How did a friendly food competition lead to a TV chef rift, and what does
Giada De Laurentiis have against her own fans?
Keep watching as we look at some people who apparently can't stand the Food Network star.
Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis have recently been enjoying the classic tastes of Italy together
on their newest show, "Bobby and Giada in Italy," on Discovery Plus. But it hasn't
always been all sunshine and roses between the two. Their relationship has also had some major
fallouts. The two have a lot in common, both being chefs and Food Network TV personalities,
and they have worked together on numerous occasions over the course of their careers.
Needless to say, they have become very good friends.
But one of the hiccups in their long friendship involves Giada De Laurentiis giving Flay the
silent treatment for close to a year. Why? The rift came following their loss as a team on
"Iron Chef America" in 2006. The pair lost to none other than Rachael Ray and Mario Batali. De
Laurentiis took it hard, thanks to a competitive streak she's shown on other Food Network shows.
Flay, on the other hand, took the loss in stride and laughed it off.
Well, sore losers hold grudges, and Giada held on for eight months, fuming over the loss, calling
Bobby Flay a jerk and saying she never wanted to be around him again. Judging from their chemistry
on their new show, De Laurentiis eventually got over it, and they are friends once again. Still,
that was a petty move on Giada's part, and we can't imagine Flay appreciated the drama.
Infamous Italian-American chef Mario Batali is another one of Giada De Laurentiis' fellow
Food Network friends, and their falling out has more to do with Batali's behavior
than Giada's. Mario Batali is notorious, not just for his quirks like Crocs and pot brownies,
but for his behavior as well. Batali has faced multiple sexual misconduct
allegations both at work and in his personal life. He never denied the claims and actually
took ownership of his responsibility in a statement after the allegations went public.
Still, the chef definitely didn't have Giada De Laurentiis in his corner during the scandal.
The worst of it came out in 2017, and during the whirlwind of accusations that followed,
De Laurentiis actually commented quite frankly on the matter when asked about it. As she told TMZ:
"It's all very sad. What has to happen, happens."
When asked if she was shocked to hear of the harassment, she awkwardly shrugged
and walked away. Ouch. And to bring home her point, she later admitted that it was not a,
quote, "huge shock" to hear of the sexual misconduct allegations Batali was facing.
Mario Batali likely feels the burn of losing his longtime friend,
but it sounds like Giada may have been a little less than surprised by Batali's wrongdoing.
Yes, two of the m ost popular women on Food Network have a rivalry of sorts.
Giada De Laurentiis and Rachael Ray's differences started back in 2006 when De Laurentiis and Bobby
Flay lost to Ray and Mario Batali on "Iron Chef America." As we've already discussed,
De Laurentiis was deeply affected by the loss, ghosting Flay for months after their defeat. As
you can imagine, she was probably not very fond of her competitor, Rachael Ray. The two have made
appearances together on numerous occasions but never seem to have a genuine connection.
"Should we do it together?"
"Yes, sure."
"Will you do it with me?"
"Absolutely!"
"Okay!"
In 2011, De Laurentiis tried to make it sound like the two were on good terms,
but it just didn't sound very convincing. As she told Redbook:
"Do we hang out all the time? No. Are we best friends? No. We do these festivals together,
and she'll say to me, 'Oh, we'd better take a picture together and smile, because if we don't,
God only knows what's going to get written about us.'"
It sounds like De Laurentiis was trying her best to be cordial about it, but the grudge
shines right through. Rachael Ray seems to be handling it the same way, keeping it cool
while passively disliking Giada DeLaurentiis. At least they do their best to keep things civil.
Former TV news anchor and personality Matt Lauer [rhymes with "Tower"] and Giada De
Laurentiis have always had a cozy relationship.
"Yeah, you wanna do it?"
"No, you do it."
"No you do it."
"Come on, Matt."
The long-time pals have been rumored to be involved romantically over the years,
which they both have denied repeatedly. You might have seen the photos of the two linking arms in
Barbados on the beach in 2011, which sparked a lot of talk of a potential affair between the two.
Of course, Matt Lauer had bigger problems in 2020, when sexual harassment allegations
surfaced the cost him his job at "The Today Show," and only strengthened rumors affairs.
The gossip took off again despite Giada De Laurentiis being adamant in the media that
nothing happened between her and Lauer. Since De Laurentiis has been rumored to have had affairs
with a few of her friendly colleagues, and considering the public just loves to gossip
about both of these stars, Lauer will probably keep his distance from De Laurentiis for a while.
The famous TV chef may be friendly with her colleagues and co-stars,
but Giada De Laurentiis has been open about how uncomfortable she feels when fans want to touch
and hug her in public. Understandably, hugging and touching that many people at a book signing
or other public appearance would make anyone feel exhausted enough to need their space.
But Giada isn't really trying to hide her feelings towards her fans, even in the media.
In 2017, De Laurentiis opened up to The New York Daily News about trying to stay friendly with fans
who got a little too close at her restaurant, Giada. As she put it:
"I wish I could say no touchy-touchy, but it doesn't work that way."
This brutal honesty will probably rub many fans the wrong way. However, De Laurentiis
seems to understand that this is what she signed up for by pursuing a career
as a public figure on television. It's part of the deal, even if she doesn't always like it.
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