Why ‘Below Deck’ Captain Lee Addressed Season 7 Once Again

below deck captain lee instagram post

Below Deck star Captain Lee Rosbach is addressing Season 7 once again. Fans hailed it the worst season because of the infamous “Brü Crew .” They slammed the male crew members for their misogynistic and problematic behavior. It made for an unpleasant workplace for the women who worked on board.

Most of the drama took place between the male and female crew members. Kate Chastain announced her exit from the show after Season 7. It was clear that the former chief stew had enough. Now, Captain Lee Rosbach is addressing the misogynistic and aggressive behavior that took place during the seventh season.

Captain Lee Rosbach shares thoughts on Below Deck Season 7

One Below Deck fan wanted to know why Captain Lee didn’t step in and stop the bullying that took place on Season 7. One notable scene was when bosun Ashton Pienaar punched the window of a van just inches away from Kate Chastain’s face. His reaction came after she refused to kiss him. He only calmed down once the other men in the van physically detained him.

Viewers called out the misogynistic behavior that took place. Some of them even slammed Captain Lee Rosbach for not addressing it. He claims that he was unaware of the drama at the time. He was just as shocked as fans were when the show aired.

“If you like this, I’ll expand. You are awful after seeing all of the bullying you never tried to stop last season,” one fan tweeted to Lee.

“Had I [known] about it, it would have stopped immediately, no question there,” Lee responded. “But I have to know before I can step in and I didn’t. I didn’t see it till it aired and no one spoke of it to me while we were there. Sorry you don’t get it.”

Past and present Below Deck crew members supported the long-time captain. They even defended his response. Chef Rachel Hargrove, who is currently on the eighth season, was “amazed” by the fan’s reaction. So, she had to write her own response.

“[Bullying] onboard happens a lot…” Rachel tweeted. “As a department head, I have had to step in and go to the Captain myself about a person or persons being ganged up on. Also sometimes the crew member is intimidated and ashamed to go to the Captain.”

Crew members continue to support Captain Lee

The support continued to pour in. Courtney Skippon appeared on Below Deck Season 7. She was present when the drama took place. She clapped back at the viewer with her own question.

“But what you’re doing…..isn’t bullying…..????” Courtney asked.

Lee previously stated that he wished one of the female crew members would have come to him and informed him of the situation. Kate left the boat in the middle of the night following her interaction with Ashton in the van. On his blog, Lee said he didn’t know why she left. He was clearly worried about her safety.

“Now that I see why you left, I really wish you would have let me know what was going on so I could have dealt with it,” Lee wrote at the time. “And I certainly would have dealt with it quickly and firmly, to say the least. You showed a great deal of class by not tossing Ashton under the bus that he would’ve been deserving of.”

Lee made it clear that he would never work with Ashton ever again. Now, the captain has come under fire for his own behavior. Former crew member Bruno Duarte accused Lee of “forcing” him to consume alcohol. He also accused Kate of acting snooty.

Below Deck airs Monday nights at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

Chanel Adams

One Comment

  1. I just watched this season so I have much to say. Do I think the guys were a little crazy sometimes, acted inappropriately and had a Bromance? yes. But I think the real bullies here are Kate, Captain Lee and Rhylee. I grew up with a narcissistic father and sister, and Kate exhibits all the signs of a classic narcissist. She takes no accountability, is passive aggressive, manipulative and dishonest. She constantly deflects and does the twist around to make it the other person’s fault. For captain Lee to have backed her up blindly when she caused so much trouble was very disturbing and unprofessional, and makes me think he has his own emotional issues. The double standards of – it wasn’t OK for Kevin to tell Brian what Courtney said, but it was OK for Kate to tell Rhylee what Ashton said was crazy!!! And it was actually way worse for Kate to tell Rhylee because this was a business matter not a personal boatmance matter. (And when Ashton brought this up on the reunion, Captain Lee completely deflected and said something about, wouldn’t you want a person in your life like that that back to you up??? Sooooo not the point Captain Lee. Favoritism in the work place is favoritism favoritism in the workplace and is not appropriate). Kate slamming the doors the last night and not letting Kevin into the galley, and throwing uniforms on the ground, while Captain Lee just sat there and watched was disgusting. Additionally, Ashton wanted to fire Rhylee and he should’ve been able to, but Kate convinced Captain Lee not to, and of course Captain Lee has to do whatever Kate says.The boys never did things like this and I think there are a lot of people that are scapegoating the boys and loosely throwing around the word misogynistic (and I am a 50 year old woman so I’m not invested in protecting the boys). I just saw them as guys that wanted to do their jobs and have a little fun and they kept getting picked on by these toxic women. Rhylee is a highly abusive and toxic person.

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