Meghan Markle has come under fire for appearing as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia despite her Netflix cooking show, With Love, Meghan, being heavily criticized. Now, some fans of the long-running cooking competition are threatening not only to skip her episode but to boycott the show altogether!
With Love, Meghan faced backlash for several reasons, with critics calling her tips and recipes basic and obvious, among other things. Her kitchen hygiene also came under scrutiny, with viewers criticizing her for cooking with her hair down, handling raw chicken while wearing rings and bracelets, and other habits that earned her the nickname “Salmonella Sussex” online, with one critic even calling her a “menace in the kitchen!”
The series was canceled after just two seasons, but it’s just been announced that it has been nominated for an Emmy – something we predict will also rub the internet the wrong way!
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Meghan Markle To Appear On ‘MasterChef Australia’
According to reports, the former Suits actress, 44, will appear on MasterChef Australia on Sunday, July 26th. The episode was reportedly filmed when she and Prince Harry were on their controversial Australia trip earlier this year.
Channel 10 and MasterChef Australia confirmed the air date on Monday, July 13th, by sharing a photo of Meghan alongside food experts Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin, and Jean-Christophe Novelli on the set of the cooking competition on Instagram.
The caption read: “We’re welcoming someone SUPER special into the MasterChef Kitchen. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, makes a special guest appearance this season as she returns to Australia for the first time since 2018. Joining a star-studded lineup of Guest Judges and culinary icons, Meghan helps guide some of the most impressive home cooks the competition has ever seen. This is the series of MasterChef you don’t want to miss.”
Another teaser post of Meghan posing alone was captioned: “The countdown is on! Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, joins the #MasterChefAU kitchen as a guest judge, bringing her love of food, entertaining and seasonal produce to one of the competition’s most memorable challenges.”
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Meghan Wants Contestants To Share Their Stories
The Duchess of Sussex seemed excited to appear on the show, and said in a press release: “What attracted me to the MasterChef Australia kitchen? Two things: my love of food and my love of Australia. It was an easy yes.”
“It’s such a great show. I’m just really honored that I was asked to be able to be here with you and to be able to judge some of these meals,” she continued.
Meghan also encouraged contestants to tell a story through their dishes, much like she often did on her own Netflix series. She reportedly told them: “I’d love it if there’s a connection that you can find when, as you’re cooking something, what is the story behind it? What is something from your family or from a memory… something sentimental that we can also taste as we taste your dish. These are all things that, for me, feel really nostalgic.”
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Internet Reactions
Unsurprisingly, many people on social media didn't think Meghan was a good fit to judge a cooking competition, given the criticism her own cooking show received.
"She's not qualified to be a judge! She's not qualified to be anything! What a joke!" exclaimed one Page Six reader. A second said she was "not a chef," adding: "I recalled how she was struggling to scrape her lemon zest. That was basic, yet she failed at that."
"Meghan doesn't even know how to hold a knife to begin with. Boycotting that episode is a smart move by fans of that show," slammed a third, as a fourth quipped: "MasterChef Australia, you've been Markled." "It's one disaster after another," criticized a fifth.
The Express readers were also unimpressed, with one writing: "A guest judge! She knows as much about cooking as Brooklyn Beckham." A second echoed: "Ah, Brooklyn Beckham, 'Jack of all trades, master of none.'" A third added: "Nothing says culinary masters like flower sprinkling and pretzel bag-changing," while a fourth agreed: "Her cooking skills are dried flower sprinkles."
A fifth joked: "She will praise anyone that can open a crisp bag and pour some into a bowl." "Everyone knows she can't cook," said a sixth, as a seventh mocked: "Hilarious… she can't cook a boiled egg." An eighth added: "Apparently being able to cook is not a requirement to be a judge on a cooking show."
A ninth declared: "She cannot cook, she's a sloppy jam maker, makes bath salts that burn your skin, and choke on flower petals! Allegedly!" A tenth said: "Thanks for the warning… I will happily watch some paint drying instead." An eleventh predicted: "Can confirm MasterChef Australia is dismal and has been for years. This will finish it off. Lol."
A twelfth wrote: "I stopped watching it this year, since they let it be known she was appearing. Know of many others who have decided to do the same thing. Not supporting MChef!" A thirteenth said: "Thanks for reminding me not to watch MasterChef on that date." A fourteenth asked: "How much is this grifter getting paid for this?"
