The Shocking Reason Josh Harris Was Fired From ‘Deadliest Catch’
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.
What is the shocking reason why Josh Harris was fired from the Deadliest Catch?
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.
Tonight on #DeadliestCatch, the Cornelia Marie crew are in peril as an arctic storm hits them where it hurts. ⛈☔️🚢 @JoshHarrisDC @McManus_Casey pic.twitter.com/0ifHSdDnHC
— Discovery Channel UK (@DiscoveryUK) August 13, 2019
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.
Bull
WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!!I AM SHOCKED SHOCKED SHOCKED….YOUR ONE SICK SUND A *ITCH JOSH!!!!CASEY SHOULDNT BE PUNISHED BECAUSE JOSH IS A SICKO!!I AM SO VERY DISAPPOINTED AND YOUR DAD IS ROLLING IN HIS GRAVE….TALK ABOUT RUINING YOUR DADS REP!!!
Agee! But Dad was alive back then when this happened! But AGREE CASEY SHOULD NOT BE PUNISHED! He was owner of the ship also!
Casey should not be punished for Josh’s doings. He didn’t commit the crime so he shouldn’t have to do the time. Josh should be doing time and not running loose.He’s a badperson!
You know his dad was aware of all of that right? There’s no reason Phil would be rolling in his grave.
First off, I agree that what Josh did was so very WRONG!!! I myself a victim of abuse, know the impact.
I am confused as to why Discovery let the previous captain of the SAGA do drugs right on screen. You can’t tell me Discovery didn’t know that he was high 99% of the time.
Josh was punshed and did his time. Discovery evidently feels they have the right to be his judge and jury. They let Elliott stay stoned or drunk and not only endanger his crew but the Discovery crew as well and that’s ok. Double standards coming from an abused child. From what I have found out, Elliot has not changed. Hmmmm. Not shicked. He stayed stoned because his girlfriend, kids, fishing. etc. Josh has however has changed. He has made a a ton of money for Discovery.
Last time I looked…God was my Judge and Jury. Discovery has managed to ruin someone who was puttng their life together for the better and contnued to show (until his boat owner fired him) an out of control drug addict who didn’t use the help he was given. Please explain where this makes sense???
I totally agree
I’m a little confused about the story at the end. saying the boat owner fired him ?? was Josh the owner or Co owner?? is the boat and crew still going to be on the show ???
They were refering to Elliot, Discovery continued to show him, out of control, until he was fired.
I think she was talking about Elliott
They were talking about the guy that owned saga not Josh Josh can’t get fired from a boat he’s got a lot of stock in. He can still take that move out and make money to do the hell with discovery and all you hypocrites.
what you are saying may be true about Elliot.However they are all adults and yes they all knew what was going on but really a 4 year old girl did she know? I seriously doubt it. I couldn’t tell you anything about me when I was only 4 years old.Josh knew exactly what he was doing and should be severely punished for what he did and should not get away with murder! cause that’s what it is to me. You can’t even compare these two separate instances period.
Why is Josh still in the commercials for deadliest catch ?
Sounds like Josh talking, he’s a POS… living off his father’s name continuously.. no one gives a shit about him. That child’s father should have thrown him in a crab pot for bait….. although I doubt even the crabs would wanna eat that molester
Your dead wrong And you have no idea evidently that people can pay for their mistakes. He did and put his life back together. For Pete’s sake, get ahold yourself, he was a kid As for Disney, they are FULL of perverts and p-grabbers of little children
Disney is full of perverts? Wtf….is that from Ron DeSantis and how people just throw half truths around like it’s all fact is disconcerting at best. I bet you’re a “Christian” too.
becaus he is 1 of the favorit and discovery like to stil use that
so they fire him buth stil use him for the vieuwers
tell more bout discovery then about johs how whas punnisht more then enouf
dicover play judge exutioner and bull at the same time yuck
i
It doesn’t make sense. He has done so much and turn his life around made a name for himself and discovered screw them. There’s other ones on there who has been accused of similar things but it never got back to life. He still on there they got rid of Josh just like they got rid of Edgar and for Casey to turn his back on him what kind of man is that?
absolutely agree
what you are saying may be true about Elliot.However they are all adults and yes they all knew what was going on but really a 4 year old girl did she know? I seriously doubt it. I couldn’t tell you anything about me when I was only 4 years old.Josh knew exactly what he was doing and should be severely punished for what he did and should not get away with murder! cause that’s what it is to me. You can’t even compare these two separate instances period.
