Here's What the Below Deck Mediterranean Crew Thinks About Chef Mila Kolomeitseva's Homophobic Comments
The Season 4 yachties show their support for the LGBTQ+ community following the chef's controversial comments.
Chef Mila Kolomeitseva's cooking isn't the only thing that has the Below Deck Mediterranean crew talking this season.
Mila made some controversial comments in Monday night's episode of Below Deck Med that left the crew outraged. "I don't want to see a man kissing a man in front of me," she said in the car on the way to the crew's first night out (clip above). "In your home, you guys can do whatever you want. I don't want my son to be growing up and seeing two men kissing each other and thinking this is normal because this is not f--king normal!"
Her fellow Sirocco crew members Travis Michalzik, Jack Stirrup, and Aesha Scott, who were in the car with Mila at the time, called her out for her homophobic comments. "You should just shut the f--k up. I will get out of this van, and I will never speak to you as a human being again," Travis told the chef. "Your opinion on gays shows your opinion on humanity, which is f--king terrible, and I don't support it."
Many of the Season 4 crew members shared their reaction to Mila's remarks as they watched the moment on TV Monday night. "Any person in the world can kiss any other person in the world," Aesha tweeted. "Please know that homophobia is not [anyone's] position in the show!!!!"
Anastasia Surmava said, "[Mila's] intolerance is unacceptable."
Colin Macy O'Toole took the opportunity to wish everyone a happy Pride month, while Hannah Ferrier and Below Deck Season 1 chief stew Adrienne Gang reminded us that "love is love."
Captain Sandy Yawn, who recently went public with her relationship with gospel singer Leah Shafer, shared an inspiring message about tolerance. "You are Enough! You are Loved! I Love you all!" she tweeted, along with "#LoveIsLove" and "#UnityInDiversity."
The Below Deck Med boss also said that she will look at the moment as a chance to foster more acceptance in the world. "While we may not all agree [with] her, I'll look at it as an opportunity to learn," she tweeted. "It [may] be painful [to] hear her words, but maybe we can enlighten a few and make some changes."
Captain Sandy shared what went through her mind when she first heard about Mila's comments during a recent interview with TooFab. "I heard it through chatter. Like, the crew don't run to me and say, 'Did you hear what happened?!' They're not like that. They basically keep it [to themselves]," she said. "But someone mentioned it, and I just thought, 'Wow.'"
She added, "So that's her opinion. That doesn't reflect [me]. She can have her opinion. I don't really care. Doesn't reflect on me. It reflects on her. So when people take it personal, they should probably look at themselves and not point the finger at the person who said it. Doesn't bother me! That's her thing she has to deal with. Not mine."
Captain Sandy will continue to show her support for the LGBTQ+ community at the New York City Pride March on Sunday, June 30, along with several of her fellow Bravo stars.
We'll see how the rest of the Below Deck Med crew reacts to Mila's comments in an all-new episode Monday at 9/8c. Watch a preview, below.
