The patented Andy Cohen cringe says it all. On Watch What Happens Live, you could cut the tension with a butter knife as viewers and the host witnessed drama boil over between Ashling Lorger and Elizabeth Frankini. The two sparred in passive aggressive jabs about professionalism, fakeness and Frankini being fired in the latest episode of Below Deck. Let's just say, things got awkward.
During the Watch What Happens Live chat, the Below Deck crew mates did not hold back. Ashling Lorger maintained that Elizabeth Frankini’s firing was unavoidable and, if she was Chief Stew, she would have taken the same action. Frankini was quick to throw shade at Lorger, saying,
I don’t know where you come from down under, but where I come from, we call that fake.
Ashling Lorger responded that Elizabeth Frankini was being “pretty nasty” and splitting up fans by “dividing Australians versus Americans.” Then, Andy Cohen attempted to diffuse the situation, joking that he didn’t want a “war between Australia and America.” You can see more of that conflict, here:
Season 8 of Below Deck has, without a doubt, been coasting on the dramas centered around Second Stew turned/demoted Third Stew Elizabeth Frankini. She found herself the butt of jokes by castmates and fans for her flighty personality and subpar work ethic. Frankini struggled to perform the around-the-clock tasks of cleaning up after the insanely wealthy, but it hit a boiling point somewhere between making a WW2 mustard gas concoction out of bleach in the crew mess and hooking up with a crew member in a guest room.
Even on Watch What Happens Live, Elizabeth Frankini admitted that watching the last episode back (as she shirked her Stew duties to press her boatmance about their relationship) was “cringey.” Ashley Lorger told Elizabeth Frankini straight up:
Liz, you're just not cut [out] for yachting. It's just not your thing. I think you're more into, like, yoga and more things like that. Everyone has their strengths and their weaknesses.
Host Andy Cohen had spared no time immediately questioning Ashley Lorger about the fan perception that Lorger was two-faced. Lorger was seen multiple times throughout the season making fun of Elizabeth Frankini with Chief Stew Francesca Rubi but then simultaneously being friendly with Frankini in person. Lorger rather cagily told Andy Cohen and Elizabeth Frankini that it wasn't her intention to come across that way.
I was just letting you know for now, I was actually trying to keep it all professional the whole time. In a workplace environment like that as myself, I am a manager, I am a business owner as well, and I have worked on yachts for a year-and-a-half to two years in a very high-ranking, professional yacht where it was extremely strict. I was just keeping my professionalism up to a high standard, that's all.
Regardless, the drama is at an all-time high for Below Deck, with or without live television bickering. Tune in on Monday to see the fallout from Elizabeth Frankini's firing and how the crew will ever manage to get through another charter.
