The boson of Below Deck, Ben Willougby has been pretty polarizing this season. He has promoted the girl he was hooking up with (even though deserving) and ruffled some feathers. He has also been very flirty with the girls he has not been hooking up with, causing a green-eyed monster to lash out. The Australian native worked hard, angling for the leadership position. Under the charge of Jared Woodin, he undermined his boss’ every move. Yet Ben, for the most part, has come out on top.
He also seems to have a nice familiarity with his boss, Captain Kerry Titheradge. At times, the two feel more like good friends than co-workers. They both share inside jokes, fist bumps, and a warm regard for their home country. So, what in the world could have caused a rift between these two? Let’s take a look.
Ben wasn’t Kerry’s first pick for Bosun
The beef all started when Captain Kerry told Entertainment Weekly that “Ben wasn’t my first choice to be in that position, but he does know the boat well.” Yikes! Talk about a stealth attack from your closest ally! The skipper went on to say, “He’s very good at his job, but he definitely needs to stay focused and understand what the chain of command means.” The interview left fans wondering if something had gone down between Kerry and Ben.
It didn’t help that Captain Kerry teased, “I had a lot of faith in him to do that job. But you’ll see in the episode as well, more than once, I said, ‘Are you up for this?’ I mean, I think three times I asked him. And the last time you could see his face, he was sick of being asked a question. And that might give you an idea of the future discussions I’ll be having with him.”
Kerry doubled down, sharing, “I give everyone a fresh start. Hopefully, people react differently to different styles of leadership. And I was hoping that he would react to a different style of leadership later in the season more than once. He came quite close to things not being very good for him. And he may not make the whole season.” It feels like this season needs a personal HR team with all this drama.
Ben defends himself
The bosun of St. David has been highly vocal on Instagram. Whether the school of thought shared is about his crewmates or the show, Ben has opinions. Naturally, he took to social media to defend himself against Captain Kerry’s remarks. Ben told followers it was “unfortunate that Captain Kerry decided to speak out regarding my role as Bosun on this current season and eluding that I ‘might not make the whole season’ but everyone will see as the episodes come out.”
Ben took the clap back a step further as he wrote, “With all due respect to Captain Kerry, I’m disappointed that he appears to be insinuating a false claim on my work ethic and career, which could gravely damage my reputation and character in an industry that I’ve worked hard and grown in for five years.”
Both Ben and Kerry share a different version of the same mantra
During the same interview, Kerry shared, “I used to live by a mantra that you can teach a job, but not a personality. And I think if you can treat someone differently, maybe they might not be the ideal personality for the job. But at the time, I needed the right skill set for the job, and that’s what he had.” In an ironic twist, Ben also felt that Sunny Marquis deserved her promotion because of her personality, noting that he could teach her the skills. So, maybe the two aren’t all that different when it comes to their leadership style.
Ben blames the edit
In a series of posts and Instagram Stories Ben shared that he “used to once love Below Deck.” In the Bosun’s opinion, “there was too much that wasn’t seen. I’m at a crossroads as to whether the truth needs to be told or I don’t let them consume me anymore.” But could it be Ben once loved Below Deck when producers made him look good? And now that the tables have turned, the fun has worn off? Only time will tell if the feud will be longstanding. It’s going to be a true battle of wills.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK CAPTAIN KERRY AND BEN WILL MAKE UP BEFORE THE END OF THE SEASON?
