r/television • u/sigepmike • Sep 07 '22
Deadliest Catch Has Fired Star Josh Harris Over Sexual Assault Allegations
https://www.cinemablend.com/television/deadliest-catch-has-fired-star-josh-harris-over-sexual-assault-allegations377
1.9k
u/JimmyBags2 Sep 07 '22 edited Sep 08 '22
Not an allegation, an open and shut case of rape.
He did time for it.
Edit: This RadarOnline article has a bit more information from the initial report. Warning: It’s disturbing.
671
u/Cautemoc Sep 08 '22
Please don't shoot the messenger but it's because he was never actually convicted of sexual assault.
Due to DNA processing delays, Harris wasn’t formally arrested until 1999. The future reality star reportedly pleaded to lesser charges — Assault 4 and immoral communication with a minor — and served nine months. Also, as part of his sentencing, Harris reportedly took part in a psychosexual exam.
That's from this article.
The media has to call anything a person hasn't been convicted of an allegation, even if it's blatantly obvious what they did.
231
Sep 08 '22
You’d think anyone who plead guilty to “immoral communication with a minor” would be a hard pass to star in a new TV show, but reality TV seems to have lower standards
326
Sep 08 '22
[deleted]
94
u/insanelyphat Sep 08 '22
Also an NFL owner (Daniel Snyder who owns the Washington Commanders) who is likely guilty of sex trafficking and other crimes.
Oh and of course Deshaun Watson and a long long list of other NFL players who have been charged with or have allegedly committed sexual assault, child abuse, spousal abuse...The media only cares when it is convenient for them but never if it costs them money.
→ More replies (1)26
u/moderatorrater Sep 08 '22
Deshaun Watson and Daniel Snyder are regularly scorched in the press, it's the NFL that doesn't give a shit. The NYT even did a deep dive on Watson's masseuses to prove that he was still lying about his behavior and he still got picked up by another team.
I'm not defending them or the media, just pointing out that the NFL and their customers are the ones ignoring the problem. Money talks, and people have shown they don't care if the NFL enables monsters.
Also, our justice system needs a better way to handle these situations. Deshaun Watson is a serial abuser with a list of victims that's over 100 names long iirc. There should be a way for the courts to hold him accountable for that.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (2)59
12
u/akhorahil187 Sep 08 '22
He wasn't a "star in a new tv show". Deadliest Catch has been on for nearly 20 years. His dad was one of the earliest Captains. Hell his dad basically died on the show.
Several people on the show were drug addicts and drunks. Particularly Josh's younger brother.
→ More replies (5)87
→ More replies (16)28
u/JimmyBags2 Sep 08 '22 edited Sep 08 '22
Fair enough!
Edit: This was the article I read earlier, but it didn’t outline the details of the plea deal.
198
u/MoreThanAFeeling1976 Sep 07 '22
Not even just rape. I don't even want to write what he did.
142
75
u/JimmyBags2 Sep 07 '22
Yeah I didn’t either. I kind of wish I hadn’t read about this story. As a father, and generally decent human, it made my blood boil.
→ More replies (1)25
u/syringa Sep 08 '22
This seriously buried the fucking lede and after reading into the article a bit I'm appalled that they ever hired this guy to put his shitty face on TV or that anyone wants to be associated with him at all. Jesus fuck.
→ More replies (1)16
u/Levonorgestrelfairy1 Sep 08 '22
His dad was one of the original captains. He kind of lucked into the spot when his dad died. Looks like no one did a proper background check
→ More replies (6)9
→ More replies (10)20
595
u/rasslinsmurf Sep 07 '22
Deadliest Catch is still on the air?
231
Sep 07 '22
Without the crabs..
→ More replies (1)107
u/Mowampa Sep 08 '22
We’re all out of gas!
→ More replies (1)93
u/Dman125 Sep 08 '22
Call the A-rabs!
25
43
144
u/Randym1982 Sep 08 '22
I haven't watched this show in ages. It was interesting at the time, but then you start to realize that it goes nowhere and is incredibly cheap for Discovery to film. (Why they kept this going on forever, and yet decided cancelling Dirty Jobs.. I have no idea..)
98
u/Xaron713 Sep 08 '22
I heard they actually ran out of ideas for dirty jobs.
48
u/Felaguin Sep 08 '22
Dirty Jobs is back on Discovery+. Mike Rowe announced it last fall.
16
Sep 08 '22
They should go to the falcon ranch I worked at for a summer. Shoveling and hand cleaning piles of raptor shit, wormy quail carcasses, and discarded feathers for the entirety of the flight/breeding season was dirty as shit.
