Dear Bloggers: Does Picking On Rachael Ray Make You Feel Proud?

Dan Gibson | March 5, 2008 10:30 am
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I’ve discovered I like (at least) two things about Rachael Ray. One: the knife set my mother-in-law purchased for me this Christmas (sharptastic!). Two: That she can drop the classic “I’m way too busy for this jibber-jabber” retort on the blogger types who aren’t thrilled with her SXSW day party appearance on March 15. Hey, Brooklyn Vegan! Rachael Ray just gave you the gas face.

It seems the holier-than-thou music community didn’t take too kindly to her invading their most sacred of sacred cows (or maybe they just weren’t fans of EVOO), and they let her know about it through a series of snarky posts and general unpleasantness, the point of which seemed rather lost on the celebrity chef herself.

“I’m not aware about what blogs were saying about me,” Ray told MTV News on Tuesday (March 4). “To be honest, I have five jobs, so I’m aware of what I have to do for them when we get up in the morning. But I don’t see why we’d be out of place down there, when we’re just fans of music who decided to put on a show. I guess if they don’t like good music, and they don’t like good food, they don’t have to go.”…

“My husband and I listened to a bunch of discs and picked our favorites,” Ray explained. “We also have Sirius, so we’re always listening to the Left of Center program, which is how we heard the Raveonettes. With a band like [Holy F—], I have to say that it was the name that got us listening. But we’re glad we did. They’re pretty good.

Ouch! Looks like she took your blog and wiped her feet with it, Stereogum. She’s got five dogs jobs, a Sirius radio, and a media empire. What do you have? I know this particular corner of the Web (well, probably just me, actually) can be filled with bile, but I’ve turned over a new leaf. General unpleasantness, begone! Thanks, Rachael. (One suggestion, though… is it too late to get rid of the kid from Napoleon Dynamite as the DJ?)

Either way, the idea that a music conference of any sort doesn’t have deep embedded links to corporations is sort of absurd and ridiculous, and it’s hard to zing Rachael Ray’s show when there are Miller Lite/Dell/Toyota/Citibank sponsorships lining Austin’s streets next week. But, hey, if you enjoy low-blow pseudo-journalistic cheap shots, have at Ray and her free snacks and sort of indieish taste. Just don’t be surprised if you see her next to the stage at the Beauty Bar, wiping aside a tear.

[UPDATE: The original MTV piece has been updated to note that Ray has five jobs, and not five dogs.]

Rachael Ray Defends Her Indie-Rock SXSW Party, Featuring Raveonettes, Holy F— And Mac ‘N Cheese [MTV]