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Below Deck Did a ‘Thorough Investigation’ Into Heather Using the N-Word

Photo: Bravo

Below Deck season nine ended with a bang in last week’s finale when Rayna Lindsey and Heather Chase got into a blowout argument over Heather’s use of the N-word earlier in the season. Hours after the confrontation on the crew’s final night out, the crew members departed the My Seanna for the end of the season, bringing little closure to the situation. Well, closure came during the Below Deck reunion Monday, when the cast dug into the incident with Andy Cohen. Heather continued to be apologetic throughout the reunion, saying there was “no excuse” for her behavior. Rayna (now two months sober, she announced during the reunion) later said she didn’t think Heather was racist. “Like, the fact that people were even calling you racist, I think it’s a lack of — I think it’s ignorance,” Rayna told her. When asked for his take on the situation, Captain Lee Rosbach revealed that there was “a thorough investigation” into Heather’s use of the word that “determined that no further action was required.” Still, Heather concluded by calling her use of the racial slur “one of the biggest regrets of my life.”

The reunion also introduced a new strain of drama. Eddie Lucas — Rayna’s boss as first officer — apologized to Rayna during the reunion for not adequately responding when Rayna told him about Heather’s use of the N-word. “Do you really, like, do you believe that?” Rayna replied, before revealing that Eddie accused her of drunkenly using gay slurs on the show. “So that’s why I go crying after he tries to have me do the anchor, and that’s why I feel all these certain type of ways,” Rayna said, tearing up. “You cannot do that. You tried to ruin me Eddie, do you get that?” After Eddie insisted he didn’t “really remember the conversation,” he added, “I don’t really understand what’s wrong with me asking.” But Andy, ever prepared, had the unseen clip at the ready. “I have heard you say the F-word a few times, and you need to watch that,” Eddie tells Rayna after she mentions Heather’s use of the N-word. “I’ve never in my life, never, I would never say that,” Rayna replies. Per Andy, the clip wasn’t included in the season because “production was unable to corroborate the story.”

Below Deck Did an Investigation Into Heather Using N-Word