Captain Lee Rosbach from Below Deck, has admitted he had no idea about the bullying that was happening on the boat during the filming of season seven. As someone who has spent more than 20 years in the yachting industry, Captain Lee was originally working in the restaurant industry before he discovered his love for the sea.
At the age of 35, he received his captain's license to pursue his newfound passion and make a living doing something he truly loves. Now Captain Lee is the subject of some controversy. He is being called out for not putting a stop to the bullying the was happening on board.
According to Cheat Sheet, Captain Lee had to address the misogynistic and sometimes violent behavior that was going on during season seven of the reality series. Lee has addressed these concerns before, but a Twitter user recently called him out for not doing anything about the bullying. “If you like this, I’ll expand. You really are awful after seeing all of the bullying you never tried to stop last season,” said the angry viewer to Lee. The reality star replied by saying, “Had I know about it, it would have stopped immediately, no question there. But I have to know before I can step in and I didn’t. I didn’t see it till it aired and no one spoke of it to me while we were there. Sorry you don’t get it.” Rachel Hargrove, the chef on the current season of the show, replied to the fan as well offering her point of view on the situation. Hargrove, who has been in the industry for 14 years, revealed that bullying happens on these boats all the time. As someone who is the head of a department on the boat, she had to go to the captain on the boat herself and let them know about the situation. She added that sometimes the person subject to the bullying is too embarrassed and won't go to the captain for help.
On season seven of Below Deck, Stew Courtney Skippon was on the receiving end of most of the bullying from her male co-workers. Kate Chastain was the one subjected to a violent encounter by bosun Ashton Pienaar who lashed out at Kate, prompting her to leave the boat in the middle of the night. At the time, Lee did not understand why Kate left, but after seeing the situation play out on TV he completely understood. Although, Lee did wish Kate had told him about the situation so he could deal with Ashton "quickly and firmly."
It's safe to say, Captain Lee will not be dealing with this kind of behavior on season eight of the series. Bullying is not acceptable in any environment, and viewers can expect the captain to be more aware of it in the coming episodes.
Sources: Cheat Sheet