Keeping the drama in the Below Deck franchise? Below Deck Down Under‘s Chef Ryan McKeown defended his comments about Aesha Scott when Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Hannah Ferrier came to her former costar’s defense.
McKeown found himself in a social media back and forth with Ferrier, 35, after he shared his thoughts on working with Scott. “Right now [Aesha’s] whole life is Bravo. And if she’s OK with it, I’m happy for her. But I live a real life,” the chef said during an episode of the “POP-OFF! Podcast with James” earlier this month. “I work very hard. I live a f–king good life … I have zero regrets [about my behavior on Below Deck Down Under], not even a letter.”
Ferrier, for her part, later commented on a clip via Instagram, writing, “'[Aesha’s] whole life is bravo’ — yeah — apart from the part where she spends 10 months a year traveling the world adventure exploring with her hubby to be. Apart from that — her whole life is bravo 🙄.”
The Peacock personality responded, “Wait. What did you get fired for again 😂.” After the podcast host asked McKeown to “be nice” to the former Below Deck Med chief stew, he added, “I’ll pass on that.”
The Philadelphia native’s comments come after his appearance during season 1 of Below Deck Down Under became a topic of conversation. The chef found himself at odds with Scott and Captain Jason Chambers when not all the charter guests were happy with his meals.
Ahead of the reality show’s premiere, Scott opened up about her ups and downs with her “difficult” cast member. “If arrogant was, like, personified, it would be Ryan. He’s a very arrogant man,” the Below Deck Down Under chief stew exclusively told Us Weekly last month. “I think that that’s something that everyone — not just as a chef — it’s kind of difficult to be around anyone that’s arrogant.”
The New Zealand added: “For me, I’ve been doing yachting for a long time and every chef is a difficult toddler. I don’t know why that’s just how they are. So, he was no different. I kind of expect it from every chef I work with.”
At the time, Chambers also weighed in on how McKeown’s attitude stirred up issues onboard. “I like everyone. We all had a great time. [Ryan’s] food was great and you saw in the first episode that the guests responded to his food,” the captain told Us that same month, noting that McKeown tends to “stir up drama” the most. “Every crew battles fatigue and working environments change and attitudes change. And then when the attitude changes, as I said, they lose focus.”
The Australia native revealed that he wasn’t going to keep a crew member if they didn’t deliver at their job. Viewers previously saw Chambers texting another chef to stick around in case McKeown couldn’t last the charter season.
“In the yachting industry, there’s gonna be ups and downs. We’re trying to achieve the high standard in hospitality and these guests are paying money and we need to constantly not lose that focus,” he shared with Us in March. “If people can’t see that, or they have an attitude against that, as a captain, I have to make changes.”
Even though Scott hasn’t publicly addressed the drama, her friendship with Ferrier was documented during season 4 of Below Deck Med. The costars both also appeared in season 5, with Scott joining the yacht after Ferrier was fired by Captain Sandy Yawn for having Valium and a CBD vape pen in the cabin.
Below Deck Down Under airs new episodes Thursdays on Peacock.
