Captain Sandy let Alissa Humber go on the latest Below Deck episode, but Alissa thinks things should have been handled differently. Camille Lamb was the first to go when the tension between her and Alissa was too much, and Sandy fired her. However, things didn't get better, and it was clear Alissa was a huge problem and needed to go too. When Sandy fired Camille, she called her to the wheelhouse to inform her she was being let go, but when Alissa was fired, Sandy had Bosun Ross McHarg present and had him escort her off the boat.
Captain Sandy thinks she made the right choice, but Below Deck second stew Alissa thinks she was treated unfairly. After the episode aired, Alissa shared an Instagram comment from a Below Deck fan on her Instagram story.
The fan pointed out that Camille spoke disrespectfully to Ross, Chief Stew Fraser Olender, and chef Rachel Hargrove but was given many chances before being fired. However, the fan believes Alissa wasn't given as many chances before Sandy let her go, and her behavior wasn't as bad as Camille's. "I'm tired of ppl saying race isn't a factor on these shows. Why did Ross have to be present for that, and why did he have to walk you off the boat immediately."
Alissa Would Have Spoken About This At The Below Deck Reunion
The fan pointed out that Camille didn't have to go through that, and she was allowed to walk all around the boat after being fired. Alissa added a caption to her Instagram story, writing, "If I don't show up for the reunion (I became extremely unhealthy mentally during and following the show), this is what I wouldn't harped on." A Below Deck fan on Twitter had a similar opinion to the fan who commented on one of Alissa's Instagram posts. User @Tarikalovee24 wrote, "As a POC, I do see the differences in treatment. I don’t think sandy is racist, but the aggression was handled differently."
It's hard to ignore the different ways Sandy handled firing Camille and Alissa. While it's not unusual for a captain to have a witness while firing an employee, it is weird that no one was present when Camille was fired. With Camille's attitude all season and the way she spoke to her fellow crew members after being fired, she would have needed Ross to escort her off the boat more than anyone else. Alissa and the Below Deck fans are right to draw attention to the situation. Alissa was the only woman of color on the boat, and seeing her go and be replaced by a white crew member is disheartening.
However, Alissa's behavior should not be excused. She was incredibly disrespectful to her fellow crew members and to Sandy. One of the reasons it may seem that she was given fewer chances than Camille is because Sandy and the other crew members realized Alissa was part of the problem the whole time, and when Camille was fired, Alissa should have been fired with her. While Alissa and her supporters are right to call out the show for how she and Camille were handled, they can't pretend Alissa's behavior on Below Deck was acceptable.
Below Deck airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.
Sources: Alissa Humber/Instagram, @Tarikalovee24/Twitter