A British man has been given a “four-figure” payment by the owners of P&O Cruises after a cruise worker quizzed him about his sexuality.
Lewis Meehan, 27, is a nightclub manager from Nottingham, England. He filmed the encounter and shared the video with The Nottingham Post.
A soccer fan, after watching his team win a match on TV, Meehan returned to his cabin and decided to order a pizza in the early hours of January 23.
Related: My new boyfriend wants me to cancel the gay cruise I booked when I was single… but I don’t want to
A crew member delivered the pizza. Meehan was wearing just boxer shorts when he answered the cabin door. He said he was bemused when the male crew worker complimented him on having a nice body.
A short while later, the crew member telephoned his room and said he needed to return to collect payment.
Meehan says he was suspicious about this and set his phone up to record what happened.
Watch below.
Notts cruise passenger handed four-figure payout after worker quizzed him about sexuality pic.twitter.com/7yPmF4PXAJ
— NottinghamshireLive (@nottslive) March 23, 2022
Although the phone was pointed upwards, on the audio, the room service waiter can be heard asking Meehan if he is straight. When Meehan replies that he is, the crew worker asks him several times if he’s sure.
“No, no, no, that’s not what I’m into,” says Meehan when the crew worker says, “Please.”
When it’s clear Meehan is not budging, the crew worker says, “But please don’t complain about it.”
“No, I won’t complain, I won’t,” replies Meehan.
“So sorry,” apologizes the crew worker, who then leaves.
Meehan later complained and the cruise operator said the worker was removed at the next stop on the Caribbean cruise.
Related: Newlyweds stuck on cruise ship desperate to escape homophobic staff, say their honeymoon is “ruined”
Carnival UK, which owns P&O, is understood to have given Mr. Meehan a payout of four figures.
“I was bigger than him and felt OK handling the situation, but I worried about it happening to someone more vulnerable. He could escalate and something much worse could happen,” Meehan told the newspaper.
“It was just so unexpected – it totally ruined our holiday. My sister was really scared by it.”
A spokesperson for Carnival UK said: “We take any allegation of improper behavior extremely seriously and we are conducting a thorough investigation.”
sfhairy
Yikes, sounds like the crew member was horny and thought this man, who ordered a pizza late at night, was trying to get something more. Happy that the situation didn’t escalate.
Paul2
The crew member sounded like a woman, and I’m not being anything more than curious about why a woman would be interested about a man that is GAY. I coild be completely wrong about all of this.
MarcyMayer
Sexual harassment is not just perpetrated by straights; it can also be perpetrated by gays.
Jim
The staff member was inappropriate but 4 figures. Really!
Brian
To a giant corporation, that’s pennies. And to a customer, that’s like a voucher/refund – maybe only a partial one. (Cruises are expensive!) It’s actually not much.
Gnarfield
The sue-happy culture we live in is absolutely ridiculous. This little troll in his boxers (not that cute) made a thing out of something that was unnecessary. Do women get to sue all the men that cat call them? Pretty much all it was.
202gay.com
I’d love to hear any four-figure questions.
GlobeTrotter
Way to get an innocent, low-paid worker fired – I hope he’s proud of himself!
So you get propositioned, so you get a compliment, what’s the big deal? Untold millions of women have to go through this on a daily basis. As long as no one puts their hands on you or deprive you of your freedom, all you have to say is “thanks, but no thanks”, and move on.
But to get someone fired for paying you a compliment?? Methinks the lady doth protest too much!
Eternal.Cowboy
Women shouldn’t have to put up with either. Also, professionalism is still a thing.
Mr. Stadnick
You have to be kidding!
Tim44309
Those were my thoughts exactly! How many women have to just brush off unsolicited advances….it was inappropriate, for sure, unprofessional – but I bet the crew member is used to having that approach work often enough…No threatening, no coercion, he leaves when his advances are not met…. How “offended” or harmed was the guy by that experience? Riddled with homophobia!
My2CentsWorth
I agree with Gnarfield. The worker deserved to get fired even if he approached a lady (but would he??) but there was no justification for Lewis Meehan getting a lot of money. Even refunding the trip’s cost would have been excessive.
Also, I would never go to the door in my shorts. Not the first time or any subsequent time. It seems that Lewis Meehan did so to encourage such a reaction from the crew member who may have indicated when he brought the pizza a sexual interest Meehan.
