‘Below Deck’: Eddie Lucas Shades Former Chief Stew Adrienne Gang
Eddie Lucas from Below Deck wasn’t shy about ranking former chief stew Adrienne Gang at the bottom of his list.
During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Lucas was asked to rank the three chief stews he’s worked with on the show and he didn’t mince words. “Adrienne, well Adrienne’s definitely at the bottom of the list there,” he laughed. “Ches [Francesca Rubi], I just did one season with her. It was a fantastic season. Really enjoyed working with her. I think she’s very talented in what she does.”
But, of course, Lucas named Kate Chastain to take the top spot. “But I’ve known Kate for a while now,” he said. “And I always love working with Kate.” In fact Chastain previously dished that she wanted to join the show because she thought Lucas resembled a Kennedy.
There’s something about Adrienne Gang …
Although Lucas and Gang didn’t seem to have any fiery interactions during season 1, he made it clear he wasn’t a fan. The crew went out to dinner and some were loud. Lucas was embarrassed and later told Bravo he didn’t like how they were all criticizing Captain Lee Rosbach. Adding, “Adrienne, on the other hand, was one of the worst leaders I have ever experienced. She didn’t earn the respect of others; she demanded it. … Adrienne dug her own grave.”
He also made his feelings clear when Gang briefly returned on season 2. Stew Kat Held and Lucas brought the guests to a bar on the mainland where they were shocked to see that Gang was meeting the guest. “You have to be f**king kidding me,” Held said to herself walking away when she saw Gang.
“Who’s there waiting,” Held said in a confessional. “The devil!” Production flashed back to season 1 where Gang is telling her Held she knows she had alcohol in her room. “This is very cruel joke from the universe,” Held added. She finally greets Gang. Meanwhile, Lucas, who swam to shore arrives at the scene.
Eddie Lucas had an iconic reaction to Adrienne Gang’s return
“It was like one of those movies,” Lucas described in a confessional. “Like the crowd kind of split. And there’s Adrienne standing there looking pale and terrible. And striking fear into the soul of every man’s freaking heart.” Lucas sees Gang as he approaches the group and then immediately turns around and heads back to the beach.
“Okay let’s see here,” he continued. “Alcohol, Kat, Adrienne. On a beach, together. Danger.” Cameras capture Lucas swimming back to the tender without interacting with Gang or the guests.
Adrienne Gang didn’t vibe with the crew either
Gang admits she was stressed during her season of the show, mainly because she felt personally invested in its success. She was involved in creating the sizzle reel that was pitched to Bravo, but then realized she was positioned to be the villain of the show.
“I was more personally invested in the outcome than the rest of the crew who had just signed on a couple weeks beforehand,” she told The Guardian. “I wanted to make sure that the first representation my friends and family saw of my career on television wasn’t a drunken monkey show. That made me more stressed out than anybody else and that definitely comes across.”
“It was the most stressful situation I’ve ever been in. I don’t feel like I was supported,” she added. “[The producers] knew from the beginning that they wanted to make me the b*tch everybody loved to hate.”
“They did some really tricky, manipulative things to make sure that there was opposition, like amping us up on purpose before we would go into our one-on-one interviews by saying: ‘Oh, you would not believe what Kat said about you,’ and she had never said it,” she said.
