As she [his mother] tuned in to the latest episode of Spain’s edition of Junior MasterChef last week, Felicidad Beltrán was expecting to see her 12-year-old son show off his cooking skills and perhaps pick up a few more.
Instead she watched horrified as her son Victor told the show’s 3.2 million viewers across the country that women instinctively know how to clean, thanks to genetics. “My mouth dropped open when I heard it,” she said. “It’s not at all what we live in our house. My husband and I share the chores 100% and we’ve always stressed equality to our children.”
She pointed to the high-pressure atmosphere of the reality show. “The comments are unfortunate, but he’s a 12-year-old child who was in the middle of a challenge, under a lot of pressure and not aware of what he was saying.”
Days after the episode aired, Victor echoed her explanation. “It’s true that I made a mistake, but I was really nervous at that moment. I used the word ‘genetics’ without really knowing what it meant,” he said over email.
The strong reaction to his comments, which overshadowed his win of the night’s top honours with a mozzarella-stuffed pepperoni pizza, surprised him. “Everyone took it as if I were an adult, but I’m just a kid
