Below Deck: Down Under's latest episode The Turnover Day was met with shock from viewers after production was forced to break the fourth wall and intervene after crew member Luke Jones acted inappropriately with his fellow crew member, Margot Sisson. The aftermath of the situation also led to Laura Bileskalne's dismissal, but what exactly happened?
In season two episode seven, the crew members returned to the yacht after a boozy night out, where Margot, who was drunk, went to bed and fell asleep. However, shortly after she retired, there is a power outage in the bed, and Luke entered Margot's bedroom in a towel, and attempted to get into bed with her.
Despite not usually getting involved in the show, the cameramen and crew members filming the reality show quickly intervened, attempting to remove Luke from Margot's bed by telling him to get up. Luke got out of bed naked, and attempted to shut the crewmembers out of the room, who hold the door open until he is back in his own cabin.
The ship’s chief steward Aesha Scott is then informed and asked Margot if she consented to Luke being there, to which she replied: "No, I was asleep. I did not invite that at all." Aesha then woke the Captain to tell him about the situation, tearily explaining: "Now Luke is so freaked out that he got caught, he's locked himself in his room… it's so [expletive] wrong." The Captain replied: "I'm going to go down and find Luke and get him off the boat. [Expletive] that, not on my watch."
He then woke Luke to tell him that he had to leave immediately, and that he will be staying in a hotel. Luke was swiftly dismissed the following day, to which Luke replied: "I'm sorry and I'm just really disappointed in myself."
In a similar situation from the same night, Laura continuously attempted to pursue Adam, despite him telling her that he wasn't interested in a romantic relationship. After going to bed, Laura followed him to his bunk and climbed on top of him, with the cameraman saying: "Laura, I got a message from producers, telling you to come down." The producer can then be heard saying: "Hey friends, this is when you have to step down and go to your own cabin. Laura. Right now."
Laura also shocked her fellow crew members by making light of the situation with Luke and Margot, telling Margot: "I think he meant it as a joke. He's a funny guy, he wouldn't have meant anything bad, he wouldn't have raped you or anything," adding, "poor Luke" in reference to his dismissal. When asked about Margot's response to Laura's comments, she told the Captain: "I think it's really insensitive." Captain Jason agreed, telling her: "To actually come back and say that to you of all people, there are no words for it. It was wrong. We're a team. We're moving forward. I'll take care of the rest."
He was also informed of Laura's interest in Adam, and asked Adam's for his perspective, to which he told the Captain: "[She's] just being a little too much, like hanging over me too much, kind of just like in my space. And I don't want to be rude to her or make her feel embarrassed, so I've been saying no in a playful manner." Calling Laura to speak to him, the Captain fired her, telling her: "Two things. One, Adam feels uncomfortable with some moments out and he's tried to say no, you have not listened to him and his boundaries. The second thing after my multiple speeches with the crew about boundaries and respect, did you not go into Margot and say, 'Poor Luke, I wish he would have come in and seen me.' […] You've disrespected exactly what I set out to do…. For you to go to Margot and say that just shows you haven't listened to a word I've said boundaries."
Fans of the show were full of praise for Captain Jason, Aesha and the production team behind the show, with one posting: "The environment Aesha and Captain Jason have built is incredible and I hope they always work together," while another person added: "Captain Jason handled everything so beautifully, I'm so proud of the crew that stood up and acknowledged the wrongness."
A third person added: "Kudos to the production team for stepping in and Cap Jason for his immediate response."
Jason addressed fans in a TikTok video after the episode aired, saying: "I've had a flood of messages over the last 24 hours in similar situations, some not so lucky over the outcome, my heart goes out to them. 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… It's real, it's real time.
"This happened over a year ago, the people involved are all hopefully on a better journey, to better themselves, and less hate please, more love… let's send it home that this is not acceptable."