A week ago, MasterChef star Reynold Poernomo was the hit cooking show’s fan favourite “dessert king” who could do no wrong.
The 26-year-old contestant was tipped to take home the Back To Win title this season, as week after week he wowed the judges with his mind-boggling culinary creations, even winning coveted immunity last Thursday, meaning he was safe from elimination.
His cool, calm demeanour and drool-worthy desserts even had some fans lobbying Channel 10 to give Reynold his own cooking show.
“Channel 10 needs to sign up Reynold and create never ending episode of the show where he goes full Reynold mode and creates adventurous plates of desserts,” one fan wrote on Twitter last week.
Reynold was clearly up for the challenge, sharing the tweet on his own Instagram story with the caption: “Hahahaha! That’d be fun.”
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But viewers have started to fall out of love with the founder of Sydney’s KOI dessert bar following a disastrous few days.
His odds of winning have officially slipped, with betting agency Sportsbet easing odds against Reynold from $1.60 in late May to $3.50.
So what caused Reynold’s surprise fall from grace? Keep on scrolling to find out.
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Reynold Poernomo has quickly lost his fan-favourite status.
(Image: Channel 10)Reynold’s homophobic comments unearthed
Unearthed posts Reynold made on several bodybuilding forums in 2014, just before he first made his TV debut on the seventh season of MasterChef in 2015, came to light on Friday and have ignited a shocking PR disaster for the previously beloved chef.
Commenting on a thread titled, “First gay couple featured on the Disney Channel. Do you agree with them?”, Reynold shocked fans with his homophobic response.
“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,” the then 20-year-old wrote under the username “reyreyy”.
On another thread titled, “Is homosexuality a mental illness?”, Reynold replied: “Yes end of thread”.
Reynold made the comments when he was aged 20.
(Image: Channel 10)Six years after he made those remarks, Reynold issued a heartfelt apology and says he is “deeply ashamed” of his comments.
“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 said in a statement to Daily Mail Australia.
“At the time these comments were made, I was a very immature, close-minded and insular 20-year-old. 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.”
But the apology wasn’t enough for some fans, who argued that at age 20, Reynold was old enough to know better.
“So Reynold from Masterchef is cancelled,” one fan wrote on Twitter, to which another replied, “Forever. I don’t want to hear any excuse.”
A third person added: “2014 is not even that long ago and people don’t switch their homophobia like that off”.
When some fans questioned whether Channel 10 would seek to punish Reynold for his comments or even edit him out of the show, one person wrote: “Yes they were made in 2014 and as he said he was immature and close minded… Masterchef production would have been filmed to conclusion by now so I don’t see film footage being edited. It’s different to Ben [Ungermann] being kicked off due to his sex charges.”
Reynold’s surprising cooking fail
Reynold’s scallop silk dish, which failed to impress the judges.
(Image: Channel 10)While Reynold’s strength is desserts, on Sunday night he plated up a savoury dish called “scallop silk” that was branded “disappointing” by the judges.
It was the first misstep by the chef in a while, with some viewers saying the dish looked like “an oil slick”.
Judge Andy Allen admitted he wasn’t a fan of the less-than-impressive meal.
“I like the flavours, no getting around that. I think the balance is a little bit out. You spent so much time on that scallop silk and it’s just disappointing because it doesn’t add a heap to the dish,” Andy said.
Any further bungles could mean Reynold is forced to use his immunity pin well before the pointy end of the competition, putting him at risk of elimination.
READ NEXT: Reynold’s best desserts over the years
Reynold has an immunity pin, but that doesn’t mean he is completely safe.
(Image: Channel 10)Reynold reveals he almost didn’t come back this season at all
This week, Reynold revealed he actually initially declined Channel 10’s invitation to star on the Back To Win season, after he found out that the show’s original judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston would not be returning to the series following a pay dispute.
When new judges Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen were announced, Reynold pulled out of the show.
“I said yes, then the judges got changed, and I said no, then I had to say yes again because I thought OK, this is actually an opportunity that doesn’t come around often,” he told news.com.au.
WATCH BELOW: A tea towel catches on fire in the MasterChef kitchen. Story continues after video.
He says he was concerned about risking his dessert bar, which he runs with his family, as well as his reputation.
“I was really worried about being away from my family and having to go down to Melbourne for filming,” he explained.
“My time is really valuable in the business and to take that away I was worried would be a bit of a burden to my family. I guess I wanted to make my time on MasterChef really worth it.”
It seems the new judges have been able to win him over however, as he later praised the new lineup.
“I’m so glad I said yes because it’s really refreshing to see new faces,” Reynold said.
Reynold almost didn’t come back on our screens at all, because he didn’t think the new judges could replace the original trio.
(Image: Channel 10)So, will viewers be able to forgive Reynold for his homophobic comments and will he be able to retun to his usual high standard of cooking?
We’ll have to tune in to find out.
MasterChef airs on Sunday – Thursday nights at 7.30pm on Channel 10.
