'Below Deck Sailing Yacht's Gary King Hit with Sexual Assault Lawsuit — Details on Allegations

Content warning: This article mentions allegations of sexual assault.

Since joining Below Deck Sailing Yacht in 2021, Gary King has frequently made headlines for his questionable behavior on and off the reality show. However, in late February 2025, the spotlight turned even darker when King was named in a sexual assault lawsuit.

The legal action has brought serious attention to his actions, and King now faces troubling allegations that could significantly impact his reputation. Here's what you need to know so far, including the details of the lawsuit and the accusations against him.

On Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, Below Deck hair and makeup artist Samantha Suarez and her then-boyfriend, camera operator Grey Duddleston, filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles.

The lawsuit names King, Bravo, NBCUniversal, 51 Minds, and other production companies, and lists 16 causes of action, including sexual battery, assault, harassment, and negligent supervision.

According to the legal documents, Suarez claimed she was "held hostage in a hotel room" with King on July 3, 2022. After drinking heavily, King made inappropriate advances and invited Suarez to sleep in his bed with him. King also reportedly told her that Duddleston didn't need to know what was happening. The suit stated that Suarez eventually left the room after ensuring King was safe, which was part of her assigned duties.

Suarez was reportedly later asked to bring water and snacks to the cast. When she arrived at King's room, he allegedly answered the door in his underwear and refused to take the items, spurring her to walk past him to set them down.

According to the complaint, as Suarez attempted to leave, King allegedly grabbed her. She managed to break free and open the door, but King overpowered her and forcefully shut it again — and things got worse.

Suarez claimed that King was "menacingly laughing and staring at her with evil dilated eyes," which made her fear she "would be harassed." However, she received a phone call from another crew member, and when she answered, King reportedly released her to avoid being overheard. Despite this, he is said to have followed her as she walked down the hall and repeatedly touched her inappropriately.

She told Duddleston, who reported the incident to a producer, leading to a meeting where showrunner Courtland Cox allegedly confirmed that King admitted the allegations and was warned. Suarez also claimed she was forced to sign a confidentiality waiver and was denied therapy.

Duddleston later alleged that he saw King "untie the bikini tops of two female cast members without their consent, make lewd remarks to a female audio technician, and grab the genitals of two male camera operators." When Duddleston reported this over the crew walkie-talkies, 51 Minds and NBC reportedly investigated him instead of King's behavior.

After filming wrapped, Suarez said she and Duddleston were " effectively abandoned" and added to the "do not hire" list.

In August 2023, Rolling Stone published a report on Suarez's troubling allegations. The outlet also included anonymous accounts from former employees.

Bravo responded to the claims in a statement to the outlet, saying, "Bravo is committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for cast and crew on our reality shows. We require our third-party production companies to have appropriate workplace policies and trainings in place and a clear process on how to report concerns. The concerns Ms. Suarez raised in July 2022 were investigated at that time and action was taken based on the findings."

Meanwhile, King denied the allegations and maintained his innocence. According to Us Weekly, he posted in now-deleted Instagram comments, "It's so weird, it's also so far from the truth. She always wanted a platform and unfortunately, I'm the unlucky target."

King further claimed that Suarez wasn't truthful about their interactions. He wrote, "I'm not going to let some lying girl get to me… Please tell me who I've harassed from [Below Deck] … if I did I'm sure they would have said something and not some random person. Please can you tell me where I have sexually harassed multiple women … you're watching the wrong show, pal."