‘Beneath Deck’ alum Emile Kotze
sues NBCUniversal for $850 million…
Community denies accusation of sexual harassment
Revealed March 5, 2026, 3:00 AM PST
‘Beneath Deck’ alum Emile Kotze claims producers portrayed him as “immature” and “sexually aggressive,” and now he is suing them over it – however the producers say his lawsuit ought to be dismissed as a result of they’re protected underneath the First Modification… TMZ has realized.
Emile filed a federal lawsuit in New York, looking for $850 million in damages from NBCUniversal and the truth present producers.
Emile says he’s a South African citizen and knowledgeable yacht sailor who was employed because the present’s star for season 3 in 2015 on the age of 23.
Emile claims he was advised the present was like a documentary… solely to search out out it was a salacious actuality TV drama. He claims he was basically manipulated into embarrassing eventualities.
He claims producers pressured him right into a pretend romantic storyline along with his castmate Raquel “Rocky” Dakota, inspired heavy consuming and orchestrated sexually charged encounters and humiliating jokes.
Moreover, Emile claims that the producers edited the footage in a “extremely deceptive method to create a false, defamatory picture of him” and make him “immature, incompetent and sexually aggressive.”
Emile says he was blacklisted by the looking business after the present aired. He stated the present triggered him to endure extreme psychological trauma from the betrayal and public humiliation, claiming he was recognized with “PTSD, nervousness and despair immediately associated to the present expertise.”
The producers scoff on the lawsuit… saying many of the claims have been pushed previous the statute of limitations and “usually are not supported by believable factual allegations.” In addition they argue that they’ve a First Modification proper to “form and convey their artistic works” by means of casting and enhancing, and that they can not use the courts to restrict their skill to take action.
