Rhylee Gerber From ‘Below Deck’ Shares Why She Can Ignore Online Hate
If there is any cast member who deals with her fair share of online hate (and love), it’s Rhylee Gerber from Below Deck. The deckhand from season 6 recently returned for season 7 and fans had a pretty vocal reaction.
Her return to the show spawned a significant amount of social media comments. Fans were either happy she returned or vowing to stop watching because now Gerber would grace their screen. Gerber has been a polarizing figure since her debut last season. When she felt as though the deck team marginalized her she got in their face to let them know.
Rank was a big deal for viewers (and crew members). Because Gerber didn’t hold back when it came to her wrath directed at bosun Chandler Brooks or Ross Inia. Although Gerber has shared that she was merely standing up for herself on the show, some fans can’t get past the delivery. She recently shared that she refuses to let mean or even violent online comments upset her. Plus, what does she think an exchange would be like in real life versus behind a computer screen?
Their hate has ‘nothing to do with me’
Gerber blogged that she receives angry or hateful messages on a daily basis. She added that people will often ask how she deals with them. “It is simple. These strangers, the ‘haters’ or ‘trolls’ as they are commonly referred to, are people just like me. The difference is, what they do, say, feel, think or care about has nothing to do with me, even when directed at me.”
“Sure, without viewers, whether fans of me or not, the show wouldn’t be as successful as it is however, what is that saying? Any press is good press? Perhaps that’s true,” she continued. “It certainly keeps my name alive and well and on the tip of all viewers tongues at any given day of the week, not just Mondays at 9pm EST.”
Gerber adds that she can take it. “What it boils down to, I would suppose, is that I am fortunate in that I have thick skin. I’m a pretty tough cookie (Get it? Pretty and tough? Get it? GOT IT??). I can take it for the mere reason that, I don’t know these people making snide comments.”
She knows a face-to-face encounter would be entirely different
Gerber knows online trolls can easily post negative or hateful comments online because the person is not standing right in front of her. “They aren’t addressing me in any way other than behind the fact that they feel strong and correct in their judgment given that they can say it behind a computer screen and not to my face,” she shared.
She adds that she’s even received death threats but believes if an exchange went down in public it would look very different. “But what difference is there really when threatening my life via text versus in person? Perhaps if they feel it necessary to approach me in public, both theirs and my response would be different than expected,” she wrote. “But does that make their distasteful behavior any less uncouth than my own? Form an opinion, it’s not frowned upon, wait, I take that back. It is frowned upon especially if it is your opinion and not my own. Oy!”
