A Marine chef is enduring criticism for what some have labeled sexist comments he made during an episode of a reality television show.
Sgt. Frank Cala, who serves as a chef for Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller, competed on Gordon Ramsay’s show Hell’s Kitchen this season but was eliminated at the conclusion of Friday’s episode. In a video posted online of his reaction to the elimination, Cala is seen appearing to blame the women on his team for his demise.
"It turned out to be Frank’s last night because of a popularity contest. The Blue Team never had any drama until the females came aboard, and that’s when the ship sunk," Cala says in the video, which was not recorded live. "And that’s exactly why I get [expletive] female Marines and I send them back wherever the [expletive] they came from."
The video, which some have indicated was a product of the show’s editing, was published on social media over the weekend by a group called "End Gender Bias in the Military." The group accused Cala of "disparaging women" and labeled the video indicative of "cultural problems" in the service.
The Marine Corps is looking into the video of Cala’s comments.
"The Marine Corps has recently become aware of comments made by a Marine appearing on ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ that were not in keeping with our core values," the Marine Corps public affairs office said in a statement, according to the Marine Corps Times. "We take this matter seriously and we are looking more closely at this matter to determine what further actions may be warranted."
Meanwhile, Gunnery Sgt. Brian Kauten, Cala’s supervisor, argued that the recording does not give the full context of his comments.
"Frank works with female Marines on a daily basis," Kauten said. "He has five that work with him on a daily basis and he works fine with them. What he said was taken completely out of context."
He said that the show can easily edit the footage captured over hundreds of hours.
"They can edit it and copy and paste and make any words come out of anybody’s mouth they want to--not just with him on the show, as an excuse, but with any contestant," Kauten said.
He added that, for instance, some segments of the show featured Cala unshaven in one frame and completely shaven in the next, indicating that clips taken at different times have been combined.
"It’s a reality TV show. They are going to make you see what they want to see for ratings," Kauten said.
The anti-gender bias group appeared to celebrate the backlash spurred by the video.
"Well, looks like we made a dent," End Gender Bias in the Military posted to Facebook on Monday, linking to the Marines Corps Times article citing Kauten’s statements. "Sad how this Marine’s boss tried to justify his sexist remarks."