Down Under star Aesha Scott has tearfully recounted her own sexual assault after stepping in to stop an unfolding incident between fellow crew members.
Firstback in 2019, Aesha appeared 4 and 5, before joining Below Deck Down Under last year.
Hailing from New Zealand, the 31-year-old also came third in the most recent season of the Australian version of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
This week the chief steward has been praised for her actions on Below Deck after helping to stop after getting into bed with co-star Margot Sisson while n**ed.n**ed and without her consent.
In , both producers and members of the ship’s crew jumped in, with Aesha alerting captain Jason Chambers to what had happened.
After doing so, Aesha then broke down as she detailed how she’d been subjected to a similar assault.
‘I just feel like a lot of women have had history with things happen and it’s stresses me out if I ever see anyone being taken advantage of,’ she began.
‘We don’t actually know what would have happened but being in her bed n**ed.n**ed, and she had no idea, it actually makes my skin crawl. You don’t have the right to put someone unconscious into that position.
‘I have had a drunken sexual assault experience before and I never wanted that to happen to anyone else.’
As the episode went to air, audiences threw their support behind Aesha and her actions.
‘Last night was the most powerful Below Deck I have ever seen,’ one person posted on Twitter.
‘Thank you to the Heroes Captain Jason, Aesha, and production for stepping up against sexual harassment. Aesha prevented the potential sexual assault,’ they added.
‘Who would have thought that a masterclass on how to deal with sexual assault would be shown on reality TV? Aesha and Jason are the heroes we need,’ someone else wrote.
Another continued: ‘Thankful Aesha caught warning signs and production shut this bull**** down. We have to stick together and protect each other.’
Soon after Aesha shared a video reminding people of what she said was the ‘main message’ of what had unfolded on screen.
‘I know that there are a lot of feelings and emotions and all these things coming up for a lot of people and obviously it was a lot for myself at the time as well,’ she began.
‘But I wanted to take the opportunity to remind everyone of the main message that was shown on the episode, which is that women, and actually everyone, have the right to go out and have fun and feel safe and that is just the f***ing end of it.
‘There’s no questions or if’s or but’s, that is the end of it. So please keep an eye on your friends and each other.’
In response to what unfolded, Jason fired Luke, while fellow crew member Laura Bileskalne – who said Luke was ‘only joking’ and was a ‘sexual person’ – was also let go for her comments and for trying to also give co-star Adam Kodra a massage without consent.
Metro.co.uk has contacted representatives for Aesha Scott for comment.
Below Deck Down Under streams on Peacock in the US on Mondays, and on hayu in the UK on the same day.
Victim Support
Victim Support offers support to survivors of rape and sexual abuse. You can contact them on 0333 300 6389.
