Fans think that Below Deck Mediterranean producers are scrambling to justify firing Hannah Ferrier and chef Hindrigo “Kiko” Lorran.
Season 5 of the hit yachting show has been nothing but drama. There have been allegations of sinister plans from Captain Sandy Yawn, Malia White, and Bugsy Drake about the ousting of chef Kiko and Hannah.
Plus, Bravo has come under fire for how the network handled mental health and for allowing a mean girl group to take over the show.
Social media has exploded after each episode with fan outrage. As viewers continue to loudly express their feelings on the show, producer Nadine Rajabi has been making the rounds defending the show, Malia, and Captain Sandy. She has also squashed any speculation that her plan was to fire Kiko and bring in Malia’s boyfriend, Tom Checketts.
Explaining the Season 5 drama
Below Deck producers rarely comment on what goes down with cast members. The producers have talked about filming secrets and even dished about charter guests from time to time. However, that doesn’t usually occur until a season has ended.
Nadine has done two high-profile interviews since Kiko and Hannah left the show. The first was with Vanity Fair where she defended Captain Sandy and Malia’s actions involving Hannah’s Valium prescriptions.
Then she stopped by the Reality Life with Kate Casey podcast to chat about the season. One of the topics she brought up was the conspiracy theory that Tom replacing Kiko was a setup. Nadine claimed that there was no such thing.
All of the publicity she has been doing to defend the show this season has fans calling out Bravo for blatant damage control. It is also doing very little to sway opinions on topics like Hannah’s firing, Tom being hired, and the mean girls club of Captain Sandy, Malia, and Bugsy.
Nothing but a publicity stunt
Twitter has been flooded with fans blasting Bravo for having producers scramble to justify the season.
One user called the Vanity Fair article nothing but lies to save the show.
Another one posted that they felt it is clear that the network and production company are in damage control mode.
Fans are furious about the season and what Bravo is doing to simply save face, and they are not backing down from their outrage. Having showrunner Nadine Rajabi speak out is only adding fuel to the fire.
The question remains: Is Bravo trying to justify firing Hannah Ferrier and chef Kiko? It certainly feels that way to fans.
Below Deck Mediterranean airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.
I think its wrong what captain Sandy did to Hannah, she is a bully! Captain Lee is so much better .
Hannah has been talking about panic attacks and taking something when she gets then (I’m assuming its valium or xanax) then crashing in her bunk. Did everyone forget the huge amount of panic attacks when she fell in love with that younger deck hand?? And why is Malia snooping? Just because she wants the ship safe? Yet half a day later she busts out a bottle of fine champagne while working (not on charter, but still working) to share and celebrate a member of her crew changing his air ticket. Where was Capt Sandy when they were drinking? And anyone who has traveled in Europe knows you can get stuff like Valium, heavy pain meds, xanax, meds that we need a script for, over the counter without one. As for Kiko, why didn’t the Capt taste his food before hiring him? I would shake if I was micromanaged like she was with him. And for her to say she does not bother the guests while they eat is utter BS!! She even asks more than more than once per meal. If I were the guests, I would tell her to go back to driving her ship. Kiko deserves a huge severance check and great recommendation letter from Bravo. So does Hannah. Capt Sandy is no longer on ny watch list.