Captain Lee Rosbach has weighed in on the sexual misconduct incidents that triggered Luke Jones and Laura Bileskalne’s firings on Monday’s episode of Below Deck Down Under.
“Their behavior was despicable. Both of them,” Rosbach told . “And I’m sure they’ll be paying the price for it for a long time to come. As they should.”
Earlier this week, not long after the Down Under crew returned from an alcohol-fueled night off the boat, Jones climbed naked — and “without consent” — into the bed of third stew Margot Sisson, who was sleeping and had been clear she did not want him in her cabin.
Chief stewardess Aesha Scott — who recognized the danger in the situation because of her own history with sexual assault after drinking — quickly alerted Captain Jason Chambers, who removed Jones from the boat that night before terminating his employment the next morning.
Also the day after Jones’ misconduct toward Sisson, second stew Laura Bileskalne was also fired not only for the inappropriate way she reacted to the bosun’s actions, but also for a separate incident of inappropriate behavior toward deckhand Adam Kodra the night before.
Rosbach said he was “impressed” with how the matter was handled by production, Chambers and Scott. He also commended them for “not getting rattled” during a tense situation and confessed he wasn’t sure if he would have kept his cool if he had been in their shoes.
“I don’t know if I would have had the wherewithal to remain as calm as Captain Jason did, but he certainly stepped up to the plate and did it right,” Rosbach affirmed. He added that he was “grateful” to have never been in a similar situation.
“It’s a tough spot to be in,” Rosbach acknowledged. “When there’s the captain you’re responsible for everything and anything that does happen. Jason handled it superbly.”
He continued, “They all stepped up to the plate and did the right thing at the appropriate time and didn’t let anything get carried away,” Rosbach said. “Didn’t put it on the back burner, didn’t cover it up. They just dealt with it appropriately.”
Shortly after the episode aired, Chambers addressed matters in a video posted to Instagram on Wednesday and shared that he hoped his former crew members were on a “journey to better themselves” following their departure.
“Hi everybody, I’m sure you’re digesting episode six and seven as I am,” Chambers, 50, said in the clip. “I’ve had a flood of messages over the last 24 hours from people in similar situations, some not so lucky of the outcome, so my heart goes out to them.”
He continued, “I like to thank the production team for breaking the fourth wall, and stepping in. Then reforming and allowing Aesha to come to me in an authentic manner and us dealing with it as we would as captain and crew.”
Below Deck Down Under airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo and can be streamed the next day on Peacock.
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