Thank you so much Pam, for your kind and sensible words. I’m with you 100%
This is exactly the reason why western society is so f-ed up nowadays. Let me be very VERY clear!!! If the gruesome details told are REALLY true, Josh Harris really was a sicko, and should have been dealt with properly back in 1998.
WE DON’T KNOW IF THEY DID so who are the true sickos here, writing a POS paperazzi journalism over something that happened 25 years ago and making money off it? Why did Discovery put him on and made all this money on him all this years when he obviously is such a bad person because I do not believe for the tiniest bit Discovery not knowing about this when the details really are true.
Thruout the deadliest catch series we saw a man who had his mistakes (like we all have) but worked very hard to reach the point where he was. This now has been swiped away by one sensational POS paparazzi peace.
Discovery should be very, very ashamed and Discovey management and producers are NOT the moral of this world, They are the true sicko’s of this world. Why else are there sensational commercials shown about the series they made about the “Texas Mineola sex ring case” THEY ARE MAKING MONEY OFF IT as they did off Josh Harris.
Do not judge, or you too will be judged! Let’s hope that this become true very soon again.
totally agree. as a mixed up.kid he did a horrible thing, but he did his time and cleaned up his act.
I can only imagine how everyone involved must feel about having to relive this moment all over again because a news reporter wanted to sell a story. Josh paid for his crime and received the proper treatment to correct his mental state of being at this young age. The young girl received medical treatment and mental health treatment. I can’t imagine this young lady now having to see this blasted all over the nation and having to relive this again. This news reporter sold a story to gain credibility for money. As a victim of abuse, this infuriates me because no one should gain by someone else’s pain. Wrong is wrong. Everyone involved should not have to relive this tragedy.
I think it’s a good reminder just to let people know that even after time passes that the truth doesn’t always set you free even if you have changed for the better. I just hope it doesn’t reflect on the healing process for the innocent girl cause she is the victim,not Josh!
Dad was a chain smoking drug addict. Brother the same, what a screwed up family. Discovery didn’t seem to care until now. Sad.
You Kendall u think it’s OK to bash Phil Harris and say he was a chain smoking drug addict, well he might have been when he was younger but he put that life behind him and started to train Josh and Jake Harris to take over for him when he retired. He even admitted he wasn’t the greatest father especially when Josh & Jake needed him. but he at least owned up for his mistakes and failures. And let’s not forget he was the king of crabbing and everyone knew that, to bad u didn’t and u should be ashamed for that. yes Josh made a huge mistake when he was 14 but he has owned up for his mistakes just like his father and that means alot, he knows what he did was sick and the 4 year old girl should have never had to endure this. he definitely understands this more now as he has a daughter of his own and like he said on social media if someone ever hurt his daughter the way he did that little girl he would end that person’s world and he truly hates his self and like he said I have been forgiven by her and her family and by God but I know God will still punish me when I die and I deserve whatever he decides to give me.And Jake yes followed in his father’s past but he has gotten clean and knows now that he was only hurting himself but it took him going through what his father did to feel this way. yes the Harris family might not be perfect and it really doesn’t matter if they are perfect or not. because who wants to be perfect in life? maybe you do Kendall and have fun with that, because I know myself and my family isn’t perfect and I know alot of others on here are saying the exact same thing. God was perfect and neither was his son ,so if u think u are better then the Harris family then that means your better than all of us especially our amazing God and his son and good luck explaining that when u get to the parley gates. I am willing to bet that u will be sent away and the place ur heading is straight to hell. God is the only judge we have and he says in the Bible thou shalt not judge thy neighbor unless you prepare to be judged by our creator.
Thank you Joshua – I am happy to read that someone feels the same way that I do! The past is the past – and it could have been a tiny gesture that was taken the wrong way – WE should not JUDGE without knowing the WHOLE truth (which is hard to get). I think it was wrong to remove Josh from the series AND cancel Bloodline!! I’ve seen the new episodes.. strange and not as nail biting as the previous episodes.
