MasterChef star Reece Hignell has said during an interview that he ‘hated’ the living situation on the show Yahoo lifestyle.
The star, who appeared in the tenth season and “Back To Win,” said there were 24 people sharing a five-bedroom house.
“Oh my god I hated the living situation,” he told the publication.
“In Season 10, there were 24 of us in a five-bedroom house. It was manic.’
Recce, who finished in the top five in the Back To Win season in 2020, then compared the living situation to that of Big Brother.
MasterChef’s Reece Hignell has broken his silence on why he “hated” the show. pictured
“It was Big Brother-esque. You had no connection to the outside world, you had no phone and you couldn’t just walk down the street,” he said.
“It was bad, walk into this environment and you’re on MasterChef and you’re surrounded by the realm of MasterChef.”
Reece went on to say that the reason people became such great chefs on the show was because it was the only thing they focused on during their time there.
Reece has taken life out of the spotlight after his time on the show.
He previously spoke out in 2020 to defend co-star Reynold Poernomo, whose homophobic tweets resurfaced in May of that year.
“Oh my god I hated the living situation,” he told the publication. “In Season 10, there were 24 of us in a five-bedroom house. It was manic.’
Daily Mail Australia revealed that Reynold, 26, had said on forums earlier in 2014 that gay people should be ‘captured and put on an island’.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Reece said: “I trust Reynold to say he’s different now. I’m friends with him and know him and I believe what he said when he apologized.’
‘If you can’t develop as a person, how will there ever be equality? My personal belief is that if Reynold hasn’t been able to change his mind in the past six years, how are we going to change the world,” he added.
Several other gay MasterChef cast members seem to stand by the “dessert king,” despite his past homophobia.
In 2020, Reece said he trusts “when Reynold says he’s different now.” Pictured: Reynold Poernomo on MasterChef: Back to Win
Reynolds co-stars Khanh Ong, Brendan Pang and Courtney Roulston all continued to follow him on Instagram after his shocking comments were revealed.
Reynold — going by the profile name “reyreyy” — had posted a shocking comment in a 2014 bodybuilding.com thread titled “First gay couple featured on the Disney Channel. Do you agree with them?’
The then 20-year-old wrote: “I wish the world made a united decision to round up all the gays and put them on a remote island full of gays, straight that way. [people] will be happy and the freaks can go ahead and fuck themselves.’
That comment was followed by another in a thread titled, “Is Homosexuality a Mental Illness?”
It was revealed that Reynold shared a comment in a 2014 bodybuilding.com thread titled “First gay couple on Disney Channel. Do you agree with them?’
“Yeah, end of thread,” Reynold replied.
Reynold apologized for the comments. In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, he said he was now “deeply ashamed” of his comments.
“I would like to offer my sincere and deepest apologies for the comments I made in 2014. I am ashamed of these comments and deeply regret them,” he said.
“At the time these comments were made, I was a very immature, narrow-minded and insular 20-year-old. I have grown and matured tremendously over the past six years. I am no longer the person I was then.
‘I have many friends and colleagues who are part of the LGBTIQ+ community. I support them wholeheartedly and care deeply about them. I am truly sorry and apologize for any offense or pain I have caused.”
‘I was a very immature, narrow-minded and insular 20-year-old’: Reynold has apologized for the comments, telling Daily Mail Australia he was ‘deeply ashamed’ of the person he used to be