Laura Bileskalne has seen the negative feedback about her time on Below Deck Down Under — but she doesn’t seem to care.
The stew took to her Instagram Story on Thursday, August 10, to share an interview in which she previously discussed the reaction to season 2.
“The most important thing is that [people] talk about you. The good [or] the bad, let them talk!” she said in the clip, which aired on LION Lunch Hour before her departure from the series. “I don’t even mind because they are talking [about me].”
Laura added a caption to the post, writing, “Haters gona [sic] hate. As long as you are entertained.”
Laura and Luke Jones made waves this week for their controversial behavior — and subsequent exits — from Below Deck Down Under. During back-to-back episodes on Monday, August 7, Luke climbed into Margot Sisson‘s bed naked when the power went out on the boat. Producers stepped in after he tried to make a move on Margot, and Luke was ultimately fired the next morning.
“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,” Captain Jason told the crew. “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.”
Meanwhile, Laura raised eyebrows for defending Luke. Her stance made her costars discuss her unwelcome advances toward Adam Kodra, which caused Jason to dismiss her.
“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,” the captain told Laura. “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.”
He concluded: “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. 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.”
In response to the controversy, Laura issued an apology to Adam and Margot via Instagram, writing on Tuesday, August 8, “My sincere apologies to Adam, I did not realize I made him feel uncomfortable and no one should be put in that position. And to Margot to not been [sic] able to empathize. I was 29 when the show was filmed, 30 was my life-changer. I am 31 now and I am watching it as all of you, an entertainment show.”
Jason, for his part, urged viewers to have compassion for Laura and Luke in the aftermath of their firings.
“Hi everybody, I’m sure you’re digesting episode six and seven as I am. 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. I like to thank the production team for breaking the fourth wall, and stepping in,” he said via Instagram on Wednesday, August 9. “Look this happened over a year ago and again I’ll stress the people involved are all, hopefully, on a better journey to better themselves.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
