Below Deck Med Star Confronts Producer Interference Rumors After Allegedly Faking Poor Performance

After weeks of speculation regarding the allegedly faked performances of the Below Deck Mediterranean season 9 crew, one member of the team is ready to reveal the truth. Below Deck Mediterranean season 9 has been plagued by rumors of fake performances by the crew members in order to create an entertaining season for viewers. The drama initially started at the beginning of the season when an interior crew member, Ellie Dubaich, attempted to wake Chef Johnathon “Jono” Shillingford so that he could make snacks for the charter guests. The drama seemed to spiral out of control from that moment on.

“In any show, there are things that are cut [or] things that maybe were dramatized.”

Rumors began to grow that the interior and exterior crew members making frequent, shocking mistakes may have been faking these performances at the request of Below Deck producers. In an interview with Us Weekly, Chef Jono addressed the alleged producers’ interference, explaining, “In any show, there are things that are cut [or] things that maybe were dramatized because the camera does that anyways.” Regarding a group of guests’ poor behavior that may have been encouraged by producers, Jono commented, “Regardless of all of that, they did say things that were offensive.”

Chef Jono Reveals The Moment He Thought He’d Be Fired On Below Deck Med

Things May Be Looking Up For Chef Jono After A Few Challenging Charters

Chef Jono knows all about the difficulties of appearing to be bad at his job on a show that people around the world watch. During a recent Below Deck Mediterranean season 9 episode, Chef Jono and Chief Stew Aesha Scott received some harsh criticism from the guests they were serving, who later apologized for their behavior. One of those guests eventually set the record straight, saying, “The confusion with the knives was silly. But the way I handled it was not okay. For that, I am truly sorry. Although getting knives confused is not a crime, neither is being rude.”

Unfortunately, the trouble for Chef Jono started long before the latest charter guests arrived. At the very beginning of the season, Ellie attempted to wake Chef Jono so he could prepare some late-night snacks for their guests. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. Not only was it unusually challenging circumstances for Below Deck, but [it was] for yachting in general. I’ve never joined a boat and had to pick up guests so quickly with an all-new crew,” explained Chef Jono. On top of the quick start and new crew, all the recording crews were always underfoot.

While there was a lot of chatter online about how Chef Jono should have woken up, he stood by his choice. Chef Jono explained that he did not regret his decision, even though he lay in bed trying to get comfortable with the thought of being fired. Chef Jono believed that standing by this decision would make him the shortest-lived chef in the Below Deck franchise. However, Chef Jono was not only not fired for refusing to wake up, but his decision also gained the support of Captain Sandy Yawn, who said chefs should never be woken up.

It’s a common understanding that there is at least some producing and tweaking that goes on behind the scenes, even when the show is unscripted. This is sometimes necessary to ensure there is enough footage to create an entire season of television filled with romantic tension, villains, heroes, and people to root for. However, even with the necessary production, viewers of Below Deck Mediterranean do not want to feel like they are watching a show with actors speaking lines and following a director’s cues. There does have to be some amount of reality for a good reality show.

Below Deck Mediterranean airs Mondays at 9 p.m. EDT on Bravo and can be streamed the following day on Peacock.

Source: Us Weekly

Below Deck Mediterranean

Below Deck Mediterranean is a Bravo reality television series that follows a crew that works aboard a gigantic superyacht during the busy season. The show highlights the challenges of the crew as they serve their high-end clientele. Each season tackles new locations, such as Greece, Croatia, Italy, and France, with some repeating.

Cast

Sandy Yawn , Hannah Ferrier , Malia White , Mzi Dempers , João Franco , Colin Macy-O’Toole , Kyle Viljoen , Christine Drake

Release Date

May 3, 2016

Seasons

7

Network

Bravo

Showrunner

Mark Cronin , Courtland Cox , Nadine Rajabi

Main Genre

Reality-TV

Creator(s)

Mark Cronin , Doug Henning , Rebecca Taylor Henning

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