Agree
if he’s fired, then discovery is fired from me watching . Been watching long time , not agreeing with what he done but he served his time did what was required of him, but remember he was 17 when it happened. And has grown up ALOT , Shame on Discovery. Seems like a person can’t fix what was broken.
He was 15/16 years old , the poor little girl was 4 years old. Your saying he’s grown up a LOT good God he’s a child Rapist a paedophile.
He paid his dues and time get over it you ignorant goof!!!
I’m not sure he is the ignorant goof you going to tell the victum to get over it too? That’s ignorant
Obviously the victim and her family had forgiven and moved on clown. You think years ago when he got famous they would have said something like hey he did this! They didn’t because they had moved past it. A goofy reporter brought this all flooding back for all involved. Sad situation all around. Judgement will be passed by the good lord, and the good lord only.
This is crazy! How are any of you defending him, in ANY way? This is NOT the case of a 21 year old, or even a 30 year old having sex with a 16 year old! Or even a 12 year old that looks 15! This was a 4 year old girl. F O U R!!! That’s not just sick, that’s absolutely unthinkable. That’s not something you serve a few years in jail for and we all forgive you. That’s a serious mental issue!! That’s NOT judging, that’s knowing right from wrong and standing up for it. Even crazier is some of you bringing God into this??! Are you kidding? Yeah, he can be forgiven by God, but that doesnt mean we put him back on TV and root for him to catch tons of King Crab?!?! Noooooo! I was shocked more then ANYONE. Loved the show, and one of my favorites was Josh!
I agree, we all make mistakes and from what I have read, this happened when Josh was a teenager. It is never okay to sexually assault someone, especially a child, but he took his punishment and received mental health treatment. I feel that instead of firing Josh, Discovery had a golden opportunity to use Josh’s mistake as a chance to help someone out there who may be on the edge of acting on the impulses to harm another person in this way to learn from his experience and get help. The majority of people who speak out on this subject have no experience with sexual assault, I have!
As a woman and survivor of sexual abuse, I’m glad Josh was fired and that Discovery Channel is doing what they can to distance themselves from him. He’s not the only main cast member to be fired for a sexual offense. Edgar Hansen was also fired as a main cast member for fondling a 16yr old girl’s breasts (there are articles posted online about it). That’s part of the reason why Mandy Hansen took over as co-Captain with her dad, Sig, and why there’s been nothing said about why Edgar stepped down from that role. Edgar is still fishing on the Northwestern as he’s been seen in the background of some shots after being fired from the filmed crew.
Everyone is sick to think he should be allowed to carry on with the show. What’s wrong with this world! Honestly worse then I imagined!
I do not condone what Josh did. He was 15. He spent time in jail and was sent to classes to get his head straight. It has now been 25 years since he finished probation and 27 years since the crime. The victim received treatment and therapy and is a 30 year old woman now. This was FAR in the past. He’s been a model citizen since. The criminal served his time and was rehabilitated. The victim was treated and has been living a full life. There was no reason to pull Josh or the Cornelia.
I was an operations manager at a hand sanitizer manufacturer. We hired an ex-con on probation. He spent 15 years in jail. He worked hard and kept to himself. We ended up with 20 cases of sanitizer disappearing during the pandemic and everyone immediately thought it was him running a side hustle. Folks demanded I fire him. When I got done with the investigation and we went through the cameras, it turned out to be our shipping clerk. She took a case a day and put it by the emergency exit, disabled it, and had her son drag it out. Further, on tape I saw twice where cases fell off one of our trucks and our ex-con could have hid/stolen product, but he picked it up and repacked it every time. Never judge a man only by their past. Who they are now is more important.
Our freaking President has been accused of the same thing and same as admitted it on air saying to a now woman that she needed to see him after the press conference that he was 30 and she was 12 and he is labeled the sniffer en chief and cannot keep his hands to himself josh paid his debt leave him be.Sig Hansen was accused of that too and his 1st daughter won’t even speak with him anymore nothing has been done about that.
They said Edgar would never appear on camera again but he did! It was more than fondling! Edgar has to register as a Sex Offender he should have been Fired! Josh gets fired for his past & Edgar stayed for his present. I think SIG fixed it for Edgar.
