'The Ultimate Hypocrite': Sky News Host Slams Meghan Markle Over 'Staged' MasterChef Stunt

Meghan Markle's guest appearance on MasterChef Australia has sparked a fresh round of criticism in the UK and abroad, after Sky News host Danica De Giorgio accused the Duchess of Sussex of staging a FaceTime call with Prince Harry and branded her 'the ultimate hypocrite.'

The controversy centres on an episode filmed during Meghan and Harry's week-long visit to Australia in April, where Meghan joined MasterChef Australia judges Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli in the studio.

The visit formed part of the couple's high-profile tour, which mixed charity engagements with a series of carefully managed media moments as they continue to build their post-royal brand.

During the cooking show, Meghan was seen being interrupted mid-filming when a producer walked onto set to hand her a phone.

Prince Harry then appeared on screen via FaceTime. In the broadcast, Meghan greeted him with 'Hi, my love!' before telling him, 'We wish you were here,' and explaining to the judges and contestants that he was in Canberra meeting military veterans.

Harry, looking around at the scene via the phone, praised the studio set-up as Meghan introduced him to the panel and the home cooks. It was designed as a light, affectionate moment, the sort of soft-focus marital cameo that MasterChef has always loved.

Sky News Rips Into Meghan Markle Over Masterchef Moment

The royal commentator Kinsey Schofield, appearing on Sky News Australia, openly questioned whether the royal FaceTime call had been spontaneous at all, insisting it looked like another choreographed scene in what she called 'brand Meghan.'

'Call me cynical, but I don't believe for a second that Prince Harry just happened to FaceTime Meghan while the cameras were rolling,' Schofield told viewers. 'I think we've watched Meghan operate long enough to know that very little about the presentation of brand Meghan is accidental.'

Schofield went further, describing Meghan as 'a total control freak' and arguing that the exchange worked on multiple levels: it gave producers the 'cute television moment' they wanted, but also reminded audiences why Meghan was on the show at all.

'More importantly, it reminds everybody why Meghan is ultimately there in the first place because of who she married,' Schofield said. 'Otherwise, what qualifies her to be on that show in that position?'

De Giorgio, who has been a vocal critic of the Sussexes, picked up the line and sharpened it. 'Yeah, no, she has absolutely zero qualifications other than just having made an appearance in a television series once,' she replied, in a clear reference to Meghan's acting past.

'And well, that was a flop, and everything she's done since has been an absolute flop. But you're right, it was a bit of a jump scare.'

That last phrase captured what many detractors took from the clip: the sense that audiences were being jolted into yet another look at the Sussex marriage, even when the supposed focus was food television. Supporters of Meghan would, of course, argue that reality TV thrives on these little intrusions and that plenty of celebrities answer calls from partners on camera. None of that featured in the Sky News segment.

Meghan Markle Facing 'Hypocrite' Claims Over Photos

The MasterChef critique then bled into a broader attack on Meghan's handling of her private life, as Schofield and De Giorgio turned to the couple's recent visit with their children Archie and Lilibet to Princess Diana's grave at Althorp.

Meghan had authorised the release of photographs from what was billed as a deeply personal family moment. For Schofield, that sat uneasily with the Duke and Duchess's long-standing complaints about media intrusion and their calls for privacy.

'You can't continuously monetise glimpses of your private family and then act astonished that the public is interested in your private life,' she argued. The suggestion, again, was that Meghan wants absolute control over how and when her family is seen.

Schofield added that 'apparently, privacy means nobody else can take photographs, but Meghan's photographer is perfectly acceptable'. That was the point at which De Giorgio delivered her bluntest assessment yet. 'Oh, absolutely,' she said. 'She is the ultimate hypocrite.'

Those are strong words, even by the combative standards of Sky's Australian arm. There is, it should be said, no independent proof that the MasterChef FaceTime was staged, beyond the instincts of veteran royal watchers and the undeniable neatness of the moment.

Nothing in the broadcast confirms whether the call was planned with producers or genuinely live, so the charge of orchestration, while widely aired, remains an allegation rather than an established fact and should be treated with a measure of caution.

The same applies to recent reporting of supposed tensions on set. Some outlets have claimed Meghan bristled when she was introduced as 'royalty' at the start of the episode, allegedly prompting a frostier exchange with judge Poh Ling Yeow. That detail did not feature in the Sky News discussion and, again, has not been independently verified on camera. There is no official comment from Markle's team on the matter.

The Sussexes work independently, book their own projects and, in theory, answer only to their own judgement.

The MasterChef segment will, for some viewers, have been exactly what the format wanted: harmless fun. For critics like Danica De Giorgio and Kinsey Schofield, it was one more carefully lit scene in an ongoing production that trades on royal mystique while railing against royal scrutiny.