There's more to Giada De Laurentiis than many of her fans know. In fact, the celebrity chef
has found herself at the center of several scandals, but for some reason, people seem
to ignore them. Here are just a few of the controversies about her that have surfaced,
and then quickly faded away.
By now, it's more or less common knowledge that De Laurentiis doesn't eat most of the
food that she cooks when she's on camera. Many sources, including Page Six, have reported
on the infamous "dump buckets" that she keeps on set with her. Apparently, the star will
a take a bite on screen, then cameras will immediately stop rolling so she can spit out
her food.
While spit-buckets aren't unheard of in Hollywood, De Laurentiis takes it a step further. An
unnamed source told the publication in 2014,
"She does not eat at all while filming."
"I don't eat all the pasta, I eat a couple bites of pasta, I don't eat all of it."
In some cases, she would even enlist her assistants to model their mouths and teeth, taking bites
of food on her behalf while the camera zoomed in so close that viewers would be unable to
tell who was really doing the eating.
Not only are De Laurentiis' on set practices kind of strange, but some might say they also
set a bad example, especially for her younger viewers.
Another famous television chef who specializes in Italian cuisine, Mario Batali,
was one of the Me Too movement's earliest casualties. Batali was the star of Molto
Mario, another Food Network hit series. Batali went on to build an empire for himself that
included multiple television shows, books, restaurants, and other endeavors. Throughout
most of his career, he stayed chummy with his fellow Food Network celebrities, including
De Laurentiis.
In 2017, all of that changed. Eater broke the story on allegations of Batali's misconduct,
and the restaurateur's reputation spiraled out beyond repair. He took a step back from
his business ventures, and Target even stopped selling his popular line of Italian-style
pasta sauces.
So what did his longtime friend and colleague De Laurentiis have to say about the scandal?
In an Eater Upsell podcast, she said that the allegations didn't exactly come as much
of a shock to her. She went on to explain,
"We drink too much...I'm not legitimizing it by any means."
In the same podcast, she said that she had experienced instances of sexism throughout
her own career, but never outright condemned her former colleague's conduct. For someone
who is a role model to have a sense of Batali's bad behavior and simply call it "sad" is problematic,
but De Luarentiis hasn't been called out for not challenging the behavior.
Not only does De Laurentiis apparently spit out her own food, other celebs spit out her
food too! In a now-infamous segment on Ellen, guest star Nicole Kidman was so grossed out
by De Laurentiis' cooking that she literally found it too difficult to swallow.
The segment got off to a rough start, with the chef making fun of the actress' supposed
lack of cooking skills while they made rice balls together. But when the time came to
taste their food, it was De Laurentiis' cooking skills that were on the chopping block. Kidman
offered some criticism of the fennel and clementine focaccia that was made during the segment,
saying,
"It's a little tough...I know you're not meant to criticize, but it's a little tough."
She then spit out her bite, in true De Laurentiis style. De Laurentiis shot back at Kidman that
the reason she doesn't like to do live cooking segments is because her food often has to
sit on set for hours during filming.
"Have some more wine, it'll take care of the pain."
De Laurentiis' high-profile divorce from designer Todd Thompson put her in the news on multiple
occasions. Swirling rumors circulated in the entertainment industry that the marriage ended
because of an affair with musician John Mayer.
Although De Laurentiis denied the rumors, the New York Daily News notes that a number
of publications went live with stories that implied there was something going on between
the singer and the chef.
De Laurentiis claims that the split with Todd Thompson was amicable, but it's hard not to
think think there were probably some hard feelings if De Laurentiis was, in fact, hooking
up with Mayer in New York City's Gansevoort hotel. Given that the location of her supposed
affair is suspiciously close to the location of Food Network Studios in Chelsea Market,
there could be some truth to the rumor.
Hollywood insiders have long suspected that De Laurentiis' affairs might not have started
and ended with John Mayer. In fact, many people have questioned the nature of her longtime
intimate friendship with yet another male Food Network celebrity, Bobby Flay. The two
have been frequently seen together looking cozy in public. The website Showbiz Cheat
Sheet even has a roundup of some of their most "playful" Instagram interactions. More
than one outlet has implied that things might be heating up between the two, and not just
in the kitchen.
According to Page Six, De Laurentiis was seen having what the tab described as "a boozy
night out" with Flay just two days before she announced her split from Thompson on Facebook.
A few months after that, Flay announced his split from his then-wife of 10 years, actress
Stephanie March.
Several months later, Radar Online claimed that Flay and De Laurentiis were caught on
an intimate dinner date, expressing PDA, and "carving their initials" into a secret spot
on the wall while in the middle of divorcing their respective spouses. Both De Laurentiis'
and Flay's reps denied the claims, telling E! News in a statement,
"Back in December, Giada had dinner...with her agent. Bobby Flay was also having dinner
with some friends and dropped by Giada's table to say hi. They did not have dinner, nor was
there any touching going on."
