Rachael Ray is a beloved icon to millions of cooking fans across the country. But some of her own family members aren't fans — because they blame her for a terrible death.
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00:00Rachel Ray is a beloved icon to millions of cooking fans across the country. But some
00:05of her own family members aren't fans, because they blame her for a terrible death.
00:10When it comes to Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray, it seems like there's only room for one
00:14cook in the kitchen. The two television personalities were pitted against each other in the late
00:182000s by tabloid reports speculating that they were at odds with each other. At the
00:23time, Ray had secured a spot on syndicated daytime television and was competing against
00:27a Stewarts cooking show, which premiered in 2005. According to a report from TMZ in 2006,
00:33four employees of Martha Stewart's attempted to snag a spot in the audience for Ray's Rachel
00:37Ray show but were turned away after being recognized by security. A source denied those
00:42claims, however, telling Page Six,
00:44"...the spies were kicked out because they lied about their names. Otherwise, they would
00:47have been welcome to stop by."
00:48Still, the beef seemingly didn't end there. A few months later, Stewart had musical guest
00:54Barry Manilow on her talk show for a live broadcast. At the same exact time, Ray's Camp
00:58ran a pre-taped episode of Manilow performing on her show. A representative for Ray chalked
01:02it up to ratings, telling TMZ,
01:04"...Barry was a fantastic guest, and we wanted to lead our sweeps with the best show we had
01:09in the can, and that was Barry Manilow."
01:10Nonetheless, Stewart clearly didn't think the timing was a coincidence, telling her
01:15audience,
01:16"...I've never actually met Rachel Ray. I think she's very fun, lively, a young woman.
01:21She has Barry on her show today. Now that's kinda weird."
01:24Rachel Ray's appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the mid-2000s got the ball rolling
01:28on Ray's first talk show in 2006. While one would think that leg up would mean the ladies
01:33would be on good terms, some reports have speculated the women haven't always been fast
01:37friends. Sources claimed to TMZ that in 2005, while Ray was having dinner with friends in
01:42Los Angeles, she allegedly made some racist remarks about Winfrey. Insiders told the publication
01:47that Ray was referring to a portrait from the film Beloved that resided in Winfrey's
01:50production office. In it, Winfrey's back is scarred, and she's wearing a skirt from the
01:54slavery era. Ray allegedly said,
01:56"...Why is she wearing slave drag? She obviously has problems being black."
02:01Ray's team denied the accusations, though, and claimed that there's no bad blood between
02:04the stars. Her then-director of publicity, Charlie DiGello, said,
02:08"...Neither in public nor in private has Rachel made a disparaging or cruel remark about her
02:13friend and mentor Oprah."
02:14Winfrey's bestie, Gayle King, also shut down the rumor train when she appeared on Ray's
02:18talk show in 2008. King said to Ray,
02:21"...I read something that you two were fighting. I know that's not true."
02:24Ray revealed that all was well with Winfrey at the time, and that she had sent a birthday
02:28snack on Winfrey's special day and received a note in return. Years later, Winfrey and
02:32Ray shed a light onto their supportive friendship during the final episode of The Rachel Ray
02:36Show. Among several celebrity tributes, Winfrey appeared on the program to bid her friends'
02:41closed chapter farewell, saying in her video message,
02:44"...I knew from the moment that we met back in 2005 on The Oprah Show that you were the
02:48real deal."
02:49"...Even then, I knew it. She was the real deal."
02:54Rachel Ray may be serving up generous portions when it comes to food, but can the same be
02:58said for her generosity outside the kitchen? The celebrity chef has been criticized for
03:02not being the best tipper and even encouraging her viewers to embrace poor tipping habits.
03:07One former foodie blog, List of the Day, cited her as a lousy table guest, with the server
03:11claiming she tipped $1 on a $10 tab. Ray's previous show, $40 a Day, was also criticized
03:17by the blog for encouraging its viewers to tip less than 20 percent on their meal tabs.
03:22Ray's $40 a Day was meant to show people how they can eat three meals a day for under $40
03:27while traveling to different places around the country. According to some viewers, however,
03:31it was only possible to get under the $40 limit by leaving inappropriately small tips.
03:35One shocked viewer on the DizzBoards forum wrote and discussed,
03:39I was watching $40 a Day, and I can't believe how low she tips. I know she is on a budget
03:43and her lunch only cost $9, but she only left a $1.35 tip. I can't believe anyone would
03:49leave under $2. I hope she or her crew gives the server more when they leave that isn't
03:53part of her $40 budget."
03:55Ray may have made a fortune on her cookbook sales, but does she deserve all the credit?
03:59A 2012 New York Times report named her as one of the many celebrities who have rocketed
04:03to the New York Times bestseller list with the alleged help of a ghostwriter. Wes Martin,
04:08a chef who claimed to have written recipes for Ray, revealed that ghostwriters are essential
04:12to keep the content churning. He told the New York Times,
04:15The team behind the face is invaluable. How many times can one person invent a new quick
04:19pasta dish?
04:20He was also quick to distinguish his own cooking preferences from Ray's, saying,
04:24I know who I am as a chef, and I know who Rachel is, and those are two totally separate
04:29parts of my brain.
04:30Gwyneth Paltrow, who was also accused of using ghostwriters in the Times piece, appeared
04:34on Ray's show to discuss the allegations. While the two ladies did admit to collaborating
04:38with others on their cookbooks, they refuted the idea that they were not the authors of
04:42their own work. Paltrow said,
04:44This is how I spend the little time at home I have with my family. I spend in front of
04:48these little notebooks, in front of the computer. It sort of takes away from all of that to
04:52not be able to call that writing."
