Padma, the Sympathetic Survivor

Published on Thursday, February 3, 2011, by James Norton / Edit Post

Not so long ago, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi got roundly drubbed by Internet wisenheimers for dabbling in the world of sitcoms. She is regularly tweaked for being a triumph of sexy style over substance. The whole thing with the mystery baby has been no picnic, either. But, ultimately, she's gorgeous, famous, and well compensated, and that seems to even out the flak from haters.

Slate, however, recently did something unpredictable—it put the sympathy ball squarely in Lakshmi's court. This was accomplished by detailing and deconstructing the nasty and extraordinarily well-funded custody lawsuit being pressed against Lakshmi by ex-boyfriend and baby daddy Adam Dell.

Described by the magazine as a "detailed declaration of war," the suit is nasty, personal, and filed in the New York Supreme Court, which means that the details go public via the Internet almost instantly.

The summary version: "Its message to the public is that Lakshmi is cold-hearted and promiscuous (she wasn't even sure who the father of her child was, after all). To Lakshmi, the suit says two things. First, Dell is willing to outspend her. ... Second, by trumpeting his version of the story in the press and in the courts, he's attempting to mar Lakshmi's image and hurt her career as a cable host."

It seems that far from marring Lakshmi's image, the lawsuit is going to humanize her and garner sympathy from viewers and critics alike. Much like the battlefield, the world of lawsuits is a place ruled by unintended consequences.

Image source: YouTube

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POST A COMMENT |13 Comments

COMMENT

  • Padma takes camera time away from the infinitely sexy Tom Colicchio. Get rid of the whoo-ah.

  • I don't see what the problem is, this a great, and wonderful show, and some idiot has nothing to deal with there time.

  • I learned alot from this show, and yes she is.

  • There is almost nothing that can be said about Padma that would cause me to like her any less. I think she is terrific. Go ahead, Adam, and use your spread your nasty lies; Padma has so many supporters that you are probably wasting your time.

  • She and that Tom guy rub me the wrong way. I'm truly am beginning to think that only a-holes are successful, so I am getting ready to turn into one.

  • she is amazing

  • i love this yummy recipe.

  • ...and the mods remove our posts on the boards when they don't relate to food. Bad faith, Chow.

  • I, for one, always appreciate Padma related news.

  • Remove this article it is tabloid crap and not food related at all! But then she does look hot hee hee hee ;)

  • I never thought I'd see the day when an article appeared on CHOW with less than 1% given to the subject of CHOW. What gives?

  • This story is weak

  • I tune Lakshmi out because her whole presentation is so condescending and she looks like she is going to barf into the food. Stay home lady and clear the air waves.