MasterChef Australia contestant slammed over 'super annoying' habit: 'Out of touch'

Last week, MasterChef Australia viewers were left wondering where Josh 'Pezza' Perry was for a couple of episodes after the butcher from Tassie failed to make an appearance in the competition. While Josh's absence went unexplained by the judges, it certainly didn’t go unnoticed by fans on social media who questioned why he had suddenly vanished.

The mystery was quickly solved as a Network 10 spokesperson revealed that Josh had to sit out the past two episodes because he was ill. The 43-year-old was soon back in the kitchen and cooking up a storm but, because the universe is fickle and cruel, people soon took to social media to lament the fact that Pezza was back - with an irritating habit.

Ever the 'Aussie Lad', Pezza is known to make a joke or two about his missus, but for some fans of the show, it's simply no longer funny. During Wednesday's episode he dropped a quip about liking to "get away" from his wife and it really rubbed some viewers the wrong way.

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Viewers not a fan of 'wife jokes'

"We wanted Pezza back but with those “my wife” jokes he can probably stay off #MasterChefAU," one person wrote on X.

"Oooooh Pezza's wife knows where to find him now when he disappears for a few hours," wrote another.

"Pezza's dish looks good, but can we as a society get away from the "wife bad" jokes?" another viewer wrote on Reddit.

"Yeah, it just makes me cringe every time," someone replied. "Wonder how she feels watching it."

"Pezza with the fkn wife jokes again. With the vego and Asian food comments, it's like he got his personality out of a white boomer joke book," a different person added.

'Out of touch'

Another person went into more detail, explaining why some of the things Pezza says don't sit well in the current time.

"The edit they’re giving him is something that maybe viewers would be into 20 years ago, but it’s 2024 and the bumbling bogan fumbling his way through a competition is not endearing to a modern audience, it’s actually super annoying and shows how out of touch the producers are that they keep shoving Pezza down our throat expecting us to love his ignorance and mediocrity when it’s dressed up for laughs," they wrote.

Viewers slam suspicious detail

Others took issue with the fact that the judges seemed to favour Pezza, pointing out that if any of the other contestants plated up something like his creation, they'd be harshly critiqued.

"Pezza will be safe regardless of how crap his dessert is. Andy's pet," someone wrote on X.

Several other viewers found it suspicious that the butcher just "happened" to have blue food colouring up his sleeve to use in the challenge, wondering how he had the foresight to buy some during his Coles grocery run.

"Gosh it’s lucky Pezza picked up blue food colouring during his shop at Coles," a viewer wrote on X.

"How on earth did Pezza have blue food colouring up his sleeve? Did he think to buy some “just in case” at Coles? Hmmm, doubtful," said a second person.

Fans show support for Pezza

But it wasn't all bad news for the Tassie native as other viewers shared their praise for his efforts and even defended him against the naysayers.

"I just feel like Pezza criticism smacks of classism," one viewer wrote on Reddit.

"👏👏👏You always manage to pull a rabbit out of your hat, and I like your drive to improve no matter what 🔥🔥🔥," a different fan wrote on Instagram.

And, yet another still revealed that they know the wife jokes are all in good fun writing, "I love how obviously close a family you come from. All the referencing of Aunts and Nans and other members of your family is so great. It truly shows not only how big a heart you have but also how central to your heart your family is!"

While Pezza's "wife jokes" may not sit well with everyone, they are just that - jokes.

The Tassie butcher has been married to his wife (and best mate), Jen for 20 years with the happy couple running their business - Perry’s Quality Meats - together.

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According to his bio, "Family is everything to Josh and he loves nothing better than Sundays, when the whole family gathers for a big cook up – catering for Josh’s four adult and teenaged kids, right down to his three young grandkids.

The family are right behind Josh on his MasterChef Australia journey, and he is beyond grateful to them, knowing that they are all sacrificing and stepping up so that he can be in the MasterChef Australia kitchen to chase his dream."

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