Sophia Michaels
Padma Lakshmi had some strong words for the trolls who criticize her anatomy while she’s cooking up a storm in kitchen tutorial videos. At the TIME 100 Gala Wednesday, she told Page Six exclusively, “I have boobs, I have nipples! So does every woman and man on the planet. I think we should just be a little more grown-up about it and also just accept that a woman’s body is beautiful and … not totally perfect and stuff and filtered and everything.”
The “Taste the Nation” host has been heavily criticized on social media for her kitchen attire. In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, Lakshmi responded to online trolls about going braless while recording a cooking demonstration. She captioned an Instagram video of herself making lasagna, “I think we should just be a little more grown-up about it and also just accept that a woman’s body is beautiful and … not totally perfect and stuff and filtered and everything.”
And earlier this year, Lakshmi slammed a fan who took offense when she joked around with her daughter, Krishna, 13, about her own breasts. She clapped back, writing, “First if [sic] all it’s a JOKE. And my daughter isn’t uncomfortable with me or my boobs or my posts, nor does she read these comments unless I show her because she isn’t on social media. It’s really not that serious folks.”
The “Top Chef” star says she feels more comfortable in her body now than when she was in her 20s. She explained to Page Six, “Like, I feel more comfortable with my body in my 50s than I did in my 20s, even though I probably looked better in my 20s, but I feel better in my 50s. And I’m here to tell you that you can have a beautiful relationship with your body and sensuality and be a mother and be a lover and be a friend and have a multi-dimensional complex human being. You can have that and be that.”
