VIDEO: Michael Darby Seemingly Caught Grabbing Crew Member’s Butt in RHOP Season 1 Scene After Charges of Assault Are Dropped Due to Insufficient Evidence

by Lindsay Cronin Comments
29 comments

VIDEO: Michael Darby is Seemingly Caught Grabbing a Crew Member’s Butt in RHOP Season 1 Scene After Charges of Assault Are Dropped Due to Insufficient Evidence

Michael Darby has seemingly been caught red-handed.

Just over two years after the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s office dropped charges of felony assault and misdemeanor improper sexual conduct against the Real Housewives of Potomac cast member, who is currently expecting his second child with his wife Ashley Darby, Michael appears to grab the butt of a Bravo crew member in a throwback moment from season one.

In a clip shared on Reddit on October 14, which has since made its rounds on social media, Michael is seen in the background of a moment featuring Karen Huger and her husband, Ray Huger, as he walks behinds a RHOP crew member and seemingly gropes his backside.

As fans can see from the clip, which was taken during Charrisse Jackson Jordan‘s 50th birthday on the ninth episode of RHOP season one, the man was not happy about Michael’s actions. He quickly buckled his hips as he pulled away from his reach.

Michael Darby Caught Grabbing Butt of RHOP Producer

In September 2018, a cameraman named Orville Palmer filed court documents against Michael, claiming he “grabbed and groped” his butt during Monique Samuels‘ baby shower. However, just one month later, after Michael was charged with felony assault and misdemeanor improper sexual contact, those charges were dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

Following the dismissal, Michael released a statement.

“Our good name and reputation have been upheld through the abandonment of this case by the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s office,” said Michael. “It is unfortunate that high profile people are often sought out as targets, and in this situation, someone tried to take advantage of me.”

A number of RHOP cast members have spoken about the way in which Michael has supposedly made a habit of grabbing the backsides of other men, but thus far, no charges against him have stuck.

Last year, after Michael was seen appearing to discuss a line he crossed with the cameraman, who told him, “please don’t do that,” after an alleged encounter between the two of them, he accused Bravo of manipulating the footage for ratings in a statement to PEOPLE.

“On one hand, I was amused by the production company’s amateurish attempt to affect the viewers opinion by first showing video that clearly does not show any improper action by me and then try to couple that with another video which was taken 4 hours later by a different cameraman of a conversation with a cousin of a cast member — not the cameraman — who whenever I see him refers to a well-documented, harmless event that occurred in season one,” he said. “On the other hand it shows the level people will stoop to in order to get ratings.”

The Real Housewives of Potomac season five airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Bravo.