04:53Of course that's writing. She then downplayed the role of the other people who helped her
04:57with her book, saying,
04:59It doesn't mean you don't value the people who write the glossary or that help organize
05:02the pantry or that work on a project, but a writer is still a writer.
05:06This is my book, and I wrote my book, and it's all mine."
05:10Ray's life has been marked with a major tragedy, one that has since left a huge divide in her
05:14family. Sadly, Ray's elderly aunt tragically froze to death in a terrible accident in upstate
05:20New York in 2013, and her surviving relatives blamed Ray and her immediate family for the
05:25debacle. Geraldine Scuderi, who was 77 at the time, was house-sitting for Ray's mother
05:30November, when she unintentionally locked herself out of the residence. Camera footage
05:34of the incident reportedly showed the elderly woman attempting to break in by busting a
05:38window to no avail. Unable to get help, Scuderi eventually collapsed and died from a heart
05:43attack in the cold. Ray's cousin, Gina Mesnick, told the National Enquirer that she blamed
05:48both Elsa and Ray, saying,
05:50My mother is dead today because the Ray family neglected her. I want the world to know the
05:54truth about them and just how they treat their own family."
05:57The family drama got even deeper when Ray and her husband, John Cusimano, decided to
06:01skip out on Geraldine's funeral service. Mesnick said,
06:04I doubt that Rachel shed a single tear over my mom's death."
06:08A spokesperson for Ray claimed she missed the service because she was filming the season
06:12finale of Rachel Ray. He told the publication,
06:14"[Rachel and her family were shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic and untimely passing
06:19of her aunt in late November.]
06:21Ray's brother Emmanuel also stood up for the cook, telling Radar Online,
06:25It's sad that Rachel's getting dragged into this when she really has nothing to do with
06:28it. She's been very good to them, and I'm sorry they've decided to degrade it for this."
06:33Ray first got into the business of selling dog food in 2008 with the launch of her brand
06:37Nutrish, which focused on meat-first recipes without any artificial flavors or preservatives.
06:43But over the years, she's run into more than her fair share of problems. In 2018, a New
06:47York customer sued Ray's company, claiming in documents that the potentially harmful
06:51ingredient glyphosate was included in Nutrish's dog food. The chemical is often found in weed
06:56killers like Roundup, raising the plaintiff's concerns about Nutrish's advertised natural
07:01ingredients.
07:02The lawsuit also claims the company is intentionally misleading shoppers."
07:06Independent tests were done on the dog chow and found glyphosate in Nutrish's food, but
07:10the lawsuit was ultimately dismissed. Nutrish was previously manufactured by Ainsworth Pet
07:14Nutrition but was later bought by the J.M. Smucker Company. The latter faced a huge recall
07:19in 2018 after a euthanasia drug was found in many of its dog food products.
07:24A representative for Ray stood behind the brand amid their legal troubles, however,
07:28telling People magazine,
07:29"...Rachel herself has always championed the great lengths Ainsworth Pet Nutrition and
07:33now the J.M. Smucker Company take to create and provide the highest quality and safest
07:37pet food products on the market."
07:39Rachel Ray made headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic after reports surfaced of her employees
07:44demanding their paychecks. According to Variety, over 20 of her employees were let go in October
07:502020 without a heads-up and without their promised pay. This change took place after
07:54producers decided that Ray would continue to film episodes of The Rachel Ray Show from
07:58her residence in upstate New York to combat the mounting spread of the virus that was
08:02taking place at the time.
08:03"...I can't tell you how many masks that we have received from you. We've used many."
08:08Although the workers were told the show would be returning to the studio before the end
08:12of the season, the decision was made to continue filming at Ray's home instead, and those workers
08:16were not paid, even though their contract required them to be.
08:20The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees took on the case, representing 18
08:25union members in negotiations for a settlement. Hours after Variety published the story, Ray
08:29took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share her side, claiming,
08:33"...it has been my utmost priority that we keep the full contribution to their health
08:37care plan during this pandemic. While everyone is continuing to be paid through October,
08:41we will continue to work this out."
08:43Still, employees weren't thrilled with the response. An anonymous employee told BuzzFeed
08:47News,
08:48"...it's hard when you work for a show for 14 years and they say, we're going to take
08:51care of you and we're all family, we're going to pay you guys for September and October,
08:55so you expect the show is going to come back to the studio or they're going to keep paying
08:59you because of our contracts. But now we're left with nothing."
09:02The case later went to arbitration, but it's unclear what the final settlement was.
09:07Ray has caught a lot of flack for what some viewers view as a whitewashing of several
09:11different cultural cuisines. In 2017, the TV star posted a food platter on X that included
09:16grape leaves, tabbouleh, hummus, and more, dubbing it Israeli Night. It sparked a firestorm
09:22online, with many users claiming that these were Arabic foods, criticizing Ray for mislabeling
09:26them.
09:27Ray did get some support, however, from viewers who mentioned the fact that these types of
09:30dishes are cooked throughout the Middle East, including Israel. Ray stumbled into more problems
09:35in 2022 when she shared her recipe for Mexican Pozole, a traditional rich, stew-like soup
09:40served on holidays and filled with pork, red chiles, and hominy corn. Ray's version,
09:45on the other hand, used beans as the main protein rather than pork, and included Fritos
09:49and chili powder, among other off-the-mark ingredients.
09:52Needless to say, not all Mexicans were thrilled, with one calling it taco soup. BuzzFeed even
09:57asked Mexican women to watch Ray cook the pozole, leading to confusion and disbelief
10:01at the star's recipe. One woman said,
10:03I never put beans in pozole. This isn't pozole."