After being a lone ray of light in our chaotic year of 2020, MasterChef queen Melissa Leong has now also been crowned Who magazine’s sexiest person of the year.
The 38-year-old food critic solidified her status as a perfect human being when she radiated talent, grace and charm on our screens all year long.
“I don’t think the word ‘sexy’ is so literal any more,” she told the magazine.
“We’re not talking pure objectification of someone who just looks amazing.
“Sexy is about everything someone brings to who they are. I think individuality is sexy.”
As with pretty much everything, Leong is, of course, right.
Sure, she literally embodies an angelic presence on-screen, and after food, fashion may well be Leong’s second love, but there’s so much more to our queen than that.
Who could forget each and every beautiful moment Leong had with the contestants on MasterChef, and now, the way she’s been mentoring young kids on Junior MasterChef.
In a country used to seeing endless white faces on the covers of glossy magazines, seeing Leong eat up her cover shoot is also a long-overdue breath of fresh air that’s more reflective of what society’s really like.
“To be an Asian woman on the cover of the Sexiest issue will also mean something to others who aren’t used to seeing difference in this capacity,” she added.
And as for who she thought embodied sexiness, that’s easy: Alexandria Occasio-Cortez, along with actors Monica Bellucci and Tracee Ellis Ross.
“I think you can tell that the theme here is fearless women are sexy,” Leong said.
A queen recognising queens. We – and I cannot stress this enough – love to see it.
