Masterchef Australia blurs out maps of India, China and Russia. But why?

Compared to the other editions of Masterchef, the cooking reality show’s Australian version is still the most wholesome and arguably the most popular. But now, Indian viewers are left puzzled as one of the Season 15 episodes feature a map of the world with India blurred out. 

Not just India; the world map in this episode even seems to blur out Russia, China, Russia, Ukraine, Taiwan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. 

No reason behind the blur yet. 

After Twitter user @dramadhikari shared the map in a tweet on June 15, several people replied with only the question “Why?”. No concrete answer has been offered yet and some are speculating that the blur might have something to do with judge Jock Zibfrillo who recently passed away on April 30. 

Was MasterChef blurring out scenes containing Zibfrillo? So, was Zibfrillo standing in the blurred-out region? Seems like a stretch given the rest of the episode hardly has any blurs.

As for any political angle, the reason why this blur happened in Indian territories might lay with regards to India's disputed territories. Usually, the map of India differs between domestic and international territories especially in terms of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). If the episode's version of the map would have been different from the one followed in India, it might have caused trouble for the showmakers.

Some are suggesting that the Russia-Ukraine war also might be a reason. But if that’s the case, then MasterChef Australia is acting like Switzerland as it’s not taking a stand towards any of the countries (both of them are blurred). 

Now, all we can do is wait for MasterChef Australia to issue a response.