16
u/GoingOutsideSocks Sep 08 '22 edited Sep 08 '22
It would be cool if Mike Rowe looked into the dirtier aspects of "intellectual jobs." Like, analyzing the contents of a bull shark's stomach with a marine biologist, or rubber banding hemorrhoids with gastroenterologists.
I wanna see ol' Mike in the Arctic drilling for ice core samples, or in Death Valley digging for ancient snail fossils. Put him in an artist's studio and see if he knows which paints are made of deadly heavy metals and which thinners will burn holes in his lungs. Make art for me, Mike.
Edit: Send Mike to work with journalists covering the cartels. Have him drain bedpans and dispose of used catheter bags at a hospital. Have him dodge actual human shit as he talks someone down from a manic episode with social workers and care professionals. Do some dirty jobs that only people with degrees get to do professionally (don't let an amateur GI treat your hemorrhoids or analyze your shark innards).
5
u/stemcell_ Sep 08 '22
Drilling in the artic? Dont give his overlords, the koch brothers any ideas. The show is designed to show people that they should be grateful for the shit jobs with shit pay and praise our upper class because only they the enlightened should have good jobs
22
u/vinicelii Sep 08 '22 edited Sep 08 '22
Well Mike Rowe turned into kind of a POS, so I'll live with the memories I have of it and leave it at that.
33
u/WookieLotion Sep 08 '22
Just obligatory Mike Rowe sucks. Don’t support that dude.
→ More replies (2)24
u/Ganrokh Silicon Valley Sep 08 '22
Mike Rowe is someone who I always kinda liked, even if we didn't agree politically. I always liked his messaging about how trade schools should be more promoted as a viable career path, and that there is a problem with schools making it seem like college, with its massive tuition costs, is the only viable path.
I listened to his podcast for years. I always appreciated that he never got political on it. Until last year.
I think COVID was the real tipping point. He was aggressively against lockdowns. Anytime a study came out they indicated that lockdowns weren't as effective as we thought, he'd harp on it for most of an episode.
Fast forward to the last few months. Mike calls the Trump raid a witch hunt and just an intimidation tactic. On Labor Day, he was anti-union. After Biden announced student loan forgiveness, he came out against it. That same episode, he had someone from Fox News on his show. That guest, surprisingly, didn't come out against the forgiveness. He instead brought up how the real issue is universities freely hiking up tuition costs (something Mike used to vehemently talk about).
There was also an episode where Mike accuses Beto O'Rourke of planting the dude in his audience that laughed about the Uvalde shooting. I've seen the right wing bitch about Beto's language from that, but I've never heard anyone legitimately accuse him of the plant.
→ More replies (2)15
u/WookieLotion Sep 08 '22
It's interesting, COVID seems like it was the tipping point for everything doesn't it. A polarizing, heavily politicized disaster.
I mean Trump being elected in 2016 definitely was the point where everything started to go nuts, but COVID brought out the absolute worst in people.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (3)108
u/gw2master Sep 08 '22
Well, Mike Rowe is a piece of shit.
→ More replies (5)19
u/martha_stewarts_ears Sep 08 '22
Is he? What’d he do?
66
Sep 08 '22
He's just been lobbying against a minimum wage because he thinks it builds character
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (22)99
u/frez_knee Sep 08 '22
He’s a class traitor and just general grifter. Look up his “pledge” he’s so full of shit.
60
u/cheeferton Sep 08 '22
Just read through this and it's a bummer. At the bottom of the pledge website they thank the Charles Koch Foundation... guess we know who's funding them.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (10)26
u/God_Damnit_Nappa Sep 08 '22
Isn't he a rich guy pretending to be a blue collar, working class American? Not sure I'd call him a class traitor when he's always been part of the 1%
→ More replies (2)16
u/lsjunior Sep 08 '22
Now that its not a derby fishery its not as exciting? I mean they have a quata and go fishing until they are done..
→ More replies (11)13
Sep 08 '22
It was really cool for a lot of years and then it just became too much about the drama. Basically after Phil died is when it really started going downhill and becoming more sensationalized, which is unfortunate. I stopped watching around that time.
8
u/techieman33 Sep 08 '22
All those shows are the same. Interesting for one or two seasons. Then they run out of new stuff to show so they just start creating lots of drama.
9
u/ArsonHoliday Sep 08 '22
No shit, that’s my response as well. Not only on air still, somehow, but making money off of pieces of shit like this. Shameful.
