Getty Michael and Ashley Darby in 2018.
During Season 4 of The Real Housewives of Potomac, one of the biggest storylines was not about one of the ladies, but instead, about one of the ladies’ husbands, Michael Darby, who is married to Ashley Boalch Darby. Darby found himself in a huge scandal throughout the entirety of the season, involving him and Real Housewives of Potomac cameraman Orville Palmer.
According to People, on September 4, 2018, Palmer claimed in court documents that Darby had “grabbed and groped” his butt three days earlier, during cast member Monique Samuels’ baby shower. Darby was charged with “felony assault as well as misdemeanor improper sexual contact,” according to People. The maximum punishment for Darby’s crimes would have been 11 years in prison, but on October 4, 2018, a Montgomery County court dismissed the charges due to insufficient evidence, People reported.
Some snippets of the encounter were caught on camera, but only the audio could be heard. In the clip, shared by People, Darby says to the cameraman, “Hey bud?” and can be heard giggling, “You alright?” In response, the cameraman says, “Please don’t do that.”
Darby replies, saying, “Okay.” The cameraman then says again, “Please don’t do that.” Darby responds with another “Okay” and then walks over to his wife, People reported.
Darby Previously Grabbed a Former Castmate’s Butt
During the first season of The Real Housewives of Potomac, Darby was also accused of grabbing another castmate’s butt. This incident was caught on camera, as he grabbed former Real Housewives of Potomac star Katie Rosts‘ ex-fiancee Andrew Martin’s butt.
In March 2016, Darby spoke about the incident to Bravo. Darby said, “Andrew and I have become friends since the start of the show. We have mutual interests and have found that we have friends in common. We had enjoyed a fun night at Charrisse Jackson Jordan’s birthday party and were letting loose on the dance floor when I playfully touched Andrew’s butt. He responded as expected with a laugh and we continued to dance with our lovely ladies.”
Darby Continues to Deny the Allegations
Darby has continuously denied the allegations that he touched Palmer’s butt. The matter was brought up on the season 4 reunion, and after many conversations around it, Darby still adamantly denied the claims.
In July 2019, Darby told People, “On one hand, I was amused by the production company’s amateurish attempt to affect the viewers opinion by first showing video that clearly does not show any improper action by me and then try to couple that with another video which was taken 4 hours later by a different cameraman of a conversation with a cousin of a cast member — not the cameraman — who whenever I see him refers to a well-documented, harmless event that occurred in season one.” Darby continued, “On the other hand it shows the level people will stoop to in order to get ratings.
“This was a serious situation where an employee of the production company tried to take advantage of my wife and I by making up a story to try to profit from it,” Darby said to People. “The fact that the production company appears to endorse his actions by splicing together disconnected and unrelated events in order to also profit is really scary for people in my position.”
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