The plot, stew, and curry have thickened in regards to the saga between dueling chefs Alison Roman and Chrissy Teigen. On Thursday, June 24, food columnist Alison Roman appeared on comedian, Desus and Mero staff writer, and frequent Vulture contributor Ziwe Fumudoh’s Instagram Live show “Baited†where she hilariously yet seriously asks a series of guests questions about race and their own racist or racially problematic past actions. As such, Roman’s controversial and racially insensitive comments about Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo were not only fair game, but a central topic of the episode, leading to a new allegation from Roman that she and Teigen were never supposed to work together professionally as was previously reported.
“I think think one of the biggest examples of white privilege is being able to talk shit about your boss,†quipped Ziwe. “Did you know Chrissy Teigen was the EP [executive producer] of your show when you mentioned her in that article?†she asked, referring to the television show Roman mentions having sold in her interview with The New Consumer. “So she’s not and she never was,†said Roman, publicly contradicting Teigen’s claim on Twitter that she was set executive produce the forthcoming cooking show. “And I don’t know how much I can say on that, but that is true and you can… you can consult the right people on that. But that was… a challenging comment because it wasn’t true.†Roman went on to delineate why she waited until this moment to share her side of the story, claiming that it “wasn’t the time or place†when Teigen initially spoke out and that she “wanted to focus on what I thought was the bigger issue†which was her implicit bias in calling out two Asian women. However, Roman maintains that the notion Chrissy Teigen was ever executive producing her show is “factually incorrect.†“I think this is my first livestream exclusive so that’s pretty awesome.†Pretty awesome and quite juicy, to be sure.
While Roman did not provide any more clarity as to Chrissy Teigen’s involvement with her television show, she did answer more questions related to her relationship with race and racism. Ziwe left no stone unturned asking Roman point-blank how many women of color helped Roman write her apology note to asking Roman how many Black friends she has. For the record, Roman said three (3) women of color helped with her apology and hat she had four to five (4 to 5) Black friends she would call to “pick her up from an airport,†which, as we all know, is the standard measure of friendship. Roman had some difficulty identifying Louis Farrakhan, but ultimately fared better by sharing less than the last high-profile, semi-cancelled “Baited†guest, the patron saint of White privilege Caroline Calloway. The Roman interview, which was watched by over 3,000 people, which will be available on Ziwe’s Instagram account for 24 hours which means you have one day to follow Ziwe and watch Roman squirm while attempting to name five (5) Asian people off the top of her head. The episode, and “Baited†series for that matter, are a must watch for these troubled times. Frost/Nixon could never.