Below Deck Mediterranean star Captain Sandy Yawn made it clear that she has ‘no regrets’ about firing the show’s popular chief stewardess Hannah Ferrier.
The 55-year-old ship’s captain defended her actions on the Bravo reality series in an interview with E! News published Wednesday.
Ferrier previously told the outlet that her firing ‘was handled in a very poor way.’
‘No regrets’: Captain Sandy Yawn of Below Deck Mediterranean said she had ‘no regrets’ about firing chief stewardess Hannah Ferrier for unreported Valium; shown in November 2019
In the current fifth season, Yawn fired Ferrier in an expletive-laced tirade another after the bosun Malia White reported her for having undeclared Valium and a vape pen, which should have been checked in with the captain.
Ferrier said the Valium was prescribed for anxiety, and she claimed the vape pen was filled with CBD, a substance derived from marijuana that is legal federally and doesn’t get users high.
But Yawn doesn’t think she overreacted in the tense confrontation.
‘Not at all,’ she said. ‘Imagine walking in my shoes, it was challenging. The maritime industry has a certain standard. … My number one priority is the client.’
Secret: In the current fifth season, Yawn fired Ferrier in an expletive-laced tirade another after the bosun Malia White reported her for having undeclared Valium and a vape pen, which should have been checked in with the captain; still from Below Deck Med
Medical use: Ferrier said the Valium was prescribed for anxiety, and she claimed the vape pen was filled with CBD, a substance derived from marijuana that is legal federally and doesn’t get users high
After firing Ferrier, Yawn doesn’t seem interested in ever collaborating again on a voyage.
‘I prefer to work with people I can trust and that’s really it, to be honest,’ she said.
‘I like people who are serious about their careers. Honestly, I’m there because I love what I do and I want people to work for me that love being in the maritime industry and if they don’t, no love lost.’
Ferrier admitting she should have reported her medications to the Captain in an interview with Decider from earlier this month, though she though the firing was handled poorly.
‘It’s not something I was hiding,’ she claimed. ‘It wasn’t like I went on and I was like, “Ooh, I have this Valium. I can’t let anyone see it.” To me, it’s just anti-anxiety medication.
‘I made the mistake of not clearing it when I brought it on the boat,’ she continued. ‘Because I’ve always had it, every year. It just wasn’t really a process that went through my mind. That was my mistake. But yeah, it certainly wasn’t something I was trying to hide.’
No thanks: ‘I prefer to work with people I can trust and that’s really it, to be honest,’ Yawn said of Ferrier
Ferrier announced months earlier that she would be leaving the series, though it wasn’t until the show aired that it was revealed that she had been fired.
She complained in the Decider interview about ‘being painted as some sort of drug addict.’
‘Which is just so sad, because there are so many people in the world that suffer from mental illness. And it’s 2020,’ she said. ‘We shouldn’t be making people feel like a lesser for taking medication for mental illness. Or making them feel like they can’t do a job, or they can’t do what normal people can do.’
More recently, Ferrier has been celebrating the happy news that she’s pregnant with her first child and due in October.
Last month, she shared a joyous video in which she revealed she was having a girl by tossing pink flower petals at the camera.
Not a fan: She complained in the Decider interview about ‘being painted as some sort of drug addict’
Bundle of joy: Earlier this summer, Hannah revealed she was having her first child in October, and last month she announced she was having a girl