Just a few days ago, Discovery announced the premiere of the Deadliest Catch Season 19. They revealed that there are a lot of new faces this season, as well as some old ones.
For example, Captain Andy Hillstrand is back with brothers Neal and Captain Johnathan, fishing on the F/V Time Bandit. Captain Sig Hansen and his daughter Captain Mandy Hansen are back together on the F/V Northwestern. Don’t forget Captain Jake Anderson is back, and mentoring a captain-to-be.
Yet, where is the F/V Cornelia Marie? For those who did not hear the shocking news, Captain Josh Harris was fired from the Discovery series. How could that be? He, along with Captain Casey McManus, starred in two series, including the OG and Bloodline.
However, what is more shocking than Josh’s firing is the reason that he is not on the series. It seems that his past has caught up with him.
Why Was Josh Harris Fired From The Deadliest Catch?
Deadliest Catch fans who are gearing up for the April 18th premiere of Season 19 may be surprised to find that the F/V Cornelia Marie is not returning. That means Josh Harris, Captain Phil’s oldest son, is not back. Why is Josh not back on the Discovery series? There is a piece of shocking information that fans of the show may have missed last fall.
It turns out that Josh Harris was keeping a secret. Moreover, no one seemed to know about it until it was listed on social media in August 2022.
Back in August, a now-deleted Reddit post revealed that in 1998, Josh Harris had been arrested and found guilty of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old-girl. Harris would have been between 15-16 years of age at the time of this incident.
According to Cinema Blend, first reported from Factz, report that Harris “digitally, vaginally, and orally raped a 4-year-old girl on 7/14/1998.” DNA evidence was recovered at the scene that included blood and semen. However, there was a delay in DNA processing.
Therefore, Josh Harris was formally arrested in 1999. Eventually, he plead guilty to “lesser charges” which include Assault 4, and “immoral communication with a minor.” In addition, he serviced nine months for this. They also report that he “took part in a psychosexual exam.”
The preschool girl was a neighbor and daughter of a deckhand. Therefore, this was a family that would have trusted the Harris family. In the affidavit, the very young girl told investigators that Josh had her call their genitals “pee-pees.” Afterward, it has not been clear whether Harris had to register himself as a sex offender.
Many fans of the series know that Harris now is the father of a young girl, which can feel unsettling for many.
Discovery Channel Makes Statement On Josh Harris
However, what has become clear is that Discovery never did background checks on their reality stars. Yet, they did have something to say about Harris. What did Discovery say about Josh Harris after the Deadliest Catch star’s past caught up with him?
A Discovery representative made a statement about Harris.
We’ve been made aware of this issue. Josh will not appear in future episodes of this series.
Immediately, the Discovery website removed all traces of Bloodline. it is not known whether Discovery will choose to remove the disgraced former reality star from their current content, as Harris has been in almost 200 episodes of the OG series. That would be a lot of work.
Former Deadliest Catch Star Silent On Social Media
With one exception, Josh Harris has been silent on social media since the news broke wide open in September 2022. However, there is one exception. On February 11, he posted on Instagram a photo of his father, the affable Captain Phil Harris. He wrote, “Whelp miss you pal can’t believe it’s been so many years as it seems like yesterday. Got one more adventure in store that we never got to complete my friend 🙃 miss ya pops.”
The F/V Cornelia Marie will not be part of Deadliest Catch Season 19.
Deadliest Catch fans, did you know that Josh Harris was let go by Discovery? Furthermore, did you know about his past? Let us know in the comments below.
