Below Deck alum Emile Kotze is taking NBCUniversal to court, according to reports from TMZ.
Producers predict the case will sink, as they are protected under the First Amendment.
The case against Bravo TV:
Emile, who was portrayed as “immature” and “sexually aggressive,” filed a federal lawsuit in New York demanding $850 million in damages.
The South African citizen and professional yacht deckhand was hired to be a star of the show in 2015 for Season 3, at the age of 23. He was hired under the pretense that Below Deck was like a documentary, not a salacious reality TV drama.
Claims that he was “manipulated into embarrassing scenarios” are part of his case. Allegedly, producers pressured him into a fake romantic storyline with his castmate Raquel “Rocky” Dakota. Additionally, they encouraged heavy drinking and orchestrated sexually charged encounters and humiliating pranks.
Emile accused producers of editing the footage in a “highly misleading manner to craft a false, defamatory portrayal” of him. Coming across as “immature, incompetent, and sexually aggressive” has been damaging to Emile’s reputation.
