What can I say. I’m still kind of in shock over the year I’ve had and the work I’ve been so lucky to be involved in.
The most meaningful part of it, has been to know that my being here means something to those who struggle to feel seen, heard and valued in this place.
Thank you @financialreview for including me 4th on this list of most culturally powerful people in Australia for 2020, I am in awe to stand alongside the likes of the incredible Pat Turner, Chief Justice Susan Kiefel, Celeste Barber and Nicole Kidman. I could never have dreamt to be grouped with such inspiring women who make a difference.
Today is a cathartic day for the little girl in me who never felt like she would ever belong or be understood.
To anyone reading this who feels the same as I did, know that no matter what they tell you, your place in this world holds incredible value. Be real and own who you are: your time is on its way.
“On an entirely domestic scale, 2020’s fourth place-getter, Melissa Leong, too, had found her moment in disaster. In the case of the rookie MasterChef Australia judge, the catastrophe was twofold: the 2019 pay dispute that had led to the departure of the show’s three middle-aged male judges; and the COVID-19 lockdown that coincided with its make-or-break 12th season.
Melissa Leong: "Why is it even a surprise that Melissa is the face of lockdown television? She’s amazing." Kelly Gardner
Into a suddenly resounding vacuum – as pantry staples flew off supermarket shelves and a nation cooked to cope – stepped a formidably articulate food writer with a singular flare for being herself. Leong refused to sanitise a social media trail that included previous unflattering comments about the show and was entirely upfront about her own mental health battles. Better still, she demonstrated a moist-eyed empathy for the cooks in distress that are the show’s stock in trade. She also just happened to be not only the show’s first female judge but its first non-Caucasian.
“Who knew that an incredibly intelligent, beautiful, skilled and experienced person could be successful?” Graeme Mason asked with wide-eyed irony. “What could possibly have been holding her back? That’s the diversity conversation for 2020: why is it even a surprise that Melissa is the face of lockdown television? She’s amazing.”
Just how amazing was confirmed by the second-highest overall ratings in the show’s history. Its April 13 launch was watched by 1.23 million viewers, one-third more than last year and one of 2020’s most-watched debuts, and the closing moments of the finale hit 2 million. Fiona Menzies spoke for the panel when she said, “Melissa is a true find because she’s so authentic in every way. Nothing has been contrived to make her into the perfection that she is.”