Hatred of Rachael Ray can be a powerful uniting force

bostonglobe ^ | November 26, 2006 | rob walker

[stainlessbanner]

Consumer culture and indeed popular culture revolve in large part around shared admiration, shared likes: Fandom, in a word, is a thing that can bring us together.

But what about shared dislikes? Can a community form around that? What is the opposite of a fan club? The answer is the Rachael Ray Sucks Community.

[HitmanLV]

Alton Brown is awesome. I've never met anyone who have AB a chance and didn't respond to him and his show positively. 'Good Eats' is one of the most consistently funny shows on tv. That guy has a great imagination!

Ina and Sara are great, too. The network's whole lineup is very good. RR's problem isn't that she is bad, it's that they have pushed her to the moon way to quickly and she is overexposed.

[HitmanLV]

Mario Batali is awesome! An ass kicker in the kitchen for sure! ;-)

[HitmanLV]

Emeril has a great place out here at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Great food! BAM!

[HitmanLV]

Tyler Florence is a super guy and a great cook, and one of my faves also. Like I said, there isn't anybody on FR I am strongly negative about.

[John Will]

Is Toki Wartooth the leader of it?

[HitmanLV]

Giada is an awesome cook and a smokin' hot babe, too!

They recently did a special Iron Chef challenge - it was Giada & Bobby Flay vs Ray & Mario Batali. Batali carried Ray on his back. It was clearly just another part of the marketing of RR. The fix was on.

In a fair fight I have no doubt Giada/Flay would prevail. And if they paired the Italians up (Giada & Batali), they would still be wiping the floor of what was left of RR!

[HitmanLV]

Rachel Ray is such a sweetie. Why not just start an "I hate Bambi Club"?

RR is nice enough. Her primary problem these days is that she is very overexposed. If she had one show on FR, she would be fine and would be a pleasant diversion. The marketing guys just pushed her too far too fast and she just doesn't have what it takes to sustain it. She is in over her head.

[subterfuge]

I read of few of the posts and I don't understand the level of dislike people have for Ray. She's a harmless lady that cooks stuff--so what?

[HitmanLV]

Ever see the cheesecake pics of Cat Cora from I think the same magazine? Cat's an older woman but I tell you, they did her up real nice and she fills up a dress real good! ;-)

[HitmanLV]

Nigella brings a lot to the table and is a great cook. That being said, I think Giada just edges her out just a bit in the 'babe-o-meter.' It's just personal taste, that's all. :-)

[HitmanLV]

That's exactly right. Food Network personalities who get hot tend to be promoted too much, too quickly. It didn't work with Emeril. It won't work with RR.

[HitmanLV]

'EVOO' is her catch-phrase. You can't be a big star these days, especially on tv, without a catch-phrase. The folks in marketing concocted all of this for her! ;-)

[HitmanLV]

Alton rules it! One of the best shows on tv, let alone the Food Network.

Enjoy this rare, nice family pic of The Browns!

 

[HitmanLV]

I read of few of the posts and I don't understand the level of dislike people have for Ray. She's a harmless lady that cooks stuff--so what?

The negativity rises with her exposure. She is over exposed, so it's easy for people to be over-negative about her.

If she just had her 30-Minute Meals show, she wouldn't have a fraction of the negativity. She would have a fraction of the money, though.

[GretchenM]

I admit freely that her voice is annoying but I've learned a lot from her and admire the way she puts her whole heart and soul into her work, not to mention an enormous amount of energy, and it is obvious she cares about people and their quality of life.

From the article: "While the [anti-Ray] community is now mentioned in practically every article about Ray, and new members keep chiming in, it seems to have had no impact on Ray's rise." Good for Rachael.

"Ray, a Cape Cod native, was on her way to becoming the pop culture juggernaut she is today, with a couple of Food Network shows, a syndicated talk show, a magazine started a year ago that is expected to top a million in circulation, plans for a restaurant, and even CDs of her favorite songs for kids and the holidays."

Sounds like she's doing very well for herself, that her hard work and passion for that work are paying off.

[Fierce Allegiance]

Hot damn! I need to watch that channel much more, i see!

[linda_22003]

The tabloids say that he's kept his pre-marriage "girlfriend", and she sounds like some kind of dominatrix. Rachael's obviously too wholesome to get into the kinky stuff.

[linda_22003]

Sandra Lee is no cook; showing you how to use prepared mixes is no reason to have a cooking show.

[Keith in Iowa]

>>>I think the best personality on Food Network is Alton Brown, personally. My fave chefs are Giada, Mario Batali, Alton Brown, Michael Chiarello. Truth is, I like almost all their shows and personalities - it's one of the best channels on tv.

I have a fondness for Sandra Lee.

[linda_22003]

That child is aggressively legitimate, isn't she? :)