‘Below Deck’ Star Gary King, Bravo, NBCUniversal Sued by Crew Member Alleging Sexual Assault

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On Tuesday, Gary King, a prominent figure from Bravo’s “Below Deck Sailing Yacht,” faced allegations of sexual misconduct in a court case. The accuser is a makeup artist who worked on the same production.

Samantha Suarez claims that she and her former boyfriend, Grey Duddleston who was a camera operator, were dismissed after voicing concerns over King’s suspected wrongdoings.

The duo initiated a lawsuit against King, Bravo, and NBCUniversal at the Los Angeles Superior Court. They are being represented by Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos, who have filed numerous comparable lawsuits as part of the “Reality Reckoning” campaign over the past 18 months.

Bravo chose not to provide a statement regarding this matter, as representatives from Banijay initially failed to respond to our inquiry seeking a comment from them.

Suarez claims that King kept her confined in a hotel room on July 3, 2022. As per the lawsuit, King requested that Suarez share his bed after he became intoxicated during show interviews. Moreover, King is said to have told her that Duddleston didn’t need to be aware of the situation. The suit further states that she eventually left the room following her duty of ensuring his safety.

Later on, Suarez was assigned the job of bringing water and snacks to the cast members. Upon reaching King’s room, it is claimed that he opened the door wearing only his underwear and refused to accept the supplies. This caused Suarez to walk past him and place the items inside instead. According to the accusation, he then attempted to restrain her as she tried to exit the room. She managed to escape, open the door, but he reportedly regained control, closing it again, as stated in the lawsuit.

According to Suarez’s claims, she felt certain that she would be assaulted until a phone call from another crew member came through, which she took, causing King to release her so as not to be overheard. However, he continued to follow her along the hallway. Later on, it is alleged that still in just her undergarments, King approached Suarez from behind, repeatedly questioned what was wrong while massaging her back and smirking.

In a report made by Duddleston, who passed it on to a fellow executive producer following the incident, Suarez’s account of the event led to a meeting with various producers the next day. As stated in the lawsuit, Showrunner Courtland Cox is said to have emailed Suarez later that same day, confirming King had acknowledged Suarez’s accusations and was warned that another similar occurrence could lead to his termination.

Following Suarez’s formal disclosure about the event to 51 Minds Productions, it is said that she was asked to put her signature on a document outlining confidentiality and liability terms, and agree that no therapy or treatment would be sought due to the incident.

Later, it was alleged that King removed the tops of two female cast members’ bikinis without their permission, made suggestive comments to a female sound technician, and even physically touched inappropriate areas of two male camera operators. According to the claim, when Duddleston reported this over the crew’s walkie-talkie system, 51 Minds instead initiated an investigation into improper use of the walkie-talkie by Duddleston, rather than taking action against King for his inappropriate behavior.

According to the complaint, Suarez was left in a sense of being ignored after the incident with King, going nearly two weeks without any communication from production. Furthermore, it is claimed that she was scolded by the head of HR at Banijay America, 51 Minds’ parent company, for potentially contaminating the investigation by discussing the matter with her coworkers when they contacted her regarding her absence on set.

As a movie enthusiast, I’d rephrase it like this: “Each season on ‘Below Deck’, the crew is usually invited to rejoin the series following its conclusion. However, Suarez and Duddleston weren’t asked back, and they found out that they had been added to an infamous ‘do not hire’ list. This list was widely recognized among the cast members, and it’s typically reserved for those who were dismissed from the show due to inappropriate conduct.

The investigation ended on September 16, 2022. In the final report, Banijay’s Human Resources head stated that regular HR meetings for upcoming projects at 51 Minds would be intensified. Furthermore, the company announced plans to broaden discussions about sexual harassment and workplace respect, as well as providing Suarez with $1,000 for therapeutic support.

In August 2023, Rolling Stone published articles about Suarez’s accusations, following which King was taken out of the list of speakers for that year’s BravoCon event. However, he still continues as a cast member on the show.

The grievance encompasses allegations of sexual assault, unjust dismissal, illegal confinement, retribution, and negligent recruitment.

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2025-02-26 07:47