TV personality and food critic Melissa Leong has responded to a social media user who claimed she was having a “whinge” when she spoke up about casual racism at a leadership-focused event.
The MasterChef: Dessert Masters judge was recently featured in an Instagram video published by Future Women, which shows Leong speaking at a prior ‘Leadership Summit’ event. In the video, Leong spoke about her experiences dealing with casual racism in the workplace, saying, “In workplaces I’ve had to make my culture quieter”.
“I’ve had to just laugh at a… you know,” she trailed off, adding, “I love the term casual racism”.
While there were many comments praising the TV star – whose of Singaporean-Chinese descent – for sharing her experiences, there was one comment that was particularly negative.
“Have a whinge,” read the comment, to which Leong responded, “spoken like a class act. Your mum must be super proud of you for spending Sunday morning looking for opportunities to punch down.”
Leong also shared the interaction on her Instagram story, along with a caption: “When a white guy tells you to be quiet, in a post of an interview where you’ve been asked to talk about how being quiet about racism has affected you. Babe I’m the one being paid for my opinion.”
This isn’t the first time Leong, who’s the first woman (and woman of colour judge) on MasterChef, has faced harsh criticism online.
Back in April 2023, a viewer questioned her competence as a cooking show judge, saying on social media: “They scraped the bottom of the barrel when they went searching for new judges. How many restaurants did she [Leong] have when they interviewed her? None. Was she a world renowned food critic like [former judge] Matt Preston. NO. As I said scraped the bottom of the barrel”.
“In order to just exist in the same spaces, I don’t think a lot of people understand that we [people of colour] need to be twice as good and work twice as hard,” Leong told Refinery29 Australia at the time in response to this incident.
“I don’t feel the pressing need to prove myself and my achievements to people, but make no mistake, I have bled for my career and to suggest I got here by accident is quite frankly, ridiculous.”
Leong joined the main MasterChef franchise in 2020, appearing as a judge alongside Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo. Not only did the role catapult her to a new level of fame, but it exposed her to some of the less appealing sides of life in the spotlight – and frankly, things no one should have to face no matter how famous they are.
At the time, she took to her Instagram story to thank a fan who had praised her for her “authenticity”. The fan had also highlighted that Leong’s co-star Zonfrillo had stood up for her when racist comments were made about her.
“These moments make the less savoury parts of this job (like being stalked daily from my home by creepy photographers, and receiving projected anger and racism), worth it,” said Leong. “Thank you to everyone who has shown kindness and support. I may not be able to read them or respond, but I appreciate it.”
Top photo source: Channel 10