Family Of Man Who Fell Overboard During Royal Caribbean Cruise Says Due To Anti-Gay Harassment

A married Brazilian gay man fell overboard during a Royal Caribbean cruise, and the family of the man is blaming the crew of the ship for anti-gay slurs which they claim led to his falling over the rail of his balcony.

Via the Miami Herald:

The family of a man who fell to his death from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship is now planning to sue.

Royal Caribbean said the man, Bernardo Elbaz, was spotted by crew members jumping from the ship’s deck Friday.

But the Elbaz’s family’s lawyer is telling a very different story from the cruise line.

Mike Winkleman, attorney for the family, told Miami Herald news partner CBS4 that Elbaz fell over the balcony and the cruise line didn’t do enough to rescue him.

“Royal Caribbean is saying this was a domestic dispute and he jumped overboard so it was a suicide,” Winkleman said.

Winkleman disputes this claim, and said that crew members made anti-gay remarks to Elbaz and his husband, which led to an altercation where Elbaz fell to his death.

“This was a married gay couple that were on Royal Caribbean cruise and throughout the cruise there were anti-gay remarks crew members were making against them,” Winkleman said.

The comments against Elbaz and his husband, Eric, escalated into a huge dispute Thursday night while the couple was at a bar, with ship security intervening, Winkleman said.

“A big altercation ensued,” Winkleman said. “That ultimately led to Bernardo falling over the balcony of his stateroom and ending up on the lifeboats.”

The fall was caught on cell phone video by a passenger. You can watch below, but be aware the video is very disturbing.