Below Deck captain Lee Rosbach has offered his take on the “despicable” behavior of recently released Below Deck Down Under stars Luke Jones and Laura Bileskalne.
Rosbach, who directed the original reality series Below Deck before being fired ahead of the show’s eleventh season, admitted he was “shamed” after watching the episode in question while speaking to Us Weekly.
“Their behavior was despicable,” the 73-year-old captain said after Below Deck Mediterranean captain Sandy Yawn spoke affirmatively about the resolution of the conflict. ‘Both. And I’m sure they’ll be paying the price for it for a long time to come. As they should.’
On Monday, back-to-back episodes of the reality series, which follows crew and guests aboard a superyacht sailing through Australia, featured disturbing scenes in which Luke, the boatswain, stripped naked and got into the bed of third stewardess Margot Sisson climbed drunk after the power in the boat went out.
Then the reality show’s producers stepped in and he was subsequently fired, while Laura was also fired after defending him.
Terrifying: Former Below Deck star Captain Lee Rosbach told Us Weekly he was “shamed” by the sexual misconduct of Luke Jones and Laura Bileskane on Below Deck Down Under; pictured in 2018
Shocking: Recent episodes have featured disturbing scenes where Luke the boatswain stripped and drunk climbed into the bed of sleeping third stewardess Margot Sisson after the boat’s power went out
Her defense led chief stewardess Aesha Scott to claim that Laura had made unwanted advances to Adam Kodra and after questioning him, Captain Jason Chambers confirmed that Laura had made him uncomfortable.
Chambers also fired Laura, who subsequently apologized to both Adam and Margot.
After watching the dramatic episodes, Captain Lee said he was “impressed” by the behavior of Captain Jason and Aesha and the way the show’s producers intervened after the sexual misconduct was observed.
He commended the two leaders for “not being upset” and “calmly” defusing the situation and imposing penalties.
As for Captain Lee, Captain Jason “absolutely” made the right decision, although he wondered if he could have kept such a cool head in the same situation.
“I don’t know if I would have had the means to remain as calm as Captain Jason, but he certainly came forward and did it right,” he said appreciatively.
Captain Lee also claimed he has never seen his crew members engage in non-consensual sexual behavior, for which he is “grateful.”
“It’s a difficult situation,” he continued. “If there’s the captain, you’re responsible for everything that happens.” “Jason handled it brilliantly.”
Called us: “Your behavior was despicable,” said the 73-year-old captain. ‘Both. And I’m sure they’ll be paying the price for it for a long time to come. as they should’
She’s out: Laura was later fired after defending Luke, only for Chief Stew Aesha Scott to claim she overstepped Adam Kodra’s limits with a non-consensual massage. He agreed and she was fired
Captain Lee wholeheartedly agreed with fans, who praised Aesha and Captain Jason and said the reaction was “justified”.
“They all went to work and did the right thing at the right time and didn’t overdo it,” he said. “I didn’t procrastinate, didn’t cover it up. They just dealt with it appropriately.”
He also shared his “best wishes” with Margot and Adam after they got into difficult situations.
“I have nothing but respect for it [them] And I definitely feel sorry for both of them because neither of them deserve to be put in this position.’
In Monday’s shocking episode, Luke climbed onto Margot naked – without her permission – while she slept in bed.
“Luke, we need to get you down,” pleaded a member of the production team when they interrupted him. “I have to get you out of here because she wants to go to bed.”
Then the drunk Luke got angry and yelled, “Can you go away for a second?”
Realizing that the camera crew would not back down, he marched to his own room and locked himself in.
Aesha springed into action and checked in with Margot before updating the captain.
After being briefed on the situation, Captain Jason unlocked Luke’s cabin and threw him off the boat to spend the night in a hotel before dismissing him the following morning.
Laura was doing herself no favors speaking to Margot later that morning and trying to defend Luke.
Thumbs up: Captain Lee wholeheartedly agreed with fans, who praised Aesha and Captain Jason (pictured) and said the reaction was ‘justified’ “They all went to work and did the right thing at the right time and didn’t overdo it,” he said
Get out: After producers confronted a drunk Luke, he was thrown off the yacht and taken to a hotel before being fired the next morning. Laura was released later in the day
In one particularly distasteful moment, she even joked that she wished he’d shown up in her bed so naked, though she apparently didn’t take into account Margot’s lack of consent.
Upon learning of the interaction, Captain Jason dismissed her as well, as she had also attempted to massage Adam despite his request.
Although Laura publicly apologized to both Margot and Adam, Luke was far more defiant in a now-deleted social media post.
He wrote that he doesn’t care what viewers think of him and the situation, as he implied that what was broadcast on TV was the result of manipulative editing and “not the truth”.