Below Deck Sailing Yacht’s Gary King Is ‘Trying to Stay’ on TV After Sexual Misconduct Accusations
Gary King isn't ruling out a Below Deck Sailing Yacht return despite making headlines for a sexual misconduct scandal.
The reality star took to the comments section of his recent Instagram post to answer questions about his future on Bravo. King addressed a viewer who reminded him there's "a life after" Below Deck, replying, "I hope so, will have to see but will definitely be trying to stay on peoples tv screens ??."
King noted in a separate comment that he is putting in the work to show his worth. "I will do and hopefully be back on your screens, everyday I’m trying to better myself so hopefully if they ask me back you’ll see this," he continued.
In multiple other responses, King said he’s hopeful that Bravo will ask him to come back. King's future as a Below Deck Sailing Yacht cast member has been up in the air since a production assistant from the show accused him of making unwanted advances while filming season 4.
Earlier this year, Samantha Suarez detailed her alleged interactions with King for a Rolling Stone exposé. Suarez and other former employees, who asked to remain anonymous, accused Bravo of allegedly helping cover up King's inappropriate behavior.
“It was insane. There were multiple incidents of sexual harassment in front of multiple producers after this person had been given verbal warnings multiple times,” one of the accusers alleged in October. “I had to promote and make this guy who just assaulted someone look awesome. That was my job, to make this person look cool, capable and exciting.”
According to Suarez, she was asked to look after King after he allegedly got drunk. Once filming wrapped, Suarez remained with King in his hotel room before he tried to stop her from leaving him. King allegedly pressed himself against Suarez as she turned toward the door and refused to let her leave until she started to fight back.
Suarez went on to claim that she alerted producers about the incident, which resulted in King getting told to sleep on the boat on days when the crew wasn't filming as a way to keep him out of the hotel.
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Bravo addressed the allegations in a statement to Rolling Stone, saying, “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.”
In a separate statement, Below Deck’s production company 51 Minds Entertainment issued their own response to the allegations.
“51 Minds is committed to providing an environment in which every member of the casts and crews on our productions feel respected and, most importantly, safe. 51 Minds provides mandatory harassment and sensitivity training for every series it produces at the outset of each new season and lays out a clear process on how and to whom to report any questionable activity," a spokesperson said. "With any complaint filed, a timely investigation is launched and, based on the findings, appropriate actions are implemented to ensure the safety of our cast and crew, up to and including termination. With regard to the incident reported by Ms. Suarez involving Mr. King, the case was investigated and reviewed as soon as it was submitted, and production acted accordingly based on the results.”
King has maintained his innocence since news broke about the claim. "I know [that I did nothing wrong], and I know the truth but it still hurts when people will tell lies to bring you down," he replied to a fan via Instagram one month later.
In the aftermath, King didn't appear at BravoCon in November despite initially being announced as a guest. He has, however, subtly received support from his Below Deck Sailing Yacht costars including Captain Glenn Shephard and Ileisha Dell.