Alison Roman’s New York Times food column is on pause following backlash earlier this month over controversial comments she made about model and cookbook author Chrissy Teigen and lifestyle expert Marie Kondo.
A spokesperson for the New York Times confirmed to HuffPost Tuesday that “Alison Roman’s column is on temporary leave.”
Roman, the author of two New York Times bestselling cookbooks, formally apologized last week for what she called “stupid, careless and insensitive” behavior and “tone deaf” remarks at the expense of the two successful women. In an interview published by The New Consumer earlier this month, she criticized the two women for capitalizing on their fame and implied they were sellouts.
“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,” Roman told the magazine. “I’m like, damn, bitch, you fucking 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 shit!’”
She also said what Teigen has done with her personal brand 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.”
Teigen, who first found her start as a model, is the author of the New York Times bestselling cookbook “Cravings.” And Kondo, known for her decluttering and organizing lifestyle mantras, is author of several books, including “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo,” which was turned into a Netflix reality series. Both women sell kitchen and cooking products.
Teigen, in particular, expressed hurt over Roman’s comments and said she would be taking “a little break” from Twitter amid the controversy.
The Daily Beast, which first reported the news, said Roman “had a piece that was prepared to run last week amid the controversy, but it was ultimately not published,” according to Times insiders.
Roman had first apologized to Teigen in a tweet and then again in a lengthy statement last week.
“The fact that it didn’t occur to me that I had singled out two Asian women is one hundred percent a function of my privilege,” she wrote. “I know that our culture frequently goes after women, especially women of color, and I’m ashamed to have contributed to that.”
In the end, Teigen thanked Roman for her apology, adding, “The comments stung, but they moreso stung because they came from u! It wasn’t my usual news break of some random person hating everything about me!”
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