Editorial Note: Roman issued an apology for her comments on Tuesday.
New York Times food columnist Alison Roman is facing backlash for her comments on Marie Kondo and Chrissy Teigen’s business practices and on “selling out.”
In an interview with The New Consumer on May 7, the “Nothing Fancy” author faced rebuke on two specific clips.
Roman first called Kondo’s practice hypocritical, “greedy,” and imitated her Japanese accent.
“Like the idea that when 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, b*tch, you f*cking 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 sh*t!'” she said in the interview. “That’s the thing — you don’t need a ton of equipment in your kitchen to make great food. ‘For the low, low price of $19.99, please to buy [sic] my cutting board!'”
She then went on to throw shade on Teigen’s business ventures as a “content farm” and how it “horrifies” her.
“Like, 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.”
Teigen responded on Twitter a day after on May 8, according to US Weekly. Tired of the drama, from trolls pouncing on her brand and calling her children “Petri dish babies,” she temporarily put her Twitter on private soon after, saying she was going to “take a little break” from the social media platform.
Twitter users convened to show articles and tweets of how Roman’s tone-deaf rhetoric has existed for a while now.
Nice article by @roxana_hadadi https://t.co/fFxxbC2u1Z
— Eugene Pak (@BeerAttorney) May 10, 2020
I know people think there’s irony in Kondo’s shop (even though her book was never about getting rid of everything, just about getting rid of shit you don’t like). But personally I would not call a woman I don’t know a “fucking sell-out” for doing what I’m about to do!
— Summer Anne Burton (@summeranne) May 8, 2020
Roman took to Twitter to offer Teigen an apology, but users say her reply came off as insincere and defended the women of color.
One even wrote an article about her admiration for Roman’s unfiltered and “gives no f**ks” attitude. However, she claimed that Roman’s ideology and business practice came from her White privilege, and how not all women of color are allowed to follow in her steps.
Being a woman who takes down other women is absolutely not my thing and don’t think it’s yours, either (I obviously failed to effectively communicate that). I hope we can meet one day, I think we’d probably get along.
— alison roman (@alisoneroman) May 9, 2020
So weird, I can’t seem to find the part where you apologize for viciously mocking the success of two Asian women.
Surely it must be out there, otherwise why would you be publicly whining that everyone needs to be nice to you and shield you from the consequences of your own words?— Crypti-Calli (@Iwillleavenow) May 9, 2020
“Don’t think it’s yours either…” WOC don’t owe you forgiveness. If she chooses not to respond, you will still be the one that inflicted undue harm for “lols”. She is not a ‘woman taking down other women’ for recognizing you are callous and moving on without you.
— Kim (@KimD_Trinh) May 9, 2020
Also see these photos posted earlier by @ijiu_ (nice job). pic.twitter.com/lhTYBHlDhO
— Eugene Pak (@BeerAttorney) May 10, 2020
On Tuesday, Roman issued an apology on Instagram:
Feature Image via @alisoneroman (left), @mariekondo (right)
