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Dani wins second Immunity, but fans question fairness.

Dani Venn won another Immunity pin on MasterChef, but questions are raised about the challenge against swimmer Eamon Sullivan.

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25 year old publicist Dani Venn won another Immunity pin on MasterChef Australia last night.

She is the first contestant in MasterChef history to win two Immunity pins.

Venn previously won an Immunity pin which she yielded when facing a previous Immunity challenge.

She defeated former Celebrity MasterChef champ swimmer Eamon Sullivan at his own dessert, a Chocolate Delice.

Venn scored 25 points to Sullivan’s 24 points.

It gives her a powerful Immunity at a crucial time in the competition.

But the challenge itself has attracted criticism because Sullivan is not a professional chef.  Indeed, last night the show also incorporated an experienced chef as guest judge, Phillipa Sibley.

The backlash follows growing criticism of the third series, despite its strong ratings.

Last night, viewers vented their feelings on Twitter:

treehousesweets: I’m going to stop watching #masterchef after tonight’s show. What an insult to previous seasons’ challenges.

Steven_Savona: “Tomorrow night on #MasterChef Australia, Dani is given a full-body massage, a manicure, six more immunity pins and one million dollars.”

stalepopcornau: Barely watched any of #masterchef tonight seeing as it was so obviously a setup for Dani to win. Really? Eamon Sullivan? Ugh.

mschefkitchen: Dani vs @Eamon_Sullivan in #masterchef Choc Delice challenge. How is that a challenge? He’s a swimmer! Predictably Dani wins. Go blue! #fb

skaye: Congrats to the producers of #Masterchef you’ve totally turned me off. Terrible cooks keep getting breaks – Dani and Ellie come to mind.

emsimpson77: Same level of celebrity chefs, same rules, same level of dish difficulty. Immunity has been too easy to win this year #masterchef

justinchiu: Next week on #masterchef Dani/Ellie competes for immunity against a 5 year old. There will be tears, just not sure whose yet.

MissAlienSandra: Eamon Sullivan is a swimmer of course a passionate cook eg. Dani would beat him on cooking a dessert! #Masterchef

Obfus_Cate: what a surprise. dani wins immunity. shock. horror. vomit. #masterchef

The Daily Telegraph even reports about online bullying against Dani Venn, including jokes about death threats.  Last year Joanne Zalm was the target of online vitriol, whilst My Kitchen Rules’ Melanie Maddock also received death threats on Facebook earlier this year.

Rick Maier, TEN’s head of drama said: “It is a very sad day for all of us when contestants on a TV program are subject to any kind of negative commentary from an anonymous few – whether that is Masterchef or any other program.  Dani is a delight on and off set, and has made the same steadfast commitment to the program that we ask of everyone.”

71 Responses

  1. I’m over M.C. Not enough cooking and too much drama. Also if you go on a show like this one has to expect to be judged fairly and I don’t think this has happened. Too many favourites with the judges, ie, Hayden, Dani and Elle. Bring back Kumar.

  5. I felt disgusted & disappointed after watching MC last night. It’s so obvious that they show favoritism towards Dani. She shouldn’t have won the 1st pin & winning the 2nd pin was a joke! Why bother have a challenge, when they are already spoon-feeding the winning pin!!

  6. This is rubbish, Dani Grrrrrr… Her alught is appalling, her tears are appalling, the show and “competition” last night was appalling – this is the pointy end of the competition and they bring in a “good home cook” professional swimmer. My god, not fair to the others contestants, looking down from the balcony. These contestants should be going up against australia’s best chef to win that gold pin, not australias best olympic swimmers. This week show was rigged. and a 9 from Matt ??? What the !!! so many negative comments and he gives her a 9….

  7. I don’t get the hate against Dani. Sullivan and the dish he cooked would have been confirmed as the guest in the immunity challange well before producers know who he would be up against.

    I think some of the immunity challenges this year have appeared a bit easy, a cake, a pasta, a pie. But as someone who has worked in the food industry my whole life I can indentify that the techniques used are not that simple.

    Last word on last night, Eamon should have prepared himself better, he may not have had the recipie, but it is his signature dish, no other chefs have had that advantage so why Eamon, last time he cooked it on MC he got a perfect score.

  8. I agree with what everyone else has said. For one I think Eamon Sullivan should of been allowed to have the recipe. Not being an experience Chef and all I think anyone would struggle with trying to remember ingredients and the techniques involved to put it together.

