{"id":2146595,"date":"2025-11-10T14:16:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T14:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2146595"},"modified":"2025-11-10T14:16:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T14:16:16","slug":"padma-lakshmi-jokingly-tells-chef-melissa-king-to-stop-starting-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/padma-lakshmi-jokingly-tells-chef-melissa-king-to-stop-starting-rumors\/","title":{"rendered":"Padma Lakshmi Jokingly Tells Chef Melissa King to Stop Starting ‘Rumors’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Padma Lakshmi<\/strong> <\/a>was all smiles with Top Chef<\/em><\/a> winner Melissa King<\/strong> while celebrating the launch of her new book.<\/p>\n

A video shared via the DelishYES Instagram<\/a> account showed Lakshmi, 55, enjoying the food at New York City\u2019s Semma restaurant while attending the Tuesday, November 4, event.<\/p>\n

After sharing a message for the eventgoers, Lakshmi was seen laughing as King, 42, sat on her lap. As Lakshmi placed a hand over her face, King placed a hand on Lakshmi\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n

Us Weekly<\/em> reached out to Lakshmi and King\u2019s reps for comment.<\/p>\n

Days later, the pair shared a joint Instagram<\/a> video cooking \u2014 where King joked that Lakshmi\u2019s nails \u201care so gay right now.\u201d While laughing, Lakshmi replied in the Sunday, November 9, clip, \u201cStop starting rumors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, Lakshmi got candid about her bond with King. \u201cMelissa is somebody whose cooking I always loved,\u201d Lakshmi told People<\/em> in October. \u201cShe\u2019s fun and we enjoy each other\u2019s company. She tends to be my plus one sometimes<\/a> so people will see us on the red carpet together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lakshmi explained that she\u2019s also close with former contestants Gregory Gourdet, Kwame Onwuachi <\/strong>and Kristen Kish.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSo there\u2019s quite a few of them, but these guys seem to be in New York the most,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Days later, the pair rocked joint The Addams Family costumes \u2014 with Lakshmi channeling her inner Morticia Addams and King as Gomez Addams. Other pals joined as Wednesday Addams and Lurch.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Food Network Stars’ Biggest Feuds Through the Years<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tSometimes the kitchen is too hot for more than one chef at a time, sparking feuds between Food Network mainstays. Giada De Laurentiis claimed in July 2025 that fellow TV chef Mario Batali made an inappropriate comment about her body while writing a foreword for her 2005 cookbook, Everyday Italian. \u201cHe\u2019s really the main guy [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI would die for her. I would kill for her. \ud83e\udd40\ud83d\udda4 \u2014 Gomez Paddams,\u201d King wrote, while sharing a video of the group on November 1. In another post, King shared a photo posing with Lakshmi alongside the caption, \u201cCara Mia! \ud83e\udd40,\u201d which is the Italian phrase for \u201cmy dear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Years earlier, King won Top Chef<\/em> season 17 in 2020 \u2014 which was hosted by Lakshmi. (King initially starred on season 12 of the cooking competition show. Lakshmi hosted Top Chef<\/em> from 2006 to 2023<\/a>, earning Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Reality Host in 2009, 2020, 2021 and 2022.)<\/p>\n

While recalling how she felt when Lakshmi said she won, King told Parade<\/em> at the time, \u201cIt\u2019s so hard even to capture it all! I remember breaking down crying.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone was bum-rushing me,\u201d King continued. \u201cSo many things were going on. It felt very validating at that moment, knowing the vision of the menu I wanted to present to them was validated.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Lisa Vanderpump Knew How to ‘Handle’ Gordon Ramsay Going Into \u2018Food Stars\u2019<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tLisa Vanderpump and Gordon Ramsay connected as restaurateurs way before she signed on for the second season of his series Food Stars. \u201cWhen he first asked me to do it, we had a kind of playful relationship, albeit competitive because we had restaurants opposite each other, restaurants next to each other,\u201d Vanderpump, 63, exclusively told [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In King\u2019s perspective, the judges \u201cfelt the passion and love that [she] put into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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