After the first episode of New Zealand’s My Kitchen Rules, the sexuality of a pair of “social media buddies” is, kinda weirdly, as hot a topic as the food. Flatmates Sam and Dan Aucklanders Sam and Dan appear to have been cast as self-assured villains in the show and other contestants were quick to weigh in with their thoughts. “Dan and Sam? Gay,” was the verdict of ‘bogan bestie’ contestant June. “But I don’t know if they are or not. They say they’re not, but, I dunno.” When eyebrows were raised as they described themselves as flatmates, Dan asked “can’t two guys enter a cooking competition without people thinking they’re gay?” Dan later described Sam as the “dessert queen” causing the ‘bogan besties’ to break into fits of laughter. The show, which has been trending on Twitter in New Zealand with the hashtag #MKRNZ has been accused of “capitalising and playing on sexuality” and being homophobic. In fact, there's been all kinds of debate online: Others are now simply describing Sam and Dan as the “gay” team, with tweets like “just come out already” and The Edge host Dominic Harvey’s: Meanwhile Dan's girlfriend, Hazel, has taken to Twitter too: Dan with his girlfriend Hazel The focus will be even tighter on Sam and Dan, when they cook at home in the next episode on Tuesday night. They seem to be taking it all in their stride, posting "The public are calling us harsh critics! Have they looked in the mirror?!" What did you think of the first episode? You can weigh in on our Facebook page here. GayNZ.com staff - 25th August 2014