‘I dreamt of being blonde, blue eyed and having long legs’: Poh Ling Yeow admits she felt ashamed of the ‘shape of her nose and face’ while growing up
She moved to Australia from Malaysia when she was just nine years old.
And on Thursday, MasterChef star Poh Ling Yeow revealed how proud she was to be a role model for other ‘migrant kids’.
The 47-year-old shared a touching photo to Instagram of herself standing alongside four other contestants of Asian descent ahead of that night’s immunity cook-off.
‘I dreamt of being blonde and blue eyed’: MasterChef star Poh Ling Yeow (pictured) revealed on Thursday she had no one to look up to growing up as a ‘migrant kid’ in Australia
‘Growing up as a migrant kid I had so few role models. I dreamt of being blonde and blue eyed, fantasised about having long legs and was ashamed of the shape of my nose and my face,’ Poh wrote in the caption.
‘But today we get to be this for anyone who’s ever felt on the outer. Thank you.’
Accompanying the heartfelt post was a photo of Poh standing next to her co-stars Jess Liemantara, Khanh Ong, Brendan Pang and Reynold Poernomo.
All five of them were set to compete in Thursday night’s challenge, based on the theme of ‘fairytales and fables’.
‘I had so few role models’: Poh and four other MasterChef contestants of Asian descent took part in an immunity cook-off on Thursday night. Pictured left to right: Jess Liemantara, Khanh Ong, Poh, Brendan Pang and Reynold Poernomo
Poh wasn’t the only person thrilled to see ‘all Asian-Australian cook-off’ on MasterChef, as fans flocked to Twitter to praise the inclusive program.
‘Tonight’s #MasterChefAU is hugely significant for Asian-Australian representation. Yes, it matters,’ one viewer wrote on Twitter.
Another added: ‘Not gonna lie, I’ve been waiting for this kind of Asian-Australian visibility on a prime television channel (that’s not Border Security) for my whole life.’
Diversity: Poh wasn’t the only person thrilled to see ‘all Asian-Australian cook-off’ on MasterChef, as fans flocked to Twitter to praise the inclusive program
‘This is my fairytale being an Asian kid,’ a third Twitter user revealed.
It comes after MasterChef judge Melissa Leong praised the cooking show for being diverse and inclusive.
The food critic, 38, also shared a photo of the stellar lineup of contestants competing on Thursday, and celebrated the ‘multiculturalism’ of the cast.
‘Tonight’s #MasterChefAU is hugely significant for Asian-Australian representation. Yes, it matters,’ one viewer wrote on Twitter
‘This image is groundbreaking. Not only did these tremendous humans create the five best dishes yesterday (we judge dishes, not people), but I could never conceive of witnessing a moment like this on prime time television in my lifetime,’ she wrote.
‘Diversity and representation doe’s not come at the detriment of others, it is to the inclusivity of us all.’
Melissa said she was proud to be Australian and to be ‘part of a nation whose identity is indigenous and multicultural’.
‘To every person who never felt seen, this is for you, may it give you hope. To every person who is yet to feel seen, you are valued and your moment is on its way. We rise together,’ she added.
‘We judge dishes, not people’: It comes after MasterChef judge Melissa Leong (pictured) praised the cooking show for being diverse and inclusive