Well, history is repeating itself for Captain Sandy Yawn. Yet again, she is forced to defend herself for firing someone from Below Deck Mediterranean. On Season 5, original chief stew Hannah Ferrier was terminated for being in possession of valium and a CBD pen that was not registered on the boat. Sandy got a lot of fan backlash for her decision, and apparently Hannah is still livid about it.
This season, Lexi Wilson made an absolute spectacle of herself on the first crew night out. She fought with just about everyone, but notable moments including putting her hands on deck hand Mzi Dempers and calling Lloyd Spencer a “pussy.” Interestingly, when Sandy gathered the team for a meeting, no one gave her these details. Of course, she seemed to shut down the conversation quickly and decreed that the crew just had to make it work with the self-proclaimed She-Devil.
After another blowout triggered by nemesis Mathew Shea, Sandy finally made the decision to fire Lexi. The crew’s relief was clear. But now, in retrospect, the question remains whether Lexi should have been removed sooner.
Sandy explained her side of the story to Us Weekly, and that Lexi would not have been fired without the ok from production. “It’s a TV show, right? It’s a pandemic. So it’s very different. … Yes. If I felt like safely, I could let them go [I would]. But we are making a show, so I’m also mindful of that,” Captain Sandy said, “Like, I don’t make split decisions. I defer to people that are spending all this money to create this.”
Until the episodes aired, Sandy claimed she had not idea of the full extent of Lexi’s poor behavior. The second stew maintained a facade of professionalism during charter, and only snuck naps in on the sly.
RELATED: Mathew Shea Says He Blacked Out During Fight With Lexi Wilson On Below Deck Mediterranean
Sandy said, “Of course, I wanted to let her go. I never would have hired her. I don’t hire the crew. Everybody knows that,” she noted. “[While] I feel for her, I would never tolerate that. I don’t see it until you see it. I don’t go to dinner and unless the crew really lays it out for me, the words ‘it’s bad’, is that [really] a description?”
Once Sandy finally decided to fire Lexi, she did it in such an apologetic manner, that her conviction had to be questioned. During the scene, Captain Sandy told the second stew, “From what I’ve seen, you’re a terrific human being. Now I don’t go out and drink with you. And I don’t go out and have these experiences. Threatening people, saying the things that you say. Considering how it has permeated through the entire boat and some people just can’t get around it, the many outweigh the one
The reason for the tone of this firing? Sandy maintains that she did it blind and did not have all the evidence until the episodes aired. She continued, “No one was giving me facts. You know, like, I didn’t have any facts. I just heard it’s bad. It’s real bad. That’s not [enough for me]. Write it out. Write a report, send it to me. They learn the minute they step on this boat, we go through all the legalities. But I never got that information, if they would’ve told me the facts, of course, I would’ve let her go sooner, but I never got them.”
Will this explanation be enough for those viewers that think Lexi should have been allowed to stay? Perhaps Sandy will find herself on another apology jaunt again. If so, the embattled captain can use her motivational speaking tour as a platform.
RELATED: Lexi Wilson Slams Below Deck Mediterranean Producers After Firing In Since-Deleted Post
Sandy’s Lead-Her-Ship-Tour is an autobiographical event that will include musical numbers. Another Bravolebrity cabaret perhaps? “I want to use this platform to inspire others,” Sandy explained, “Thanks to Bravo, we have reached so many Americans. I didn’t seek the maritime industry. I fell into it. So many people now are aware of it. I wish Bravo was out and this show was out when I was a kid, because I think I would have discovered this a lot sooner and had a lot less pain in my life because I took a different path. And that’s really what it’s about and it’s also talking about music.”
TELL US- SHOULD SANDY HAVE FIRED LEXI SOONER? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT SHE DIDN’T HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION UNTIL THE SHOW AIRED? WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE AS CAPTAIN?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
