Apparently Luke’s Girlfriend Says He Was ‘Acting’ During The ‘Below Deck’ Incident
There’s been another twist in the latest Below Deck Down Under scandal, and it makes me feel kind of uncomfy. Please note, this story contains themes of sexual harassment, so if you would prefer to avoid this topic, click away now.
ICYMI, fans were shocked when a fully naked Luke Jones slipped into Margot Sisson’s bed while she was heavily under the influence of alcohol. With the help of the production team, chief stew Aesha Scott and Captain Jason, Luke was ordered off the ship, and fired the next day.
However, Luke’s current girlfriend Diana Maldonado, has apparently brushed the incident off, allegedly telling a Below Deck fan that the bosun was “acting” at the time.
Image credits: Instagram/@dianaworkoutss, X/@kittkattttttt
The fan, Katie Locher, slid into Diana’s DMs on Instagram and shared a screenshot of their conversation on Twitter X. “The fact you’re with this man shows you condone his behaviour of him being a predator,” Katie wrote.
The fitness coach’s reply shocked me to my core, and I still can’t get my head around it. Defending her boyfriend, Diana wrote: “Girl he was just acting, it’s a TV show, it’s not real life”.
@itspunkee Captain Jason explains his decision to fire Luke and Laura from Below Deck Down Under. #belowdeck #belowdeckdownunder #captainjason #captaincutie #bravo #Hayu #superyacht #crewmate ♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim
Fans react to Diana’s Below Deck Down Under claims.
Tbh, it seems far-fetched that producers would use such a serious situation to create drama, and I’m not alone. Fans responded to the exchange on X, with many asking why Luke would “pretend” to take advantage of Margot while she was drunk.
“Does she really think people are stupid? Reality TV may have a lot of manufactured points to it but a good chunk is still very much real life. Real people. Not actors. Manufactured drama? Sure. Manufactured SA? No. Not in 2023,” one person wrote.
“So his rage at being stopped by production was “acting” too? This girl needs a serious wake-up call,” another said.
“Why would anyone ‘act’ as a predator knowing this would follow them forever? No one is buying this!” a third commented.
“Women love to excuse their boyfriends’ bad behaviour. It will happen today, it will happen tomorrow and it probably happened yesterday too. If she didn’t figure it out on her own you cannot convince her,” another added.
Image credit: Instagram/@zmargotz
Captain Jason says the Below Deck Down Under incident was real.
Captain Jason’s swift response to the situation on board the Midnight Sun has been praised by cast members and fans, with Margot saying not all superyacht captains would act with such integrity.
In an Instagram video that has been viewed nearly 400,000 times, he opened up about the massive response to the “inappropriate” behaviour on the boat.
“I’ve had a flood of messages over the last 24 hours from people in similar situations, some not so lucky of the outcome, so my heart goes out to them,” he said. “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.”
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The captain told fans that he isn’t usually aware of what goes on when the crew go out together, but it’s clear that production step in when necessary.
“As soon as Aesha brought it to my attention, I addressed it straight away. So it’s real, it’s real-time and look, this happened over a year ago, and again I’ll stress the people involved are all hopefully on a better journey to better themselves.”
He finished his message by urging followers to spread “less hate” and “more love”.
If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. 13Yarn is also available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in need of support.
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Image credits: X/@kittkattttttt, Bravo, Below Deck Down Under, Instagram/@zmargotz, @dianaworkoutss