'Below Deck' Sex Scandal Erupts: Staffers Are SUING NBCUniversal, Bravo and Gary King for Alleged Sexual Assault and 'Retaliation'
Feb. 26 2025, Published 5:45 p.m. ET
The Below Deck sex scandal has erupted — staff members are suing NBCUniversal, Bravo and Gary King for alleged sexual assault.
RadarOnline.com can report the lawsuit was filed by Samantha Suarez, a hair and makeup artist, and Grey Duddleston, a camera operator, as they both claimed to have experienced or witnessed King’s alleged abuse.
Two staff members are suing King.
According to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Suarez claimed on July 3, 2022, while both she and Duddleston were in production, she was allegedly "held hostage in a hotel room" by King.
She alleged that after she went to bring King snacks and water, he opened the door wearing underwear and "refused to take the water from her hands at the door," forcing her to enter his room.
Suarez claimed after she tried exiting, he allegedly "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."
He allegedly chased her before slamming his door while "menacingly laughing and staring at her with evil dilated eyes."
She was allegedly able to escape the room after receiving a phone call from another staff member, but he did allegedly follow her and grab her.
Suarez did report the incident to the production company, 51 Minds, which led to an investigation.
King admitted the incident did occur, but was not fired and was only given a warning.
According to the lawsuit, Suarez was allegedly "required to sign a confidentiality and liability waiver and acknowledge that she would not be receiving therapy or treatment following the alleged incident."
The ex-staffer accused King of making several advances after consuming excessive amounts of alcohol.
According to Duddleston, who was Suarez’s boyfriend at the time, he allegedly 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."
After returning to the United States, both Suarez and Duddleston were allegedly fired by 51 Minds and NBCUniversal.
The duo claimed they are on a "do not hire list" and remain "unemployable."
Back in August 2023, Rolling Stone reported on the allegations surrounding King.
He remained a cast member on the show but was removed from the list of speakers at BravoCon for that year.
King remained a current cast member on 'Below Deck Sailing Yacht.'
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At the time of that story in 2023, Bravo told The Wrap: "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."
