Andy Cohen has addressed the racial slur used on Below Deck and talked to Rayna Lindsey about the incident.
Weeks after Heather Chase said the N-word on the hit yachting show, Andy is the first person from the network to acknowledge the situation. Neither Bravo nor 51 Minds, the production company behind Below Deck, has issued a response to Heather’s use of the racial slur.
First officer Eddie Lucas has insisted production did not handle the situation properly. Captain Lee Rosbach wrote about the incident in his blog, making it clear that word is not tolerated on any boat he helms.
Rayna has not held back in sharing her thoughts on how the situation was dealt with during filming. The deckhand shed more light on the subject while chatting with Andy on Watch What Happens Live.
Andy Cohen addresses racial slur used on Below Deck
WHHL is back after a holiday hiatus. Rayna appeared on Monday night’s episode alongside comedian and Bravo superfan Michelle Collins. Andy wasted no time addressing the elephant in the room, Heather saying the N-word before dishing with the guests.
“We’ve got to talk about the incident that took place on the show a few weeks ago. During a crew night out, Heather said the N-word, and really white people don’t ever say it. We appreciate Rayna being here tonight to discuss everything with us,” the host expressed.
Andy also wanted to know what it was like for Rayna to watch that moment play out on-screen.
“It’s just so uncomfortable and cringy to watch, especially when it’s like we’re all adults and its 2021, it’s like something that should just be known,” she stated.
Andy Cohen talks to Rayna Lindsey about Heather Chase’s apology
As fans saw on Below Deck, Rayna accepted Heather’s apology, but then things changed as the crew’s day off went on. At Andy’s request, Rayna revealed she didn’t want to come across as the stereotypical angry black woman, something she feared throughout filming.
“But I am genuinely hurt, and I wanted my voice to be heard. But I didn’t want it to have to be over the top. You know what I mean,” the deckhand shared.
It didn’t take long for the topic to turn to Heather’s apology and how Rayna really felt about it.
“The apology is, just in my opinion, I think everything needed to be shown. I don’t think everything was necessarily shown,” she explained.
Rayna also felt that Heather could have apologized when Rayna first told her she used the racial slur instead of just playing the victim.
Following her Watch What Happens Live appearance, Rayna took to Instagram Stories to answer questions, where she answered two about Andy.
Season 9 of Below Deck is half over, and if the mid-season trailer is any indication, there’s plenty of drama to come. Andy Cohen brought up one hot topic, the racial slur used by Heather Chase, on WWHL and Rayna Lindsey happily answered all his questions regarding the subject.
Below Deck airs Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo.