The lawyer representing family of the Brazilian Bernardo Albaz, who fell from Royal Caribbean cruise ship Oasis of the Seas on Friday said the incident was not a suicide.
During a news conference on Saturday, Attorney Michael Winkelman said there was a misunderstanding as to what led to the tragedy. It’s alleged that Bernardo Albaz, was taunted by the ship’s crew members at the bar late Thursday night. Winkleman said crew were teasing Elbaz and his husband Eric with homophobic remarks - saying "Hi, lipstick". There was a big altercation at the Solarium Bar on the Oasis of the Seas after which the couple went back to their stateroom furious.
"Royal Caribbean has said from the get-go that this was a domestic dispute and a suicide and what I've come to learn is in fact almost the opposite of that. From the video I have seen, it’s very clear they were arguing about the anti-gay remarks that were being made against the couple." Winkleman said
Royal Caribbean spokesperson Cynthia Martinez issued a statement on Saturday saying “Our onboard security team responded to the guest’s stateroom after a neighbouring guest complained about a domestic dispute on the guest’s balcony. The dispute was loud enough to be heard from several staterooms away. The room was in a state of disarray, and both lamps in the room had been broken. Our officers interviewed the guests separately about their dispute, as is standard procedure. The officers were not in the room when the guest chose to jump off his balcony. Our staff did not have a physical altercation with the guest and were unable to prevent his jumping from the stateroom balcony. Royal Caribbean is deeply saddened by this event. We will continue to provide assistance to the family as well as law enforcement.”
"I can see how from the media perspective Royal Caribbean would rather (take a position that) this is the scenario where someone jumped overboard rather than something directly implicating their security staff," Winkleman said.
