The Below Deck franchise has featured plenty of drama since its inception, but the proceedings became particularly controversial when series star Gary King was accused of sexual assault this summer. As a result, his future with the franchise has been up in the air ever since. Now, the first mate has given Bravo fans an update on whether we'll be seeing him back on the small screen anytime soon. King specifically shared the "hope" he has.
One such fan commented, "There's a life after Below Deck for you," on a photo that Gary King recently posted to Instagram. His response was an optimistic one:
I hope so, will have to see but will definitely be trying to stay on peoples tv screens.
While it's a brief statement, by the sounds of it, Gary King is indeed remaining upbeat about his chances of returning to the show. You can see the actual post he shared to Instagram down below:
Another follower told him to "hang in there" and "get his job back." The South Africa native joined the Below Deck Sailing Yacht's (occasionally tipsy) cast in the show's second season and has served as Captain Glenn Shephard's first mate aboard the Parsifal III yacht in the seasons since. When responding to the aforementioned social media user who told him to stay strong, the star said:
I will do and hopefully be back on your screens, everyday I’m trying to better myself so hopefully if they ask me back you’ll see this xx
In Gary King's previous Instagram post, which was added to his social media page a day earlier, he can be seen laying in a field of daisies and smiling. Several hashtags accompany the image, including "#iwascancelledbecauseofalie," "#anythingforaplatformT," "#dontbelieveeverythingyousee," and "#ivegotmyheadheldhigh," among others. He captioned the post:
It’s sad that people will do anything in their power to bring you down. It’s not about how you fall but how you get up. Luckily for me, the fall was into a sea of daisies.
All in all, it would appear that the reality TV star is looking to block out anything that he perceives as negativity amid the situation. You can check out his post below:
The media personality previously discussed his self-proclaimed "cancellation," which stems from accusations made by a Below Deck production assistant. She alleged that King made unwanted advances towards her during the filming of Sailing Yacht's fourth season.
Samantha Suarez, who worked in the makeup department for the series, detailed her alleged interactions with Gary King in Rolling Stone. In that piece, she claimed that, after she was asked to check in on an inebriated King in his hotel room in the summer of 2022, he "came up behind her, grabbed her, pressed her against his body, and refused to let go of her." With force, Suarez was able to leave the room, after which she alerted the production team to the situation. The next day, producers reportedly removed King from the hotel where the cast and crew were staying and was instructed to sleep alone on the boat during their days off from filming.
Along with the accusations against him, Samantha Suarez and other former employees, who asked to remain anonymous, accused Bravo of allegedly helping cover up King’s misconduct. One such employee told the publication:
It was insane. There were multiple incidents of sexual harassment in front of multiple producers after this person had been given verbal warnings multiple times. I had to promote and make this guy who just assaulted someone look awesome. That was my job, to make this person look cool, capable and exciting.
The network released a statement claiming that investigations into Gary King's alleged behavior were made and "action was taken based on the findings." The entire message read as follows:
Bravo is committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for cast and crew on our reality shows. We require our third-party production companies to have appropriate workplace policies and trainings in place and a clear process on how to report concerns. The concerns Ms. Suarez raised in July 2022 were investigated at that time and action was taken based on the findings.
Though initially announced as a BravoCon guest in August, Gary King was quietly removed from the festival lineup in the aftermath of the scandal. However, he has maintained his innocence ever since the allegations arose this past summer, commenting to a fan on Instagram:
I know [that I did nothing wrong], and I know the truth but it still hurts when people will tell lies to bring you down.
His most recent appearances on Sailing Yacht revolved around his rumored romance with chief stew Daisy Kelliher, with whom he was embroiled in a messy love triangle alongside head engineer Colin MacRae.
As for scandals, the Below Deck franchise has been hit with many of them recently. For example, the Down Under ousted two of its stars following sexual misconduct-related matters. In the first instance, a producer had to intervene when series star Luke Jones attempted to get into co-worker Margot Sisson’s bed naked and without her consent. In the second, Laura Bileskalne was let go for her aggressive and unrequited pursuit of deckhand Adam Kodra. Franchise veteran Captain Lee dubbed their behavior "despicable."
In the case of Gary King, will he be welcomed back aboard the next season of Below Deck Sailing Yacht? There's been official word from Bravo as of this, so we'll be keeping our eyes peeled on the 2024 TV schedule for a premiere date and cast information. In the meantime, you can catch up on previous seasons of BDSY with a Peacock subscription.
