Melissa Leong, a judge on MasterChef, has expressed her disappointment following an Instagram post by Seven News reporter Georgia Love, which she found offensive. The post featured a video of a cat inside an Asian restaurant, accompanied by a caption that Leong considered inappropriate.
The incident, which occurred on Monday, involved Love, 33, sharing footage of a cat behind the window of a dumpling restaurant in Melbourne. She captioned the video with, “Shop attendant or lunch?!”, sparking criticism and backlash on social media.
Leong, 39, who has Chinese-Singaporean roots, spoke out against the post on Wednesday through her Instagram Stories. She addressed the harm caused by what she referred to as “casual racism.”
Speaking out: MasterChef judge Melissa Leong (left) has revealed she is ‘hurt’ after Seven News reporter Georgia Love (right) shared an ‘offensive’ video of a cat in an Asian restaurant
In her response, Leong noted her personal acquaintance with Love—likely due to their shared history at Channel 10, where Love was previously a reporter for 10 News First. Leong expressed hope that Love’s subsequent apology is sincere.
Leong wrote, “‘Shop attendant or lunch?’ was posted on a video of a cat in a Chinese restaurant by someone I know, who also happens to have significant influence.”
She added, “Casual racism from nice people is perhaps the most insidious and betraying kind.”
Melissa admitted she felt ‘bummed’ about the situation, especially as Georgia was recently accused of sharing another ‘racist’ Instagram post in 2013.
Response: Leong, 39, who is of Chinese-Singaporean descent, reacted to Love’s video on Wednesday in a statement on Instagram Stories about the effects of ‘casual racism’ (pictured)
‘Not angry, just bummed’: Leong acknowledged that she knows Love personally – likely because she is a Channel 10 presenter and Love used to be a reporter for 10 News First
‘Not angry, just completely bummed that this video exists and that it isn’t the first joke of this kind made by her,’ she wrote.
‘Georgia, I really hope your remorse is real and that you grow in the right direction, because this stuff hurts more people, more than you think,’ Leong added.
‘We must be allies for each other for a better world for all.’
Unimpressed: ‘Georgia, I really hope your remorse is real and that you grow in the right direction, because this stuff hurts more people, more than you think,’ Leong said
News: Seven has reportedly launched an investigation into Love’s ‘racist’ social media post
It comes after Channel Seven reportedly launched an investigation into Love’s ‘racist’ social media post.
A source told The Daily Telegraph the network is taking the matter seriously.
The ex-reality star, who is a Melbourne-based news reporter for Seven, had posted the ‘offensive’ video of the cat behind the window of an Asian restaurant on Monday.
She deleted the post and apologised after being called out by ‘influencer watchdog’ Instagram account Aussie Influencer Opinions.
The same account later discovered another of Love’s posts from February 2013 in which she made a similar joke about domestic pets and Asian restaurants.
Divisive: The former reality star, who is a Melbourne-based news reporter for Seven, posted the ‘offensive’ video of the cat behind the window of an Asian restaurant on Monday (pictured)
Not the first time: ‘Influencer watchdog’ Instagram account Aussie Influencer Opinions later discovered another of Love’s posts from February 2013 (pictured) in which she made a similar joke about domestic pets and Asian restaurants
Love’s 2013 post showed an ‘animal hospital’ next to a restaurant called ‘China Chef’.
Below the photo of the two storefronts was a cartoon image of a dog, alongside the text: ‘That’s suspicious…’
Love captioned the now-deleted meme at the time: ‘Best.’
Regrets: Love has not addressed the 2013 post but did apologise for the ‘Shop attendant or lunch?!’ post when she was called out for it on Monday
Love has not addressed the 2013 post but did apologise for the ‘Shop attendant or lunch?!’ post when she was called out on Monday.
‘Earlier I posted a video of a cat in a restaurant window. I meant for this to be a joke about an animal being in a restaurant at lunch service time,’ she said.
‘I meant absolutely no insinuation about the type of animal nor the type of restaurant, but I see that my post did not come across like that and was offensive.
‘I sincerely apologise for the oversight and offence I have caused. Thank you to those who called me out. This is what we need to make sure we are all accountable and do better.
‘Again, I apologise from the bottom of my heart for the offence caused.’
Apology: ‘Earlier I posted a video of a cat in a restaurant window. I meant for this to be a joke about an animal being in a restaurant at lunch service time,’ she said. ‘I meant absolutely no insinuation about the type of animal nor the type of restaurant’
Despite her apology, the backlash to Love’s video was swift.
Feminist author Clementine Ford commented on Instagram: ‘It confirms again how low Australia sets the bar for people to be given high-profile jobs in TV media, and just how insular they are allowed to be.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Georgia Love for comment.
Weighing in: Despite her apology, the backlash to Love’s video was swift. Feminist author Clementine Ford (pictured) said on Instagram: ‘It confirms again how low Australia sets the bar for people to be given high profile jobs in TV media, and just how insular they are allowed to be’
