Credit: NBCUniversal Media
Hannah Ferrier revealed the real reason she was fired over Valium on Below Deck Mediterranean, as she says that she had the medication “every season.” Plus, the star addressed when she was “hiding from the cameras” due to anxiety.
In 2020, news broke that Hannah was fired from the show. Fans later learned that she was let go because she had Valium and a weed pen. Some fans blamed Captain Sandy Yawn, suggesting she was too harsh on Hannah, who has been open about her struggles with anxiety.
On Overshare the Podcast, Hannah was asked why she was “fired over Valium.”
“I can say this very freely because they have aired it. They have aired Sandy telling me in season four to go and take a Valium,” she said. “Malia basically [threw a tantrum] and then as my roommate went through my bag and then sent the photo to Sandy and other people, so Sandy then had to action it.”
“I had [the medication] every season,” said Hannah. “I had it on board. It’s my anti-anxiety medication and I’ve had anxiety for a really long time. So many people wrote to me, like thousands, saying, ‘I’ve never seen anyone have the same physical reaction to anxiety that you had, and you made me feel less alone.'”
Hannah said this was “so beautiful” to hear.
“Because season one, I was so ashamed of my anxiety that I was like physically having panic attacks while hiding from the cameras,” she explained. “You know, that was 14 years ago.”
Soon after Hannah’s firing, Sandy addressed the situation on the Below Deck Med After Show.
“What I witnessed with Hannah was a behavior change that was unlike any other. I said, ‘Something’s different, she’s not herself. She’s checked out,” said Sandy at the time. “Now, if I take her to sea knowing all this, it’s gross negligence on my part. At this point, maritime law takes over — it’s out of my hands. Having to share that with her was heart-wrenching for me. I took no pleasure in it. I have to follow protocol, that’s why structure’s in place. We have manuals. When you discover drugs on board, this is the course you take.”
“People smoke pot all over the world; people are prescribed Valium, [but] Hannah can’t do Valium and have a job on a boat, that’s not allowed,” she continued. “The minute you take that pill you are now my liability, you are no longer my asset, and my crew are my asset in case we have an emergency. We’re not allowed to take medication that alters our mind or puts us to sleep. We have to hear alarms, we have to be able to be woken up.”