Captain Lee had some advice for Below Deck producers after the show made headlines for a recent consent scandal.
“Sometimes I think production needs to break the fourth wall more than they do. There’s a lot of situations that didn’t have to happen had they broken the fourth wall that they think is so sacrosanct,” the Below Deck alum, 73, told cohost Sam DeCavalcanti during the Wednesday, September 6, episode of his “Salty With Captain Lee” podcast. “There are certain instances where they can take the fourth wall and put it where the sun don’t shine.”
Producers from Below Deck Down Under season 2 received praise from viewers after they stepped in to prevent a potential assault. In episodes that aired last month, Luke Jones was seen getting into Margot Sisson‘s bed while he was naked. A cameraman subsequently took Luke off the boat for the night before he was fired by Captain Jason.
Luke remained largely tight-lipped about his controversial appearance on Below Deck Down Under after it aired but has shared videos from the gym and of various adventures in Dubai. Days before viewers saw the consent scandal play out, Luke seemingly addressed his time on reality TV.
“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 in an Instagram post on August 6, which has since been deleted.
Captain Lee also weighed in on the controversy, exclusively telling Us Weekly that same month, “I don’t know if I would have had the wherewithal to remain as calm as Captain Jason did, but he certainly stepped up to the plate and did it right. It’s a tough spot to be in. When there’s the captain you’re responsible for everything and anything that does happen. Jason handled it superbly.”
He continued: “I think [the fans’] reaction is justified and their praise for not only production, but for [chief stew] Aesha [Scott], and for Captain Jason, as well. They all stepped up to the plate and did the right thing at the appropriate time and didn’t let anything get carried away. Didn’t put it on the back burner, didn’t cover it up. They just dealt with it appropriately.”
Captain Jason, meanwhile, reminded viewers to have empathy following their strong reactions to the situation.
“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,” he said via Instagram in August. “I’d like to thank the production team for breaking the fourth wall, and stepping in. Then reforming and allowing Aesha to come to me in an authentic manner and us dealing with it as we would as captain and crew. … 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.”
Executive producer Nadine Rajabi also issued a statement about the team’s decision to step in, telling the Los Angeles Times, “It was a hard night; the whole thing was very, very difficult. I didn’t realize the response that would come of this because that was not anything that we were thinking about. It’s not anything to be congratulated on because it was just about doing the right thing. I would hope that everybody would act in that way. It was about safety.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