    I think we as the people who watch the show have a right to question the fairness and how the outcome of the immunity pin is decided. I don’t think it was fair and that Dani may not of deserved to win the pin. As the previous time when it was a draw. I can’t remember who said it here, but Dani equalled the chef not beat him.

  9. I don’t like Dani, but she won fair and square.

    However, the producers/judges had the competition rigged. How can Eamon who won Celebrity Masterchef 2 years ago, who didn’t have a recipe and who doesn’t prepare that pastry dish routinely as part of his job, compete against anyone who can cook and read recipes?

    Even my 11 y.o. son was disgusted last night. We were not happy with this season’s MC, but still gave it another shot – that is until last night, Obviously, the producers of MC don’t care about this blatant favouritism because we don’t fall in the target deomgraphic.

  10. Who watches a cooking show six nights a week? There is a world outside, explore it!

    Some of the reactions on here, you’d think someone died. It’s just Masterchef, how can so many people be full of despair over someone getting an immunity pin?

    Meanwhile kids are being sold into sex trafficking in Europe…Get some perspective people, find something real to pour your emotion/passion into

  13. David, I assume when you say pay-off meaning that we are glued to watch this slow train-wreck? Well I tune in to see good cooks become great ones as in the last two years. Not this year though with the made up dramas.

  14. It’s not Dani’s fault here it’s the damn producers and the judges fault. I dont loke Dani but its not her fault. This years whole competition is a complete joke. They are helping them so much this year. They have pulled this series to pieces now. It’s not the same. What’s the challenge next week? Against the winner of jnr masterchef? Sorry but what they are doing is degrading the quality of masterchef.

  15. I think the point is being missed … it’s a reality TV show … logic and reason do not gel with this format. I for one enjoy watching Masterchef for the light entertainment that it is. Don’t take it so seriously … it’s not life and death.

  17. I think before everyone gets heated up about the idea of “the first contestant in MasterChef history to win two immunity pins”, we should all remember that that history stretches all the way back to 2009 – an enormous two years! And from memory, they only introduced the idea of immunity pins last year, didn’t they? It’s not exactly winning a seventh Wimbledon title.

  18. Eamon is a swimmer not a chef i like MC but even i am wondering if the producers have rigged it to get danni as far as possibile the immunity challenge should be the same for all contestants you go up against a professional chef not a swimmer

  19. I think the problem is last year it was too hard to win an immunity pin and this year it’s too easy to get one. Just gotta get the balance right…

  20. Why is TEN’s Head of Drama commenting? It’s a ‘reality’ show, also it seems like a issue for the producers over at Fremantle media to be addressing.

    Love ‘justinchiu’ tweet lol

    1. Steve: As surprising as it seems, Head of Drama actually oversees the show for TEN, which I think says a lot about how the network views the dramatic worth of the show’s content. It’s a move that has paid off…

  21. I was quite annoyed of Last Nights Immunity….

    They’re all over the place this year. If a contestant wants an immunity their going to have to earn it….

    Annoying to see Kate doing an incredibly hard signature Dessert by and cooking against Adriano Zumbo
    Jay cooking a pie against maggie beer
    etc…

    Dani gets an Olympic Celebrity MC champion (he gets no recipe. He’s good though)
    Dani had more than her fair share of help in her other challenge with the apprentice.
    Ellie got lots of help from her competition
    Hayden in the first week had it pretty easy…

    (I have nothing against the contestants it’s just the fact that it seems such an uneven playing field.) I just hope next year the producer’s sort this mess out. Make sure that it evens the playing field as much as possible. Make the challenges harder and they have to verse chefs and professional cooks.

    I miss the macaroon tower’s and croquembouche….

  22. Last night Masterchef has made the jump from reality TV to scripted comedy-drama with badly written predictable script.

    There’s no more excitement from watching this once great show. We already know how it’ll end.

  23. I agree that the immunity pin challenges are unfair and that they should be getting harder, not easier, at this stage in the competition. But what’s worse is the help Dani is always getting from the judges and even her opponent when she won the first immunity pin. She wouldn’t have won it if she hadn’t got so much help from him and from his apprentice. Elli’s opponent also gave her lots of help and pretty much handed her the win. How is that fair?

  25. Majority of people who have an issue with this are angry with the producers (and maybe judges), not Dani herself. Obviously she doesn’t choose who she goes up against.

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