This was shocking to hear. Let’s not forget that Josh was a child himself when this happened, and essentially has to live with this. He paid his debt for society. It’s not like he was a grown man, with a wife and kids like Edgar. Edgar traded one addiction (drugs) for another (sex). Edgar has cheated on his wife, more than once. And then molested a teen. You don’t see the Northwestern getting fired and canceled. Double standards Discovery.
It’s too bad that the girl has to relive this again for the media.
What Josh did is horrible but he paid his debt and I would think that as a minor his record should’ve been sealed. I agree with the double standards and don’t think that the Cornelia should’ve been punished. Obviously the family of the girl new and never brought it up. He may have been making restitution to her. It’s funny though that this is the first I’m hearing about this. Would’ve been completely confused when the new season started to see them gone. Sometimes I think it should be left up to the fans to make such decisions!! Will be sad to not see them anymore!!
I’ve had enough,to many bad people in this show over the years. You expect drugs to be part of fisherman’s lifestyle but this is at least the 2nd cast member with sexual assault issues the other being Edgar Hansen.
At that time Josh and Jake was being abused by the stepmother according to Phil Harris and Josh and Jake so an abused person who is not being treated sometimes also becomes an abuser.Josh did his time got help and now is a productive member of society.It doesn’t excuse what he did but the child / woman should not have to relive it because a reporter needs to feel important and make money off other people misery.
The comments on here are truly shocking! A teenager raped and molested a young girl (more than once), and he was IDENTIFIED based on “blood” and “semen” found at the scene. Anyone who is backing up Josh should be ashamed of themselves. It’s one thing to be accused of something (even Eric Hansen’s “breast fondling” accusation was borderline), serve your time, and move on…
It’s QUITE ANOTHER THING to be having SEX with a 4 year old GIRL. Unfortunately that does make Josh a pedophile, and those close to that situation are closely watching the “relationship” with his children. Sad, but necessary given the predatory nature of his previous behavior.
Normalizing pedophilia is WRONG. It isn’t nature, normal, or acceptable at any time– ever.
And yes, Josh was a co-owner of the Cornelia Marie. He wasn’t the full owner as is showing many times on DC when he would “call” his business partner, not Casey, to discuss their fishing strategy.
AMEN!
Pedos are sick…….it’s Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Josh and Jake had a sad childhood. However, even at 15/16 he knew what he was doing was horrific. “He’s paid his debt to society” is nonsense, means nothing. because a criminal serves time absolutely doesn’t mean they’ve repented, repaired, are remorseful, and won’t go back to the thing which was a crime. They often go back to what their “normal” was, is…
HIS WIFE, knew….Why would a woman marry a pedophile, and HAVE CHILDREN with such?? INEXCUSABLE, why take that chance?
with all due respect, there is a valid reason why kids’/young adults’ criminal records are supposed to be kept sealed by the courts. I do not know how this information got out, it shouldn’t have. the reason is because, as a juvenile, and versus a grown adult, the incident may very well have just a one-time blip that happened and have no relevance to how Josh Harris is as an adult. kids to weird things and sometimes act out in inappropriate ways at times. what he did as a juvenile should not define him as an adult and that is precisely what has occurred. that said, I don’t see how he could continue with the cat out of the bag. I hope you don’t take this as defending a pedophile, because I don’t mean it that way at all – it’s wrong, but again he was a child morally and technically. if I were Josh Harris, if I didn’t disclose the information myself stupidly, I would sue the sh*t out of whoever did it.
I agree. I also don’t know about Washington state, but most places seal juvenile court records. Whoever posted it had to have access to sealed records which should narrow down the suspects. They should be prosecuted and earn their own criminal record.
Anyone justifying this is either sick themselves or is so starstruck they can’t see the forest through the trees. Clearly the prior is worse but being so starstruck that you accept violating babies as OK is almost as bad.