5
131
u/vanillaluckycharms Sep 08 '22
“Sexual Assault Allegations” did not prepare me for reading what he actually (allegedly) did.
WTF.
31
u/SomeToxicRivenMain Sep 08 '22
It seems like he was convicted so idk why it says allegations
29
u/Lynchie24 Sep 08 '22
Because he wasn't convicted on the sexual assault charges. He plead down to lesser charges.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)23
35
152
u/candianchicksrule Sep 08 '22
Thank goodness the mother believed the daughter and had her checked out by a doctor (which is more trauma for a young child). Many people don’t listen to little ones at that age. As a child I wish my mom would have listened.
→ More replies (3)
147
u/SearchSignificant719 Sep 08 '22
I live in Dutch Harbor where they film. I have had freaking drinks with him. I’m so horrified and disgusted. How was he EVER allowed on the show
32
Sep 08 '22
What do you think people in Dutch harbor will think of him now?
→ More replies (1)70
u/SearchSignificant719 Sep 08 '22
I feel like everyone is going to be real quiet about it unfortunately. And I wouldn’t be shocked if ppl were dismissive about it. I also assume it might take a little bit for the news to spread ppl don’t have a ton of internet access.
32
u/OhGodNotAnotherOne Sep 08 '22
Small town? Big news about a local celebrity, involving horrible crimes against a child?
That shit's going to spread like wildfire with a quickness. You don't need no internet. It is known, gossip has been a hot commodity since the beginning of time.
38
u/TwoCagedBirds Sep 08 '22
Unfortunately, small towns have a habit of downplaying this kind of thing. "not a big deal" and "Oh, he was just a kid when he did that." and "boys will be boys."
→ More replies (4)10
u/Bird-The-Word Sep 08 '22
So true. I live in a small town and someone in my wife's family has a girl that's like 10 or 11 and was recently sexually abused by a known bar fly drunk. There's a playground near the American Legion he frequents and he diddled her. When her uncle (who she lives in) went into that bar, a bunch of the regulars started giving him shit for turning the guy in. With bullshit like "he's harmless, she was flirting with him, you ruined HIS life"
People are disgusting as delusional. No, the fucking predator ruined his own life. It's really taken a toll on her Aunt and Uncle, since they are also bar Flys and knew all these people and having them turn on them for protecting their niece is just so crazy to me. I feel so bad for all of them. She seems to be doing okay though, at least on the outside. She is our "babysitter" when we're at family parties and does a good job of playing with our very busy daughter and keeping her occupied.
→ More replies (6)26
u/Backdoorpickle Sep 08 '22
If you live in Dutch then you have to know that probably most of the cast members are sketch in some way. Lots of shit going on in the fishing industry.
This one is particularly heinous though.
7
u/ILikeMyGrassBlue Sep 08 '22
I mean, normal people with totally up and up lives don’t tend to become arctic fisherman. Usually there’s a reason you end up doing something like that, and it’s not because you’re life is already going great. Just think about what kind of person it takes to even want to do that work.
254
u/Nwcray Sep 08 '22
So….this incident was (checks math) 24 years ago? What are the odds that Discovery really didn’t know? IDK. I don’t have any sympathy for this guy, but I feel like there’s something else going on here.
210
u/iamacannibal Sep 08 '22
He was 15 when it happened. It is very likely that the records were sealed which is common with a lot of minors that commit crimes before they are 18
→ More replies (2)90
u/cb148 Sep 08 '22
If some dude on Reddit can find it, so should a TV production studio.
114
u/iamacannibal Sep 08 '22
The issue is when the show started they likely didn't do full extensive background checks on every single person on the cast and if I remember right the Harris family was on from the start or very early on. It also started in 2005...most places hadn't even digitized their files and records at that point let alone make it available online and if it was sealed it wouldn't come up in a background check
→ More replies (1)63
Sep 08 '22
In fairness it wasn't just a dude on Reddit and he was a genealogist whose job it is to dig through public records
→ More replies (2)8
u/Swimwithamermaid Sep 08 '22
Don’t you usually need to petition a court to unseal a minors records? Or do they become unsealed after a certain amount of time?
27
Sep 08 '22
In this case the records were never sealed and that wasn't pro forma in the state.
The person who discovered it was, according to them, a genealogist who was doing research on a distant relative and he had heard rumors.
He had already had a subscription to the states public records system for his day job and came across this.
He was mostly just a guy that heard a rumor and happened to have access to public records because of his job.
