'Below Deck': White Cast Member Uses N-Word in Latest Episode

By Daniel S. Levine

A member of the Below Deck cast apologized for using the N-word during Monday's episode of the Bravo reality show. Heather Chase, the chief stewardess on the My Seanna, used the racist slur in front of deckhand Rayna Lindsey, who is Black. Chase yelled the word, which Bravo censored, as she followed behind Lindsey.

"I am sorry for the hurt my ignorance caused Rayna in tonight's episode," Chase wrote in a statement she published on her Instagram page late Monday. She said she apologized to Lindsey "throughout" the season, but she "cannot express enough how truly remorseful I am." Chase continued, "Part of my responsibility as Chief Stewardess is to provide a welcoming, safe environment for the crew and I fell short. Over the past nine months, since this episode was filmed, I have learned how my words and actions can affect others and I vow to do a better job in the future."

In Monday's episode, the My Seanna crew went out for drinks and dinner. After Chase and Lindsay went to the bathroom together, Chase yelled the N-word in front of her crewmate. The next morning, Chase initially refused to admit she said the slur. Once Lindsay told her she did say it, Chase apologized. "It's OK I still love you, I'm just telling you," Lindsay said, reports Page Six.

After the episode aired, Lindsey took to her Instagram Story to air her frustrations with Bravo and her co-stars. She was "very disappointed" with Bravo's handling of the situation, accusing the network of "rewarding" Chase throughout the season. She felt there was no support from producers, and only a "couple" of them supported her. Captain Lee Rosbach "just didn't care to talk to" Chase," Lindsey wrote.

Chase's use of the slur "really impacts me going forward" on the show, Lindsey wrote. "I start to become really discouraged and unhappy." She also told fans she has never really been friends with Chase. "I wish her nothing but the best though," Lindsey wrote in one Instagram Story post. "She's young and hopefully can learn from these mistakes."

While Lindsey hoped Chase could learn from her mistakes, Instagram users found Chase's apology disingenuous. "I don't care who says it first, you don't say it. Ever. Ever. Ever," one person wrote. "This apology is straight-up meaningless copy/paste buzz sentences," another added.

Below Deck is now in its ninth season. This is the first season for both Lindsey and Chase. The show airs on Bravo Mondays at 9 p.m. ET. 

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