Two former “Below Deck” staffers have filed a lawsuit against cast member Gary King for alleged sexual assault and battery, as well as against NBCUniversal, Bravo and other production companies behind the reality show for retaliation and wrongful termination.
The suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles, lists Samantha Suarez, a hair and makeup artist, and Grey Duddleston, a camera operator, as plaintiffs, both of whom either experienced or witnessed King’s abuse first-hand, as well as retaliation and wrongful termination. In addition to NBCUniversal and Bravo, the suit lists Mountain View Productions, 51 Minds and Endemol Shine as defendants.
In the suit, Suarez alleges that on July 3, 2022, while she and Duddleston were in production on “Below Deck Sailing Yacht” Season 4, she was “held hostage in a hotel room” by King when she went to deliver snacks and water to his room. King opened the door in his underwear and “refused to take the water from
her hands at the door,” forcing her to enter the room.
When she tried to leave the room after putting down the water, Suarez alleges “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,” and after she broke free from his grip, he chased her and slammed the door, “menacingly laughing and staring at her with evil dilated eyes.”
By happenstance, however, Suarez was able to accept a call on her phone from another crew member, which deterred King from keeping Suarez trapped, though he still followed her into the hallway in his underwear and grabbed her from behind.
Suarez immediately reported the incident to 51 Minds, who is also listed as a defendant, which opened an investigation and led to King admitting what had happened, though King was not fired, and was instead cautioned that he would be fired if another incident occurred.
After the incident, the suit notes Duddleston, who was Suarez’s boyfriend at the time, witnessed “King untie the bikini tops of two female cast members without their consent, make lewd remarks to a female audio technician, and grab the genitals of two male camera operators” — incidents which he reported over the crew walkie talkie system. The suit alleges that “51 Minds (alongside the studio, NBC) opened an investigation into Duddleston for inappropriate use of the walkie-talkie system.”
Upon returning to the states, Suarez and Duddleston learned they had been terminated by 51 Minds and NBCUniversal and they believe “they are now on a ‘do not hire’ list and remain virtually unemployable in their field,” while they allege NBCUniversal continues to support King.
A representative for NBCUniversal did not immediately respond for comment.
The suit comes over a year after Suarez recalled the incident to Rolling Stone. At the time, a spokesperson for Bravo issued the following statement to TheWrap: “Bravo is committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for cast and crew on our reality shows. We require our third-party production companies to have appropriate workplace policies and trainings in place and a clear process on how to report concerns. The concerns Ms. Suarez raised in July 2022 were investigated at that time and action was taken based on the findings.”
