'Below Deck: Down Under' is being praised for how it handled cast sexual misconduct

Two cast members were fired from Bravo’s “Below Deck Down Under” following incidents of inappropriate behavior involving sexual consent.

Laura Bileskalne and Luke Jones were both terminated by Capt. Jason Chambers during two recent episodes of the reality series, and the show’s fans have been praising the way the captain and other staff handled both incidents.

Here’s what to know about the recent firings on “Below Deck Down Under.”

What happened during the 'Below Deck' consent scandal?

The incidents unfolded across Episodes Six and Seven of Season Two. It all began when the crew left the yacht for a night out together in Cairns, Australia.

The evening involved a lot of drinking, and third stew Margot Sisson said she had been “really drunk” at dinner.

As the crew headed back to the boat at the end of the night, bosun Luke Jones propositioned Sisson, telling her that she “should come and cuddle” with him, and inviting her to join him in the jacuzzi.

Sisson declined, and chief stew Aesha Scott helped Sisson get safely to bed.

“I am glad that you’re here,” Sisson told Scott in the episode. “I don’t want to go in the jacuzzi, I want to go to bed. All I want is water and bed, no Luke.”

Scott then left Sisson in her cabin to sleep.

After this, Jones entered Sisson’s cabin while she slept and climbed into her bed completely naked.

The show’s producers swiftly intervened, telling Jones he had to leave. "I gotta get you out of here because she wants to go to bed," a producer said, banging on Jones' back.

Jones attempted to engage Margot in conversation and ask if she "wanted to go to bed." She responded, "Yeah, sleepy time." Jones got down from the bed and said, "Can you guys f---" off? before slamming the door.

The show's producers open the door back up and say, "You can't do that." He then left, seeming to be upset. Jones told second stew Laura Bileskalne he "didn't do anything," and continued, "I was just sitting there."

Later, Sisson told Scott what had happened from her point of view.

“Did you consent to him being in here?” she asked Sisson.

“No, I was asleep,” said Sisson. “I did not invite that at all.”

"This is why I'm not comfortable leaving you here," Scott said.

Scott then woke up the yacht’s captain, Jason Chambers, to tell him what had happened. Through tears, she shared that the incident reminded her of a time she had been sexually assaulted.

“You don’t have the right to put someone unconscious into that position,” Scott said. “I have had a drunken sexual assault experience before, and I never wanted that to happen to anyone else. And she’s just such a sweet angel that the thought of anyone violating or being in her space, it just makes me feel sick.”

It was later revealed that a second incident involving inappropriate conduct happened on the boat that night, around the same time as the incident with Sisson and Jones.

Bileskalne also entered deckhand Adam Kodra’s room after he told her he didn’t want her to be there. "I told her many times I just want to be friends but she's not getting the point across," Kodra told the camera.

She climbed into his bed without his consent and attempted to give him a massage.

“You’re not sleeping in here, dude,” she said. “I’m gonna kick your a-- out.”

Producers also had Bileskalne leave Kodra's room. She kissed his back as she got out of bed.

Which 'Below Deck: Down Under' crew members were fired?

Both Jones and Bileskalne were fired. When Capt. Chambers learned that Jones had entered Sisson’s cabin without her consent, he sent him off the boat to stay in a hotel for the night. Jones was let go the following morning.

Chambers also fired Bileskalne when he learned she had entered her colleague’s cabin against his wishes.

The captain admonished Bileskalne for her reaction to the incident involving Jones and Sisson. Bileskalne had defended Jones’ behavior, telling Sisson that Jones was “only joking” and should not have been fired.

“There’s a big disconnect now, and it’s not where I want part of my team,” Chambers told Bileskalne. “You’ve actually disrespected what I set out to do.”

Chambers also had a talk with the entire crew about boundaries following the incidents.

“Our cabin is our safety zone,” Chambers said. “That door is our boundary. That door is not to be opened unless it’s consensual. To walk into someone else’s room without consent, indecent, is my limit.”

What was the response on social media to the moment?

There has been an outpouring of support for the way Chambers, Scott and the show’s producers handled both incidents.

“Relieved and grateful that both Chief Stew Aesha Scott and Captain Jason Chambers acted prudently, swiftly and humanely on Below Deck Down Under,” one person wrote on Twitter. “In a sea of recent criticism for reality television, sometimes there are genuine heroes in our midst as well.”

"I’ve been watching reality tv almost my whole life and I have *never* seen anything like tonight’s #BelowDeckDownUnder,” another person tweeted. “In a toxic industry and a franchise that ignores poor behavior by men, it was refreshing to see a woman believed and supported. Capt Jason and Aesha are gems.”

“The circumstances of this are horrible ... but this was a beautiful bravo moment,” another person wrote. “Producers, Aesha, and captain Jason deserve praise for how this was handled.”

Have Margot Sisson and other 'Below Deck' cast members responded?

After the episodes aired, Sisson shared a lengthy message in her Instagram story, expressing her thanks to everyone who helped her throughout the incident.

She said she would be “forever” grateful to Scott and praised “the way she recognized the vulnerability of the situation I was in and her courageous intervention.”

Sisson also thanked Chambers for his “immediate response to the situation.”

“There are unfortunately a lot of captains who would choose to sweep something like this under the rug,” she wrote. “I am grateful that Jason is not one of them. Thank you for repeatedly making me feel safe and supported.”

Chambers shared his own response to the episodes in a recent Instagram video.

“I’m sure you’re digesting Episodes Six and Seven, as I am,” he said. “I’ve had a flood of messages over the past 24 hours from people in similar situations. Some not so lucky of the outcome, so my heart goes out to them.”

He also thanked the show’s production team “for breaking the fourth wall and stepping in, then re-forming and allowing Aesha to come to me in an authentic manner and us dealing with as we would as captain and crew.”

He noted that these incidents occurred “over a year ago,” and shared his hopes for the future.

“The people involved are hopefully on a better journey to better themselves," he said. "So less hate, please, more love.”

Where are Luke Jones and Lauren Bileskalne now?

Jones and Bileskalne have both switched their Instagram accounts to “private” mode in the wake of the episodes airing.

Before going private on Instagram, Bileskalne issued a statement of apology on the social media platform, according to Entertainment Tonight.

“My sincere apologies to Adam, I did not realize I made him feel uncomfortable and no one should be put in that position,” she reportedly wrote on Instagram on Aug. 8.

“And to Margot to not been (sic) able to empathize,” her statement continued, as per ET. “I was 29 when the show was filmed, 30 was my life-changer. I am 31 now and I am watching it as all of you, an entertainment show.”

Jones also shared a statement on Instagram that seemed to allude to the incident, per ET.

“It doesn’t Matter what they think about you because you don’t Care. Everything we Hear is an Opinion, Not a Fact,” he wrote in an Aug. 6 post. "Everything we see is a Perspective. Not the Truth. Take Ownership and move forward.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com