Have you even stopped to consider the fact that since he was only 15 or 16 when this happened his brain was not fully developed? A person’s brain is not fully developed until they are in their mid-twenties. The portion of the brain that is developed last is the part that has to do with decision making and long-term consequences. At the age of 15 or 16, they have no idea what the long-term consequences for the child or themselves could be, they absolutely have no context for this or ability to figure it out. We are talking biological factual information in regards to a brain’s development. This is not excusing his behavior, however it is saying that to hold him responsible this many years later is ridiculous. He did his time, he learned from it, and he changed because his brain finished developing and let him understand what the long-term consequences of such actions were. I would call him a pedophile if he had been an adult but he was just a child himself. To ruin a man’s life this many years later, as well as to drag that former victim through this all again is not okay. Why do we think other people are worthy of a second chance but not someone who was a child when they touched a child? Get over yourselves You have no room or right to judge a person when you have not walked in their shoes
I know this has nothing to do with it but season 18 he seemed like he was high. Maybe he takes doctor prescribed meds, but he was even more weird than he normally is. That family although somewhat charming has always confused me. One brother a complete recluse type addict, the other just weird and maybe a pedofille, then that eldest brother on this season is another one, ODD. There are plenty of odd people all over the place but that family, all of them are just plain odd.
So you are condemning, and destroying a man’s life over something that happened over 20 years ago, when he was a minor? For one. I thought juvenile records were sealed. Two-He is not currently doing those things, so why? Three-If I were him I would sue the ass off the reporter that broke the story as he was a minor at the time. Also the discover channel for passing down judgement & punishment for something that happened more than 20 years in the past. When is enough, enough? He was caught and punished by the law, and a jury of his piers….
Obviously everyone leaving a message on here has watched Josh for some time on DC.
If the story was never brought to life, you would still be watching Josh on DC. This is another reason why I have no respect for people in the media. They love to stir shit and then step back and watch people destroy each other. I do not approve of what Josh did. He was a minor and he did what was required by the court. we have no right to judge him. You would think the TV producers would do a complete background check on those going to be on the show. Again I DO NOT AGREE with Josh’s actions. We do not know the whole story. instead of belittling him, we should pray that he understands his errors and continues in a positive direction for him and his family.
with all the political and ideological fighting amongst people these days I’m glad we all seem to agree that being a pedophile is wrong, (with the exception of a random democrat here and there), and that is good. even if they permitted Josh Harris back on the show there would always be the knowledge of it in people’s minds, therefore impossible to deal with it in the public realm and as part of Deadliest Catch. yeah, no way for him to continue with the show. as for Josh Harris, the person we’ve seen for years on the show and been familiar with, I do feel bad for him. no idea beyond what we see what kind of person he is, but he did seem okay. if I ran into him I’d say hi and respect the fact of his long running member of Deadliest Catch crew. nothing against the guy and he DID grow up in a dysfunctional family whereby that kind of nonsense could happen. he may have been molested himself God knows.
I think he should have to register as a sex offender!
This is a huge case of BS. I don’t care what he did when he wasn’t an adult. EVERYONE has skeletons in their closet but if you have paid for your crime then it shouldn’t follow you the rest of your life!!! Josh is one of the most loved fishermen on DC as was his father. Wherever you are now I hope you know that your fans know you for the man you are now!!!
we are all talking about him when is was 14-15 yrs old. we are really sick about judging him. WE HAD A USA PRESIDENT WHO ALSO DID THIS ,WITH THAT YOUNG GIRL TRAFFICKER. NOW WE WHAT TO JUDGE THIS GUY. JUST TO SHOW YOU HOW WE SEE THINGS. FROM THE REAL WORLD. AN EX- PRESIDENT ON TAPE SAYING HOW HE WOULD PUT HIS HAND ON HER PRIVATE PARTS. TO A OTHER MAN IN THE BUS, SAYING THAT IS LOCKER ROOM CHAT. WTF. GOD BLESS THE WORLD
It was a 4 yr old douchebag!! You must diddle toddlers too….
I was molested when I was 5, 6 and 7 buy a boy who was 4 years older than me. No one knows about it. I have forgiven him because he was just a boy. What Discovery is doing to Josh is just WRONG !!!!!! He was a kid he pay for what he did got help and moved on with his life to make himself a better person. If I can forgive a boy why can’t Discovery forgive Joh Harris?
The. News reads he “digitally, orally and sexually” abused the girl yet got off on lesser charges of “communication with a minor.
Dont get thee digital bit but the lesser charges were due to massive backlog.
So hard to say he paid his dues
Of course Discovery takes the easy way out and tries to make him disappear. Josh made a big mistake, but he did this series for 200 episodes, and he’s is no different today than back when this show first started. It doesn’t resolve a thing to drop a well liked personality over a mistake. Shame on you Discovery I can’t say I didn’t expect this from you.