‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ Star Gary King Sued for Sexual Battery

Below Deck Sailing Yacht star Gary King is facing a new lawsuit.

Former Below Deck Sailing Yacht crew members Samantha Suarez, a hair and makeup artist, and her boyfriend Grey Duddleston, who worked as a camera operator on the reality show, filed a lawsuit against King, NBCUniversal, Bravo, 51 Minds — the production company behind Below Deck — and other entities on 16 counts of action, including sexual battery, assault, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination and emotional distress.

In a complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Suarez alleged that King held her hostage in his hotel room while under the influence of alcohol on July 3, 2022, during the filming of Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 4.

Suarez claimed in the complaint she was instructed by production to bring a pack of bottled water and snacks to King’s room. King was allegedly highly intoxicated and refused to accept them, insisting Suarez come inside. She eventually walked past him to place his items on a nearby counter when King allegedly “grabbed her, held her restrained by her upper body and arms and pressed his entire body against her.”

The lawsuit alleges that Suarez attempted to “fight her way out” in a sheer panic, “kicking and elbowing King and screaming at him to get off of her.” When she finally fought her way free, she lunged for the door, pulling the door open before King allegedly slammed the door shut with both hands and “his entire body weight.”

According to the complaint, Suarez claimed she was “sure she was about to be raped” and “braced herself” before she got a call on her cellphone. The makeup artist claimed that she quickly answered the phone, after which King let go of the door, and followed her into the hallway in his underwear, grabbing her shoulders, rubbing her back and asking, “What’s wrong sweetie?”

Suarez also claimed that she demanded he return to his hotel room and King finally complied.

King did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Shortly after, Suarez allegedly reported the incident to co-executive producer, Ryan Veercamp, who expressed concern and shock over the matter, as well as Duddleston. The next day, according to the complaint, Suarez met with the leadership team and production claimed that King had admitted to “everything” after a private conversation with Courtland Cox, the showrunner.

In an email following the discussions, Cox allegedly confirmed that King expressed remorse and apologized after confirming the accusations. The showrunner emphasized that King would be terminated if any further issues arose.

Two weeks later, the lawsuit claims, Duddleston personally witnessed further acts of “disturbing, sexually aggressive behavior” from King. He allegedly saw King “grope” two female crew members, pull a swimsuit top off a cast member, make lewd remarks to an audio technician and grab the genitals of two camera operators while he was under the influence.

Duddleston alerted production of King’s alleged actions in real time, including Brenda Lacy Davis the head of human resources for 51 Minds’ parent company, Banijay America, and the lead investigator in Suarez’s case, according to the complaint.

Bravo did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.

When she and Suarez later spoke, Davis allegedly promised that she wouldn’t have to see or be within King’s vicinity but revealed that an investigation had been launched against Duddleston for “inappropriate use of the walkie-talkie system.”

Then, on July 20, 2022, Davis allegedly contacted Suarez to reprimand her from discussing the incident, claiming she was “tainting the investigation and instructed her to remain silent.” The same day, Davis and Duddleston allegedly had a conversation about the actions he witnessed, where it became clear Davis had “cast these additional accusations against King as ‘baseless.'”

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When production wrapped and the cast and crew were receiving production calls, the complaint states that Suarez and Duddleston learned that they would not be invited back and had allegedly been placed on a “do not hire” list.

Suarez and Duddleston requested the court award them money damages to compensate them for their injuries and losses.  Additionally, they asked that the defendants be ordered to pay civil penalties, punitive damages, attorneys’ and expert fees, and interest.