Axed MasterChef star defends Laura after fan backlash

MasterChef Laura Sharrad faced a heap of backlash after attempting to give her fellow contestant Sarah Tiong a hug after a gruelling pressure cooking test during Tuesday night’s episode of the show.

It was a nail-biting challenge which saw contestants battle it out to see who could emulate chef Peter Gunn of Melbourne restaurant IDES’ ‘black box’ desert.

Sarah Tiong was teary after failing to get all the elements on her plate, with Laura going up to her and offering her a hug afterwards.

However, some viewers called her ‘tactless’ because of the fact that Laura’s desert was nearly perfect.

"Tiong! Tiong! Come on. What's wrong? What's wrong? What's wrong? What's wrong?" Laura asked a clearly upset Sarah.

"What'd you miss? What'd you miss? What'd you miss? What'd you miss?" she continued.

Sarah replied saying: "Just give me a second” with Laura looking a bit awkward, replying: "OK … I'm just gonna hug everyone else,.”

Sarah then faced the camera and got teary as she said: "I'm really disappointed that I didn't get every element done. But it's OK … I gave it my best shot. I'm just trying to hold it together at the moment and find some sense of positivity."

And now axed star Sarah Clare has stuck up for the Adelaide chef, saying she’s ‘one of the kindest people’.

In an interview with TV Week, Sarah Clare, who was eliminated in the black box challenge, said she believes parts of the interaction between the pair may have been edited out.

“I think she could see that if she kept hugging Sarah, that Sarah was going to break down cause sometimes you know, when you're about to cry and someone's nice to you the flood gates open,” Sarah Clare said.

Sarah Clare went on to say that she thinks Laura ‘gets a hard rap’, after being labelled the pasta queen for choosing to cook pasta whenever she gets the chance.

“I think she's really one to watch as well because when she finally stretches her legs, she's going to really, really blow everyone out of the water,” she said.

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com.