Below Deck Down Under set an important precedent about consent following tense back-to-back episodes — which resulted in two crew members being fired.
During the new episodes, which aired on Monday, August 7, Luke Jones climbed into Margot Sisson‘s bed naked while she was passed out. Luke got angry after producers intervened, which concerned his fellow crew members. Captain Jason stepped in and removed Luke from the boat for the night. The bosun was ultimately fired the next day after Margot and Aesha Scott voiced their concerns about what could have happened.
“We had an incident last night and I want to stress that this is a place where we respect each other. Our cabin is our safety zone. That door is our boundary,” Jason told the crew during a meeting before Luke returned to pack up his stuff. “That door is not to be opened unless it is consensual. To walk into someone else’s room without consent [while] indecent is my limit.”
Later in the episode, Laura Bileskalne found herself at odds with her costars when she insisted to Margot multiple times that Luke wasn’t to blame. After Laura’s decision to side with Luke was brought to Jason’s attention, he also learned about her questionable behavior toward Adam Kodra.
“Adam feels uncomfortable with some moments out [with you] and he’s tried to say no. You have not listened to him and his boundaries to be set,” Jason told Laura, who had crossed the line with Adam in previous episodes. “After my multiple speeches with the crew about boundaries and respect, did you not go to Margot and say, ‘Poor Luke. I wish he had come in and seen me?’ You’ve disrespected exactly what I actually set out to do.”
Jason decided to fire Laura because she “showed little respect and empathy” toward Margot.
“I am trying to move forward as a team. I’m trying to get that behind us and you have brought it straight back up,” he continued. “I am going to terminate your employment today. I can’t go on with you as part of the team in the environment I am trying to set.”
Fans took to social media after the episode to support Jason’s decision. “The producers on reality shows get a lot of shit for manufacturing drama, but let’s give them a shout-out for taking a stand against SA tonight,” one viewer tweeted.
Meanwhile, another fan thanked the Bravo series for addressing the situation on screen, writing, “This episode of Below Deck Down Under should be mandatory viewing for everyone. Women should be allowed to be drunk without the fear of being harmed.”
Before season 2 of Below Deck Down Under premiered last month, Jason hinted at a dramatic firing.
“People seem to think I’m a little bit lenient. I will allow errors in potential areas of growth and inexperience. I’ll justify and continue on and try and build someone in that department, but there is a level of respect and decency and that a crew member has to keep,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in July. “There is a line in the sand that’s gotta be there for all of us to go forward and you’ll see that come up.”
Aesha, for her part, praised the captain for his approach. “I think that’s what’s so beautiful about you, Jason, is that you won’t approach something based on hearsay or just a black and white situation. You’ll always sit down and have a discussion and put yourself in their shoes and see where they’re coming from,” she told Us. “And I don’t know, just see if you can kind of go on this journey together before you just decide to let them go.”
Below Deck Down Under airs back-to-back episodes on Bravo Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