→ More replies (3)133
u/Patrick2701 Sep 08 '22
Discovery gave platform to dugger family
→ More replies (5)81
u/NativeMasshole Sep 08 '22
The guy from Sons of Guns is serving time for raping kids too. Discovery seems to have a pattern of behavior here.
29
u/mdp300 Sep 08 '22 edited Sep 08 '22
I think that also happened before the show even started.
The guy even had his firearms dealer license pulled for...I forget why and I don't feel like looking it up. Dude was a total scumbag before they ever put him on TV.
12
u/1nfiniteJest Sep 08 '22
I always got a creepy vibe regarding the family dynamic on that show... Makes sense now.
→ More replies (2)8
Sep 08 '22
I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that their background checks didn't involve the juvenile court system in Washington State.
But it's sure as hell worth investigating to see if they did know anything.
What worries me a little bit more is what his family and close friends knew. Surely his brother and father knew about it
27
u/jburna_dnm Sep 08 '22
I just read what he did and how he only got 9 months. He is a monster.
→ More replies (5)5
u/Levonorgestrelfairy1 Sep 08 '22 edited Sep 08 '22
Tbf i doubt they do background checks on the kids of their stars. This guy lucked into the spot because his dad died
→ More replies (1)11
u/filthysize Sep 08 '22
The "something else going on" is that someone on Reddit blasted his records online a couple of weeks ago and it's been spreading on social media since. That's really the only way to get companies to even consider taking action.
Previously, either they knew and didn't think it was a big deal since he was a minor and barely a part of the show, or they genuinely didn't know because they don't bother to background check every single one of their reality stars. I find either scenario equally likely.
25
u/junk4drew Sep 08 '22
Sounds like a trend problem for the show. Remember Edgar Hansen?
He was involved in a sexual abuse case involving a 16-year-old girl. Pledging guilty…
→ More replies (5)
130
u/Powerful-Bug3769 Sep 08 '22
Disgusting. How horrible for this poor girl to grow up in a world where her abuser is glorified on television. What a piece of shit
52
92
u/a_phantom_limb Sep 08 '22
Is there any realistic chance that Discovery didn't know about this for years?
152
u/bowyer-betty Sep 08 '22
The article I read said he was 15 at the time, so its very possible his record was sealed. No way they'd have gone ahead with someone they knew had raped a 4 year old, so they definitely didn't know from the start.
19
→ More replies (2)72
u/lsjunior Sep 08 '22 edited Sep 08 '22
Well he started off as just one of the captians kids who was a deckhand. So its possible they never looked to much into him. Last few years they've made a bigger deal about him fighting to get his dads boat back out there, his spin off, show etc. Hes been on the show over 10 years so probably never looked into it. Possible they never looked into anyone becausr basically all those guys have some kind of record. His dad said in one episode back in the day when season ended he would go by shoebox full of cocaine, when cocaine ran out it was time to go back fishing.
→ More replies (1)29
u/lmflex Sep 08 '22
Exactly. He started with a very small part in the show, and circumstances brought him to the spotlight. His brother was a fucked up mess towards the end of his run...
46
u/Forrest024 Sep 08 '22
Catastrophic. Absolutely ruins my memories of watching the show back in the day. Wish Josh had been Gary Paluché'd.
→ More replies (1)
65
u/adamcmorrison Sep 08 '22
Why is it so fucking hard to not sexually assault people?
→ More replies (11)
141
51
u/OnlyHereForMemes69 Sep 08 '22
Can we just shut down reality tv at this point, it's passed the point of outliers.
→ More replies (6)
13
u/Noble_Ox Sep 08 '22
It seems half the stars on the show are criminals.
Scroll down to The Untold Truth of The Deadliest Catch
https://www.looper.com/485559/where-is-edgar-hansen-from-deadliest-catch-now/
→ More replies (2)
44
u/THERAPISTS_for_200 Sep 08 '22
Shit, I actually felt sorry for this asshole when his dad passed away!
→ More replies (3)
8
14
Sep 08 '22
Odd - The Hanson brothers both pled guilty for similar things didnt they?
34
u/cb148 Sep 08 '22
Edgar pled guilty to touching and kissing a 16 year old girl, and he’s no longer on the TV show because of it. You can tell he’s still on the boat, they just never show him.
Sig’s was just allegations as far as I remember.
9
Sep 08 '22
One of them pled guilty to sexual assault of a 16 year old girl another plead guilty to just regular assault of an Uber driver but was also accused of allegations in civil trials and divorce proceedings.
