Below Deck’s Captain Kerry Titheradge stepped in after a group of particularly difficult guests made the crew potentially uncomfortable.
During the Monday, July 7, episode of the hit Bravo series, the crew prepared to host a group of people who own multiple strip clubs. Before they even stepped foot on the St. David, chief steward Fraser Olender realized they had their hands full. The situation only intensified as the charter kicked off, with the guests’ demands and attitude getting worse and worse.
“So these guests are getting very rowdy,” Kerry told the interior team after walking by lunch service. “If at any point you feel uncomfortable, let me know.”
Kerry noted that they can deal with “demand,” adding, “Rude and demeaning we cannot do. If anybody doesn’t have the respect [for my crew] then you have no time on my boat. I don’t give a s*** who you are. I have no worries getting a water taxi and deporting some people if I have to.”
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This isn’t the first time guests have pushed the limits, ultimately forcing a captain to call them out. Season 9 of Below Deck Mediterranean featured a challenging charter where guest Neysla Paltsev and several friends called Chef Johnathan Shillingford down to question his choice of caviar before making a dig about chief stew Aesha Scott‘s dinner service. Captain Sandy Yawn ultimately intervened and subtly defended her staff to the guests during the charter.
After receiving backlash on social media, Neysla issued an apology.
“The dinner was definitely not my best moment and I should not have handled it the way I did,” Neysla said via her Instagram Story in August 2024. “I was emotional and I couldn’t reel it back in. It wasn’t nice at all and for that I am really sorry about that.”
Neysla walked some of those comments back after watching her behavior on screen, saying, “The confusion with the knives was silly. But the way I handled it was not OK. For that, I am truly sorry. Although getting knives confused is not a crime, neither is being rude. But I should not have been [that rude].”
Johnathan subsequently weighed in on the public amends.
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“I think their apology was great for sure [where they were] taking responsibility for some of their snarky comments,” he exclusively told Us Weekly at the time. “While that’s not OK, some people may have a bad day. The fact that they took responsibility for it was a great move on their part.”
The chef clarified that he didn’t think the show gave the group a bad edit, saying, “In any show, there are things that are cut [or] things that maybe were dramatized because the camera does that anyways. Regardless of all of that, they did say things that were offensive.”
Johnathan concluded: “We all kind of learned from it. As a crew, it was great that Captain Sandy had our backs. I think it’s great that in retrospect — or in seeing themselves — these guests maybe took responsibility for how rude or snarky they were.”
Elsewhere in Monday’s episode of Below Deck, the group was introduced to their new bosun after Caio Poltronieri was fired. There was also a love triangle between Solène Favreau, Jess Theron and Kyle Stillie, which will continue to unfold this season.
Below Deck airs on Bravo Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
