The show Below Deck follows a yacht crew as they wait on some of the wealthiest people in existence on their very expensive vacations. It’s sort of a real-life, modern-day Downton Abbey, where the crew sleeps in tiny quarters in the boat and waits on rich people hand and foot.
It’s an easy hit that’s been around since 2013, spawning various spinoffs.
However, the popular show found itself in a pickle when white cast member Heather Chase said the N-Word in front of Black cast member and deckhand Rayna Lindsey.
Chase first says the word when the crew is out partying. Chase used the word after Lindsey said it, which is not how this works.
That time, Lindsey speaks up, saying, “You cannot say [N-word], you’re white as [expletive]. That’s cancel culture. Better be careful when you say the N-word. They’ll cancel you so hard.”
Chase then denies saying the word.
“I don’t think I said it, I’m sorry.” Lindsey replied, “You know how people are. 2021. It’s not 2002 anymore, you know?” Yes, one year is like the beginning of time itself.
Jake Foulger, another white cast member, said, “No one said it.”
“You said it in the bathroom today,” Lindsey said. The show then cuts to Lindsey saying the word and Chase repeating it.
“That’s OK, I still love you,” Lindsey tells Chase. “I’m telling you, just be careful.”
Here’s a clip of that exchange.
Later in her confessional, Lindsey shared her true feelings.
“I don’t want to be, like, the angry person, but I think what bothers me that I’m supposed to work with these people who think this shit’s OK,” Lindsey said. “She thought it was cool, and it hurts me. It hurts my heart, it hurts everything in me.”
Chase took to Instagram to apologize.
“I am sorry for the hurt my ignorance caused Rayna in tonight’s episode,” Chase wrote. “While I apologized to Rayna throughout the season, I cannot express enough how truly remorseful I am. Part of my responsibility as Chief Stewardess is to provide a welcoming, safe environment for the crew, and I fell short. Over the past nine months, since this episode filmed, I have learned how my words and actions can affect others, and I vow to do better in the future.”
On her Instagram stories, Lindsey said she was “very disappointed” in Bravo for how they handled the situation and how they “kept rewarding” Chase throughout the season, according to Page Six. Lindsey also said that Captain Lee knew about the situation and didn’t want to talk to her about it.
She also said that her relationship with Chase changed after the show.
“We (Chase and Lindsey) aren’t and have never been friends … I wish her nothing but the best though. She’s young and hopefully can learn from these mistakes.”