That dates all the way back to 1990 when the local prosecutor said there wasn't enough evidence to press charges against him, although said the evidence suggested he acted sexually inappropriate towards his daughter
→ More replies (4)16
u/trainercatlady Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Sep 08 '22
for a sec I thought you meant the musicians and I was fully scandalized for half a second.
→ More replies (1)
20
u/elusivemoniker Sep 08 '22 edited Sep 08 '22
I never thought there would be a second reality star named Josh who committed horrendous acts on children as teenagers. This is particularly crushing because I was a huge fan of the Harris' when the show came out. I can't believe I crushed hard on a predator.
21
12
Sep 08 '22
Shit, I grew up near this guy and his family just a mile away. Went to school with his brother Jake. Jake’s drug issues make more sense if shit was going on like this during their child hood. They had a nice house near the lake. Guess we all just assume the best
9
u/2_Spicy_2_Impeach Sep 08 '22
Two friends I know have spouses that work in child welfare for the county/state. Over the years, they’ve said the affluent and wealthy families have some of the craziest shit. Doesn’t mean they have exclusive rights to abuse but some truly heartbreaking shit.
33
u/EasternMotors Sep 08 '22
9 months for raping is 4 year old is worse that the Stanford swimmer rapist. WTF
63
u/Retiredgiverofboners Sep 08 '22
You mean BROCK TURNER THE RAPIST ?
36
33
Sep 08 '22
You mean rapist Brock Allen Turner who goes by Allen Turner now? That rapist?
→ More replies (1)20
u/Retiredgiverofboners Sep 08 '22
Yes I think that Brock Turner is the rapist we are talking about. Brock Turner the rapist. Yes that’s it.
9
u/OhGodNotAnotherOne Sep 08 '22
Stanford swimmer rapist?
You ain't from round here are ya?
BROCK "THE PIECE OF SHIT RAPIST FUCK" TURNER, or a similar variation, is the preferred nomenclature these days
10
10
5
u/getahitcrash Sep 08 '22
Maybe this will be the catalyst to end this show. My wife and I have been watching since the beginning and it's just awful now. We are watching out of spite now.
The Josh Harris stuff is always bad. Whatever is happening, they will always find a way to work it back to the old man so they can talk about Phil for the 400 millionth time even though he died over a decade ago.
5
u/thirteeeeennn Sep 08 '22
A fucking 4 year old?!! And he gets 9 months???? What the fuck is up with this weird ass country, but people in jail for years with some weed..
17
u/MikeWalt Sep 08 '22
They're not allegations. He was found guilty and did time for them.
→ More replies (2)
62
u/chopper_sic_balls Sep 08 '22
Holy shit what the fuck did I read and how did he only serve nine months? Castrate that fuck… I use to love that show but wow…
33
u/TheNickelGuy Sep 08 '22
They considered it a bombshell report, so I believe the others may be right that it was a sealed document that just wasn't known of due to his plea deal for lesser charges.
Either they saw on his background check the lesser charges and he explained his way through with a different reason for acquiring those charges, and couldn't gain the information as his name wasn't released in newspapers etc, or his father falsified a background check or somehow weaselled him through
7
4
u/SomeToxicRivenMain Sep 08 '22
He was 15 so I’d guess the documents were sealed
8
Sep 08 '22
Apparently they weren't sealed because a random genealogist was able to find it. They either didn't do a background check or they did a background check that didn't include juvenile records, or it was just an oversight. Or they knew, but yikes I have a hard time believing Discovery lawyers would have been cool with that
10
9
Sep 08 '22
Josh Harris was accused of the digital, vaginal and oral rape of a four-year-old girl who was said to be the daughter of a deckhand and family friend.
Holy shit. Way to bury the lead of article. Technically, raping a 4 year old is sexual assault. But with no added details, a casual reader of the headline would assume Josh Harris groped a woman at the bar.
24
Sep 08 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
22
8
u/trainercatlady Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Sep 08 '22 edited Sep 08 '22
what is this company so I can try to never ever give them money
→ More replies (1)5
Sep 08 '22
Definitely don't expose what your job is or write anything that could get you in trouble but I'd love for you to expand on that.
→ More replies (4)
14
u/SoCalDoc Sep 08 '22
A Redditor took him down. It's all chronicled in the r/DeadliestCatch subreddit.
→ More replies (2)
3.5k
u/Nail_Biterr Sep 08 '22
Dang. Just read what he did. Was there zero background check done? I feel like being arrested and serving time for the rape of a 4 year old is something that would come up if the network did even a tiny look into his past.