Captain Jason Chambers of Below Deck Down Under has stated that he hopes crew members sacked for improper behaviour towards coworkers have “reflected and changed.”
This series has been in the focus of controversy this week as bosun Luke Jones was expelled for climbing into stewardess Margot Sisson’s bed while she was sleeping while naked.
At the same time, second stewardess Laura Bileskalne was ordered to leave after making deckhand Adam Kodra uncomfortable with her unwelcome approaches, while also making light of Luke and Margot’s predicament, telling her what transpired was a “comedy.”
Soon after the episode aired, Jason and chief stewardess Aesha Scott were applauded for their efforts in responding to what had happened, and now he’s written a statement in response.
Jason, 50, addressed viewers of the programme on Instagram, praising both the production staff and Aesha for how they handled the matter.
‘I’ve had a flood of messages over the last 24 hours from people in similar situations, some not so lucky [with] the outcome, so my heart goes out to them,’ he began.
‘I’d like to thank the production team for breaking the fourth wall and stepping in, then re-forming and allowing Aesha to come to me in an authentic manner, and then us dealing with it as we would as captain and crew.’
He stressed that he was uninformed of what happened between crew members when they went out together, but that as soon as the occurrences were brought to his notice, he “handled it immediately away.”
Following the reaction thrown towards Luke and Laura, Jason went on to implore people to “stop the hatred.”
‘Look, this happened over a year ago and again I’ll stress that the people involved are all hopefully on a better journey to better themselves,’ he explained.
‘Less hate please, more love. But let’s send it home and know that this is not acceptable.’
Expressing a similar sentiment in the video’s caption, he wrote: ‘Thank you for all the lovely messages and I have great sympathy for the messages for those that were triggered by these episodes.
‘I applaud the production team and crew, and I sincerely hope that all parties involved use this time to reflect and use this opportunity to not only change but help others.
‘Everyone has the chance in life to grow, learn from experiences either good or bad and become the best humans. Respect Boundaries.’
His post was flooded by messages of support from fans, with one writing: ‘Kudos to you and Aesha for dealing with this horrible situation so quickly and professionally- the world needs more people like you in it.’
‘What a leader. Absolutely outstanding and a fantastic role model,’ another added.
During the episode, Jason gathered his employees for a meeting and explained how cabins could serve as people’s “safety zones.”
He gathered his group and informed them it was’simple’ and that they should never ‘cross’ any boundaries.
Below Deck Down Under streams on Peacock in the US on Mondays, and on hayu in the UK on the same day.
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