MasterChef Australia judge Po Ling Yeo was reportedly “upset” by Meghan’s on-set demands.
According to Sky News, during a guest appearance, the beloved judge unintentionally introduced the Duchess of Sussex as “royalty”, despite Markle and her team instructing producers not to use the word.
“We’ve had MasterChef royalty in the kitchen before, but never one like this,” Yeoh said in a promo clip for the episode. “Welcome to MasterChef Australia, all the way from sunny California…Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex!”
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The former actress was reportedly “very annoyed” by Yeoh’s comments, which “upset” the judge.
“It was not about Meghan personally,” the source insisted. “Ms Poe felt that she had been unintentionally dragged into an issue of Royal Protocol that she had no intention of becoming involved in.”
Another source claimed Ms Yeo, 52, wanted to personally apologize to Ms Markle, 44, but was dissuaded.
“She tried to get in touch right away,” they shared. “However, she was advised to leave it to production to handle.”
Meanwhile, another source claimed that there were moments during filming that did not air due to Yeo and Markle’s personality differences.
“Poe is full of energy and is always cracking jokes to lighten the mood. She tried to spark the same with Meghan and had some playful lines, but not everything went as planned,” the source claimed.
Moments that did not appear on camera were edited out.
However, a source close to Markle told Page Six that Meghan and Poe “had a great time together on set.”
The source added, “There were no complaints on Duchess Meghan’s side regarding what was said on set.”
The “Suits” alum filmed the episode while in Australia with Prince Harry earlier this year.
The couple took a hiatus in April for a series of speaking engagements and charity work.
At the time, the 41-year-old Duke of Sussex spoke about relinquishing his role as senior working royal while attending the InterEdge Summit.
“I thought, ‘I hate this job. I hate this role. I hate where this goes,'” Harry explained.
Markle and Prince Harry, who married in 2018, stepped away from royal duties in 2020 and moved to Montecito, California with their two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.
Ms Markle’s episode of MasterChef Australia will air on Sunday at 7pm AEST on Australian Network 10 and 10 Play.
