A former cruise ship singer reveals the harsh realities around harassment on the ocean. She’s demanding that the industry address what she calls a systemic issue.
TikTok user Lauren (@laurenheav) told the story in a video posted earlier this week.
“I was 24 and I was a singer in the production cast for a major cruise line,” she says to start the video. At this point in her life, she said, “I was still very green and extremely nice and would just laugh things off if they were awkward and didn’t know how to deal with uncomfortable situations.”
Unfortunately, Lauren said she was exposed to many such situations over the course of her time in that job. One issue she had involved a band leader that she calls Jerry (that’s not his real name).
Harassment on the Cruise Ships
“Jerry was American and he’d been with the company for a very long time,” she says. “During sound checks or rehearsals, Jerry liked to find me alone and say really inappropriate things to me about this far away from my face.”
Lauren was so uncomfortable that she couldn’t respond and reporting it to her direct superiors didn’t result in any punishment for Jerry. That is until one day another woman on the ship overheard the behavior and called him out. After that, Lauren had the courage to report the behavior to the Human Resources department. That finally resulted in an end to the harassment.
In the caption, Lauren wrote, “As a woman working at sea, I’ve been on the receiving end of more sexual harassment than I care to count. From strangers, from co-workers, supervisors, and even from a boss. It’s ugly, it’s exhausting, and it’s real. I’m not saying this for sympathy. I’m saying it because silence keeps the cycle going.”
Viewers are infuriated for her
In the comments section, viewers reacted to Lauren’s traumatic experience working on a cruise line.
“I don’t understand men who can’t realize that women at work are there to earn a living,” one commenter wrote. “Women should get the same respect and dignity as any man, not looked at like someone to disrespect and play with. A job is serious business, not playtime for some jerk.”
“Make more friends with other ladies and band together,” suggested a second person. “Someone you can talk to and feel safe. Sorry this happened to you.”
As reported by The Washington Post, incidents of sexual assaults on cruise ships are on the rise. A Florida attorney interviewed by the newspaper blamed cruise line companies for not doing more to prevent these crimes.
According to one 2022 survey, the employee side of the equation is rampant with bullying, discrimination, and harassment. The law firm HFW recommends a top-down “zero tolerance” approach from industry leaders, enabling a “speak up” culture to allow for reporting of harassment, and enhanced background screenings to ensure people who’ve done this before aren’t hired. It also suggests that cruise lines update their anti-harassment and digital communications policies.
@laurenheav As a woman working at sea, I’ve been on the receiving end of more sexual harassment than I care to count. From strangers, from coworkers, supervisors and even from a boss. It’s ugly, it’s exhausting, and it’s real. I’m not saying this for sympathy. I’m saying it because silence keeps the cycle going. #cruise #fyp #foryou #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Lauren | Travel & Lifestyle
The Mary Sue contacted Lauren via TikTok comment and email for comment.
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