Sarah Tiong has been a contestant on MasterChef Australia and she slams Triple M radio station on Instagram for being racist. Triple M presenter greeted Sarah with “Ni hao ma”, with the assumption that Sarah speaks Chinese. Sarah Tiong cut the interview short and took to Instagram that she felt “uncomfortable and shocked”.
This is racism. What an insensitive, tone deaf thing to say. Please, check yourself and do better
Sarah Tiong on Instagram
When asked about why the whole ordeal is considered racist, Tiong said, “It is racist to assume I identify as Chinese and speak the Chinese language. Even if I have referenced such heritage or knowledge in the past, it is privileged and ignorant to assume anything about me based on the colour of my skin.”
The consequence is that Triple M apologised unreservedly for the issue. MasterChef Australia judge Melissa Leong has also chimed in with “It just illustrates how deep rooted racial toxicity is in this country, and anyone with a voice in media should know better.”
Racial Hypocrite?
Shannon 林, a non-mandarin speaking Peranakan founder and director of Agrarian made this post.
Shannon says the following:
“Shannon 林 here, the non-mandarin speaking Peranakan founder and director of Agrarian;
The following is vaguely food related, but utterly infuriating to mixed people like myself.
I’m sure we’re all familiar with the anti-anti-black protests in the US and how rioters have taken advantage of it to rob, loot, vandalize, rape, murder and destroy the property of innocent people, many of whom were black ?♂️. An actual disaster, born of actual racism.
Closer to home, some entitled little Ah Tiong girl living in Australia has accused a radio show host of being racist when he tried to greet her in mandarin and cantonese. Putting aside the fact that her name is literally Sarah 中(Tiong), there is nothing wrong with being greeted in a language people think you speak.
I’m often mistaken for Malay, Filipino, Thai, Burmese and if I stay indoors long enough, Chinese. And people often greet me in those languages when they mistakenly assume I’m of that race. But I’m Peranakan and my surname is 林(Lim). Is it insulting? No! Someone took the effort to notice my features and mannerisms and then went out of their way to acknowledge what they thought was my culture. That is the exact opposite of racism!
No, what REALLY bugs me, as a farmer who very proudly grows heritage foods from the ASEAN region, is that this person, who’s so upset at being greeted in mandarin, is happily cashing in on her pigmentation to push her pig ? agenda! Just take a look at her engagements over the years and the way she markets herself.
Would it be racist if someone gave her chopsticks? A chinese chef’s knife? A packet of bak kut teh spices? Invited her to a Kim chi tasting event? Evidently not.
So if you’re going to cry “racist” at someone greeting you in a chinese language, cry racist at everyone else who’s asked to be the token chinese (and Korean) person at a chinese “inspired” event.
Condolences to Triple M Sydney 104.9 for what this hypocrite did. Don’t let this hypocrite stop you from using different languages. There is plenty of actual racism in the world. Let’s build more bridges.”
Sarah Tiong Cashed In On Chinese Heritage
Shannon has investigated the past engagements & marketing of Sarah Tiong and it seem that it is “natural” to see that Sarah is associated with being Chinese.
There have been multiple occasions where Sarah Tiong has been marketing herself as Chinese.
Is Sarah Tiong being a hypocrite?
It’s interesting how people who go to Paris for even a week are very happily using “Bonjour” & “Oui” without a consideration. Is Sarah Tiong really making a strong stand? We leave it up to you to decide.
Sarah Tiong gets eliminated from Master Chef
MasterChef viewers are convinced Sarah Tiong made quite the dramatic exit when she was eliminated from the show on Tuesday.
As the 29-year-old walked off the set one last time, several fans tweeted that they thought they saw her flip off her former co-stars.
‘Did Sarah just “flip the bird” upon exit from @masterchefau?! Asking for a friend…’ tweeted one eagle-eyed viewer.
After the remaining contestants formed a guard of honour for Sarah to walk down, she turned to face them all one last time.
As she did, Sarah pointed her fingers towards them in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment.
Did she flip off the other contestants?
Sarah was sent packing after failing to impress the show’s judges with her jungle curry during an intense pressure test.
‘For me, MasterChef has been such a pivotal part of my life, both in 2017 and now in 2020,’ the emotional cook said following her elimination.
‘It’s created so much joy and discovery for myself. I want to leave this kitchen on a really positive note and that’s just be kind and have fun.’
Sarah was asked about the alleged incident during an interview on The Project on Wednesday.
‘My lawyer training tells me to plead the fifth. I can neither confirm nor deny,’ she jokingly told the show’s panel.
She then said she ‘absolutely [did] not’ flip off her former co-stars, despite what it may have looked like onscreen.