Once again, the question is Below Deck scripted has become a hot topic. Thanks to new allegations against producers, fans are pretty sure the Bravo show is far from reality.
Season 8 of Below Deck has brought new claims the producers have more involvement in the show than fans initially realized. Three charter guests and a former crew member have all come forward with new shocking allegations.
Guests dish producer requests
Charley Walters and his friends were the first charter group featured on Season 8. The over the top and demanding guests were blasted on social media for their behavior.
In an effort to explain his actions, Charley revealed the producers wanted the guests to act that way. Although Captain Lee Rosbach and Rachel Hargrove refuted the claims, his remarks raised red flags for fans.
Last week, UNLV quarterback Max Gilliam issued an apology for his behavior on Below Deck. The football player and his friend Dax Nittolo were the primary guests on the second charter.
Max’s apology revealed that eating sushi off a naked model was not his group’s idea. It was the producers’ request, and Max regretted not pushing back on it.
Jemele Hill was the final charter guest on Below Deck Season 7. She recently told comedian Leslie Jones her group was supplied with plenty of shots at a bar with producers while waiting to board The Valor.
Past crew members drop bombshell claims
Over the summer, Rhylee Gerber revealed producers pushed her to open up about her boatmance with deckhand Tyler Rowland during Season 6. Rhylee hoped to keep her rendezvous with Tyler from the rest of the crew members.
However, producers asked her to speak with one of her colleagues about the hook-up. Rhylee gave in and ended up talking to Laura Betancourt.
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Season 5 deckhand Bruno Duarte made some shocking claims against producers when he stopped by the Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef podcast. Bruno alleges the drama on the show was fabricated. He claimed producers tried to get Bruno to hook up with Brianna Adekeye for storyline purposes.
Those scenes of the crew having a drunken night out, well, those were encouraged by producers too. Bruno accused producers of pushing the crew to drink because it was the easiest way to loosen up the cast.
So to answer the question, is Below Deck scripted? Yes, it is. All of reality TV has a scripted element to create storylines, which can only happen with producer involvement or direction.
It doesn’t mean the Bravo show is fake. Below Deck just might not be as real as fans initially thought.
Then again, are any reality TV shows a true depiction of reality?
Below Deck airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.