The Below Deck Crew Member Captain Lee Says He Won't Work With Again
He often comes off as laid-back, but Below Deck fans know that Captain Lee Rosbach isn't afraid to crack the whip when he needs to. Anyone wondering whether Below Deck is real or staged can count on one thing: Rosbach has the very real authority to fire whoever he pleases, mid-charter or otherwise.
To that end, he's made it clear there's one crew member who won't be climbing aboard for season 8, should the popular Bravo show get renewed for another go-round. Rosbach appeared on The Jenny McCarthy Show alongside chief stew Kate Chastain to spill the beans, sharing enough is enough when it comes to one particular Below Deck star.
This Below Deck crew member's behavior was inexcusable
When it comes to bosun Ashton Pienaar, there's no coming back from his shocking behavior during the most recent season. Not only was his managerial style called into question, but Pienaar was widely accused of being a misogynist, too. In fact, Pienaar's behavior was universally considered so terrible he was forced to post an apology video on his Instagram story (via Inquisitr).
Pienaar was criticized for not doing something more permanent, and his sincerity was called into question, particularly when he began deleting any negative comments from his posts while simultaneously liking those sticking up for him and his dodgy antics on the show. Chastain reckons he wasn't too remorseful on After Show either. She even responded to a news story about how bad Pienaar was feeling about the whole thing with a snarky Tweet, writing, "OH REALLY Ashton, YOU DONT SAY. ... I'm Incandescent with LOL."
Captain Lee refuses to give Ashton a second chance
Now it seems like the Below Deck star has burned his bridges for good. When questioned by McCarthy, "Do you give him another chance?" Captain Lee responded, "I wouldn't, no. I wouldn't give him another chance." Rosbach admitted to not having spoken to his ex-bosun since the show aired, which is when he became fully aware of Pienaar's aggressive and drunken behavior, particularly towards Chastain, which even led to the chief stew briefly quitting.
McCarthy confirmed Pienaar had apologized directly to Chastain for his conduct, however the Below Deck star clarified, "I think he's sorry because he's embarrassed for himself. I don't think he's sorry because he cares about any mental duress that he may have caused me." Rosbach agreed, advising, "I don't get that feeling of sincerity from him or any remorse at all" (via Cheat Sheet).
For his part, Pienaar tried to take the high road, writing in a lengthy Instagram post about the new year being "a fresh start, a chance to improve, refine and tweak, off the back of lessons of old."
Ashton rubbed Captain Lee the wrong way from the start
Captain Lee had a bad feeling about Pienaar from the outset, noting that his drinking habits simply didn't bode well for a good working environment. "Anyone that can be that explosive, that continuously gets blackout drunk, has no place on a boat that I run," he explained firmly to The Sun. The stud of the sea also hilariously remarked on his former bosun's propensity for performative self-dissonance, admitting, "I have an inherent distrust for people who constantly refer to themselves in the third person or have to make up a pseudonym for how they behave."
What's more, the Below Deck star also blames Pienaar for some of deckhand Rhylee Gerber's bad behavior on the show. "He had in his mind from the time Rhylee stepped on board that it wasn't going to work," Rosbach said in a separate interview with The Sun. He believes this attitude contributed to the toxic work environment.
Ashton's issues may have hit Captain Lee close to home
Rosbach actually reckons Pienaar might have an underlying issue with alcohol that he's refusing to fully confront, and warned how it could affect later job opportunities if, for example, Pienaar injures himself while under the influence and then can't complete a job. "What good is a one-handed bosun to me?" the captain wondered.
The issue likely hit him even harder considering Captain Lee lost his own son to drug addiction just last July. He admitted nothing makes it better, no matter how many months go by, explaining simply, "You hope that through time you might be able to develop better skills to cope." Still, Rosbach is hugely grateful for the opportunities he's been given in life, advising, "I have the best goddamn job in the world ... And I'm very appreciative of it."