Credit: Fred Jagueneau/Bravo
Below Deck Sailing Yacht star Gary King is clapping back at claims of a sexual assault against makeup artist Samantha Suarez, 27, who accused him of forcing himself on her amid filming on season four in summer 2022 in an interview with Rolling Stone.
In a series of posted-and-deleted comments on his Instagram page, Gary, 35, responded to fans accusing him of “disgusting behavior” against Samantha, slamming the crew member for her lies and suggesting her allegations against him are suspicious.
Speaking to Rolling Stone last week, Samantha said Gary “came up behind her, grabbed her, pressed her against his body and refused to let go of her” as she tried to “kick and elbow him to get him off her” in her hotel room.
According to Samantha, the incident took place after she walked Gary to his room after a night out.
“It pretty much sucked from there on out,” she told the magazine. “I was just in a super depressive state.”
Samantha said she didn’t leave her hotel room for an entire week and nearly quit the show as producers forced Gary to sleep on the yacht for the remainder of production and assured Samantha that he would be fired if any other incidents occurred.
Rolling Stone also spoke to other crew members, one of whom said Gary is “next-level scary with women,” and another of which accused him of grabbing a female castmember’s butt without consent.
In response to the claims against Gary, a Bravo spokesperson told Page Six, “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,” they added.
Days later, on Instagram, Gary reacted to Samantha’s claims on Instagram.
“I have never sexually harassed someone in my life, and I will never,” Gary wrote, via Page Six, in response to someone who told him to “get sober, get clarity and stop your sexual misconduct.”
The, after another person asked if Samantha was “lying,” he replied, “Yes she is. But I will not get into it through comments. Thanks.”
Below Deck Gary King Denies Sexual Assault Allegations on Instagram
In addition to his Instagram comments, which were shared in a screenshot seen on TikTok, Gary reacted to a person who wanted to know why he hasn’t deactivated his social media accounts amid the scandal.
To this question, Gary said he would not “let some lying girl” impact his accounts and noted that it “seems odd” that Samantha, who first joined the Below Deck franchise during its original series’ 10th season, was reportedly assaulted on “multiple seasons.”