Bobby Flay isn't the only famous coworker De Laurentiis is rumored to have romanced,
either. There have also been speculations that De Laurentiis was romantically involved
with former Today anchor Matt Lauer, citing a cozy-looking dinner meeting in 2013, when
Giada and former husband Todd Thompson were still married. But just as quickly as those
rumors got started, they seem to have disappeared. Either De Laurentiis has a very talented PR
staff, or no one really cares all that much about her private affairs.
In yet another case of bad role model behavior, it turns out that De Laurentiis is a sore
loser, at least every now and then. Even though she and fellow chef Bobby Flay have been friends
since the early stages of both of their careers, De Laurentiis was pretty upset after the pair
lost a team cooking competition.
In a 2006 Iron Chef America battle, De Laurentiis teamed up with Flay to battle another TV power
duo, Rachel Ray and Mario Batali. De Laurentiis and Flay ended up on the losing side, and
afterwards De Laurentiis refused to speak to Flay for around eight months, according
to People magazine.
The reason for the extra long silent treatment? It wasn't just that Giada was upset that they
lost the battle, it was that Bobby Flay had the audacity to laugh it off and take it in
stride. She admitted on a podcast,
"He didn't think it was any big deal that we lost. I did not talk to him for eight months,
eight months! I did not. Nothing. Silence."
The Daily Meal reports that after the Food Network decided to end its relationship with
Paula Deen, they replaced her show's time slots with episodes of De Laurentiis' shows.
In case you missed it, Deen was canceled back in 2013, after repeated instances of racism
and workplace discrimination were brought to light. Although Paula Deen has repeatedly
denied the allegations, she did admit to using a racial slur. Reuters reports that brands
from Food Network to Walmart were planning to stop promoting her work.
Although many viewers were happy with the network's decision to part ways with the former
TV queen of Southern cuisine, Deen's loyal fans thought it was De Laurentiis' responsibility
to stand up for her former co-worker. Instead, the celebrity chef largely stayed silent on
the matter, telling Access Hollywood hosts that she didn't have anything to do with the
Food Network scheduling change.
Recently, many white chefs and food personalities have come under fire for cultural appropriation.
Although she hasn't made headlines for appropriating recipes and ingredients from other cultures,
De Laurentiis hasn't fully escaped the criticism either. Filipina food blogger Saralynn Pablo
was shocked when a friend called, telling her to tune in to the latest episode of Giada
at Home, where the chef was making Filipino Chicken Adobo as part of a spread titled "The
Big Game."
As the episode was ostensibly about the kinds of finger food typically associated with watching
sports at home, Pablo wonders why the Italian host chose a saucy dish that's practically
impossible to eat with your hands. The blogger wrote,
"How about serving lumpia, either fried or fresh? Those are Filipino finger foods that
actually make sense for serving at the big game."
She then went on to say that not only did De Laurentiis use incorrect ingredients and
serve the main dish without rice as it's intended, she didn't even give any background to the
dish, like she does when preparing Italian food. Pablo continued,
"Give the proper historical and contemporary context. Don't exoticize, fetishize. Or just
don't go there at all."
Although De Laurentiis has many, many fans, it seems like the celebrity doesn't really
like them sometimes. The New York Daily News reported that she wishes she could reject
some of her more touchy-feely fans.
"You're breathing down my neck, could you give me some room?"
Dealing with overly enthusiastic fans is part and parcel with being a celebrity. It's perfectly
reasonable not to want to be constantly hugged by strangers, and it's hard to blame her for
that, but she could also just be up-front with her admirers. Respecting personal boundaries
is 100 percent a thing, like Food & Wine states in their response, saying,
"Everybody Just Stop Touching De Laurentiis OK?"
Instead, she apparently forces a smile and deals with it in the moment, then lets the
press in on her true feelings. Now more than ever, fans want to follow celebrities and
influencers who have a strong sense of authenticity.
Back to the chef's eating habits, because when you're an international food personality,
you really are what you eat. So what does she actually consume when the cameras aren't
rolling? Even though the answer is fairly odd, it's not something that gets much attention.
According to Delish, she starts every day with a bowl of brown rice, topped with olive
oil and salt. When a bowl of more or less plain rice is followed up by salad and the
occasional Triscuit, De Laurentiis' diet starts to sound less like a fulfilling day of eating
and more like deprivation.
The celebrity chef claims that one of her favorite lunchtime eats is a Triscuit topped
with provolone, mortadella, and peppers as a riff on a muffuletta sandwich. As anyone
who has actually eaten a muffuletta can tell you, the two things are not the same.
You would think fans could at least rely on De Laurentiis' expertise as a chef and television
host to provide them with an awesome at-home cookware line, right? Well, not necessarily.
Following at least 39 unique reports of dangerous breakage during regular use, the ceramic lasagna
pan that was sold both individually and as part of a six-piece set for the "De Laurentiis
for Target" line, Target was forced to recall the product in 2013, according to the Consumer
Product Safety Commission. Perhaps the fault lies with the fact that since De Laurentiis
doesn't actually seem to eat lasagna, it stands to reason that she might not cook it at home
very often.
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