Say it isn’t so! Two of our favorite food influencers are involved in the latest celeb spat/twitter feud du jour.
The Players Involved
If you’re fluent in pop culture, then Chrissy Teigen is a household name as a former model, married to EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner John Legend, a major lifestyle influencer with two successful cookbooks, and the host of multiple reality TV shows.
Alison Roman, on the other hand, is an up and coming former pastry chef turned food columnist for the New York Times, with two successful cookbooks of her own. Roman’s popularity has exploded in the past year, and she recently inked a deal for her TV show.
So What Happened?
Roman sat down for an interview with the New Consumer published this past weekend. In the interview, where she was promoting, amongst other things, a collaboration with Material, a limited-edition capsule collection of kitchen tools. As she began to talk about her career arc, she was asked about building her brand, and what she thought about capitalizing off of her newfound name recognition. She used this opportunity to call out other lifestyle celebs who she feels have sold out. Her first target was Marie Kondo (sweet Marie Kondo!).
Marie Kondo, DFree / Shutterstock
“Marie Kondo decided to capitalize on her fame and make stuff that you can buy, that is completely antithetical to everything she’s ever taught you… I’m like, damn, bitch, you fucking just sold out immediately! Someone’s like “you should make stuff,” and she’s like, “okay, slap my name on it, I don’t give a shit!”
But she wasn’t done yet, next came Teigen.
“What Chrissy Teigen has done is so crazy to me. She had a successful cookbook. And then it was like: Boom, line at Target. Boom, now she has an Instagram page that has over a million followers where it’s just, like, people running a content farm for her. That horrifies me and it’s not something that I ever want to do. I don’t aspire to that. But like, who’s laughing now? Because she’s making a ton of fucking money.”
Chrissy Teigen, Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock
The Fallout
Considering Roman was promoting a capsule collection of her own, it wasn’t lost on many that her words were a bit hypocritical, along with being completely uncalled for. Another large part of the controversy is that Roman only called out two Asian women, while not including others who have taken the same path. (i.e. The Pioneer Woman, Rachael Ray, etc)
While there hasn’t been any statement from Marie Kondo, Teigen took to Twitter shortly after the article was published.
this is a huge bummer and hit me hard. I have made her recipes for years now, bought the cookbooks, supported her on social and praised her in interviews. I even signed on to executive produce the very show she talks about doing in this article. https://t.co/9xrvQBInAp
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 8, 2020
Roman herself responded with an apology, but many on Twitter weren’t having it. The exchange bothered Teigen so much she has taken a “break” from twitter and has made her account private.
Resolution
Update* On Monday (5/11/20) night, Roman posted the following to her social media accounts.
I’ve thought a lot this weekend about my interview and the things I said. I know this is a lengthy note (succinctness has never been my strong suit). I appreciate you taking the time to read. pic.twitter.com/3iGAyN3c9d
— alison roman (@alisoneroman) May 11, 2020
It appears this heartfelt apology has calmed the feud, and Teigen responded soon after with an understanding and supportive message of her own.
For now, all is well, or on the path to being well again. I plan on making my favorite Teigen and Roman recipe this week in their honor.