On the other hand, what if a passenger approaches a crew member? I am sure that many have been approached by men and women. What would have been the outcome if it was the passenger who approached the crew member? I doubt that the passenger would have been evicted from the boat and the crew member would have been required to continue working his, or her, shifts regardless of how “upset” the experience would have been.
prime32
I mean his body was mediocre at best. But hey each their own.
Capawok
Mediocre at best is an understatement.
Passenger was looking for a quick payout.
That’s all.
Hope he finds himself on the cruise line blackout list.
What a scumbag.
Chip
It was just so unexpected – it totally ruined our holiday. My sister was really scared by it.”
Give me a freaking break… if that ruined your holiday and your sister was really scared in any way from that then you both should never leave your homes, like ever.
Essie
Passengers have been attacked and killed on cruise ships. Just a few years ago, a crew member hid inside a cabin and seriously beat up a woman because she laughed when he said something to her at the bar. He is in jail now and it took awhile for her to recover from the beating.
This man and his sister should have been afraid. These people have access to their cabins.
KW1969
Gay panic got him a free trip and a pay out.
Man About Town
I seem to be the only one who finds it disconcerting that this creep assured the crew member he would not complain when he clearly had every intention of doing so. If I were management, I would have responded “So one of our staff members complimented you and you’re complaining about it? Please get a life, and try to enjoy the rest of your holiday.”
Of course that would probably result in my getting fired, but it would be worth it!
Jaquelope
No, you were not the only one who felt the same way about the situation.
I’d also like to know why the sister was scared.
Heywood Jablowme
Gee, this tactic ALWAYS works in porn movies. Every single time! Next you’ll be telling us that not all straight pizza boys are horny enough to hook up with a dude?
Troyfight
…blasted out laughing – best response!
Eternal.Cowboy
It was entirely inappropriate of the dude to answer the door in his boxers. The crew member should have delivered the pizza, left and reported the passenger.
It was entirely inappropriate of the crew member to try to make sexual advances. Since he did it while working it constitutes sexual harassment and the cruise line is legally responsible if they take no action.
The amount of money being paid sounds like they just did a refund or partial refund of the trip.
JTex
This is ridiculous! I can’t believe the guy got fired. What an innocent exchange. Totally get that the advances weren’t welcome – as any advance in literally any other situation might not have been. Do you then go and ruin the other person’s life? Good lord.
My2CentsWorth
It seems like an unwanted advance and a possible setup. Lewis Meehan said that he set up the phone to record the encounter. Did he also strip to his shorts to encourage the crew member to make an advance?
Lewis Meehan should have gotten nothing. The staff of any company should be professional enough to not make an advance to a customer of his employer. Firing him was not out of line by the company. Dumping him off at the nearest port was wrong. Unless he did something that realistically upset, or actually made a customer feel endangered, he should have been allowed to stay on the boat until he returned home.
Unless Lewis Meehan is a physically repulsive person he has no doubt encountered guys – and women – before who indicated such interests in him.
BigTX
I understand that the guy may have been uncomfortable, but to report the guy and get him fired is a bit much. The guy backed off eventually and left him alone. That should have been the end of it. The drama of my trip being ruined and his sister was scared is laughable. A lot of the workers on those cruises come from poor backgrounds and send money back home to their families. He may not be able to find that type of work after this. What a jerk to get that guy fired. Dude take it as a compliment and move on.
MrMichaelJ
Wow, give me a flying, flipping break. You answer the door in your underwear. You OBVIOUSLY know the steward was gay by the time he calls you to get payment so you answer the door AGAIN in your underwear and it ruined your trip and your sister was scarred by it. Sorry, but not only do you answer the door in your underwear knowing damn well you totally turned on the steward but you also record it AFTER letting the guy in your room?
I hear a lot of you comparing this to when it happens to women. When in the hell does a woman answer the door in her bra and panties much less do it again and let the “creep” in her door. Sorry but the guy ordered food late at night, answered the door in his underwear and it sounds like something straight out of a porn movie every man has seen. Of course the steward got turned on but the second part was the world’s biggest set-up in order to get a payout.
The Accidental Polemicist
Agreed!
jt1990
As a hetero ‘bigot’ I totally agree with you! There was no need for the guy to lose his job. Maybe a stern talking to regarding ‘professionalism’ and a night or two of desk duty. Like we do the cops here in Florida who shoot at unarmed teens.
Being hit on (if a one time thing and not physical) does not equate to harrassment. I wish Carnival UK had a leader like my former boss. He was a Jew and could counter a potential lawsuit better than many lawyers!