I don’t think he meant anything bad. He wouldn’t rape you or anything.”
After having the conversation relayed to him, Captain Jason let Laura go for being inappropriate and not respecting people’s “boundaries”.
If you or someone you know needs help, please contact BeyondBlue on 1300 224 636 or Lifeline on 13 11 14. If you or someone you know has been the victim of a sexual assault, please contact the Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence National Help Line on 1800 Respect (1800 737 732) or head to The Australian Human Rights Commission for a list of state by state resources.
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