Margot Sisson thanked fans for their support following Below Deck Down Under‘s consent scandal.
“I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who has sent me a message in the last few days. I am so overwhelmed in the best way possible,” Margot said in an Instagram Story on Wednesday, August 9. “I feel like my heart could explode and if that is how I die then I’m OK with that.”
She also reassured those who reached out to her — sometimes with extraordinarily personal stories of their own — that she wasn’t ignoring any of it.
“But seriously, I am trying to read and respond to every single message so just bear with me. I am not ignoring you, I will get to you,” Margot continued. “Especially the people who are sharing their experiences with sexual assault, it just means a lot to me that you feel comfortable sharing that with me. And I think it is really important to talk about and I think it really helps to talk about it.”
During back-to-back episodes of the hit Bravo series, which aired on Monday, August 7, Luke Jones was shown getting into bed naked with Margot, who at the time was passed out after a crew night out. Producers made Luke leave the boat and he was moved to a hotel for the night.
Captain Jason terminated Luke the following morning and later that day let Laura Bileskalne go after she blamed Margot for his exit. Laura’s questionable romantic advances toward deckhand Adam Kodra were brought up to Jason before she was dismissed as well.
Margot praised chief stew Aesha Scott for supporting her — and alerting Jason about the incident.
“The way she recognized the vulnerability of the situation I was in and her courageous intervention on my behalf was both heroic and so admirable,” Margot wrote via Instagram on Wednesday. “I thank the universe for her every day, as well as the producers who quickly stepped in. Aesha, you have a heart of gold, I look up to you, and I will forever be grateful.”
Aesha addressed the scandal in a Tuesday, August 8, Instagram video, saying, “I wanted to take the opportunity to remind everyone of the main message that was shown on the episode, which is that women — and actually everyone — have the right to go out and have fun and feel safe and that is just the f—king end of it. There’s no questions or ifs or buts, that is the end of it. So please keep an eye on your friends and each other.”
Laura and Luke have both offered their sides of the story since the episodes aired.
Laura took to Instagram on Tuesday and wrote “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.”
Luke caught backlash for the wording in a post that has since been deleted. “It doesn’t Matter what they think about you because you don’t Care. Everything we Hear is an Opinion, Not a Fact. Everything we see is a Perspective. Not the Truth. Take Ownership and move forward,” he wrote via Instagram on Sunday, August 6.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
