by Thinus Ferreira
The South African Below Deck: Sailing Yacht crew cast member Gary King is being sued for sexual battery and harassment, with NBCUniversal, the Bravo channel and the production company 51Minds also being lumped in for alleged retaliation and a hostile work environment.
American media report that two Below Deck: Sailing Yacht production crew members are suing Gary King, NBCUniversal, Endemol Shine as well as the Bravo TV channel for sexual assault, retaliation, a hostile work environment and their failure to prevent discrmination.
The make-up artists Samantha Suarez and the cameraman Grey Duddleston are suing and alleging that they were fired from the 4th season of Below Deck: Sailing Yacht produced by the 51 Minds Entertainment production company and were also placed on a "don't hire" list.
Below Deck: Sailing Yacht is broadcast on NBCUniversal's E! (DStv 124) on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service in South Africa and across the African continent.
Neither NBCUniversal nor Bravo or 51 Minds Entertainment had any comment on the legal action.
In their court filing in the Los Angeles Superior Court, Samantha Suarez and Grey Duddleston set out what happened during and after an alleged violent assault by a drunk Gary King that took place on 23 July 2022 in Sardinia, where Samantha Suarez feared that Gary King could rape her.
Samantha Suarez claims she was "held hostage in a hotel room by Gary King, a longtime cast member, known drunkard, and serial harasser".
After bringing snacks and water to his room on 3 July 2022 she says he locked her in and she feared that he was going to rape her.
"When she turned to leave, he lunged towards her, used his arms to grab her by her upper body, and restrained her with his tight grip around her body and arms."
"Samantha Suarez was terrified and instinctively screamed and fought to pry his grip loose so she could get away from him."
"Suarez managed to break free, ran towards the door and started to pull the door open when Gary King, who was chasing her, got both his hands on the door and slammed it shut keeping her trapped, menacingly laughing and staring at her with evil dilated eyes. Suarez was sure she would be raped."
Samantha Suarez says she reported the case to 51 Minds Entertainment, with Gary King who admitted what he had done when the production company spoke to him.
"Unsurprisingly, Gary King engaged in further misconduct," they note.
Grey Duddleston who at the time was Samantha Suarez's boyfriend, then witnessed Gary King untying the bikini tops of two Below Deck: Sailing Yacht female cast members without their consent.
"Gary King also made lewd remarks to a female audio technician and he also grabbed the genitals of two male camera operators."
After Grey Duddleston reported these incidents over the crew walkie-talkie system, rather than Gary King getting fired, Duddleston says 51 Minds Entertainment and NBCUniversal started an investigation into Duddleston "for inappropriate use of the walkie-talkie system".
