Masterchef favourite offers grovelling apology for sick posts calling gay people ‘mentally ill freaks’
MasterChef contestant Reynold Poernomo, who has come under fire over past anti-gay remarks he made on a bodybuilding forum (Instagram)
A Masterchef Australia: Back To Win contestant has come under fire after past comments resurfaced in which he called gay people “freaks” and “mentally ill”.
Reynold Poernomo, who is a favourite to win the contest, posted a number of anti-gay messages to an online bodybuilding forum in 2014, the Daily Mail reports.
According to the report, Poernomo commented on a thread about the first ever same-sex couple featured on the Disney Channel.
The thread’s creator asked members if they agreed with the move, and Poernomo commented: “I wish the world made a united decision where they will capture all gay people and put them on a remote island full of gays, that way straight ppl [people] will be happy and the freaks can go on and f**k themselves.”
MasterChef Australia contestant Reynold Poernomo ‘deeply ashamed’.
On another thread titled “Is homosexuality a mental illness?” Reynold Poernomo simply commented, “Yes, end of thread.”
The chef, who first competed on Masterchef Australia just months after he posted the comments, is currently starring on the show’s Back to Win season where past contestants come back for a second try.
He told the Daily Mail that he is “deeply ashamed” of the comments and said he is “not the person I was back then.”
I have grown and matured a lot in the last six years. I am not the person I was back then.
“I would like to offer my sincere and deepest apologies for the comments that I made in 2014. I am ashamed of these comments and I regret them immensely,” he added.
“At the time these comments were made, I was a very immature, close-minded and insular 20-year-old.”
He continued: “I have grown and matured a lot in the last six years. I am not the person I was back then.”
“I have many friends and colleagues that are part of the LGBTIQ+ community. I wholeheartedly support them and care deeply for them. I am truly sorry and apologise for any offence or hurt I caused.”
