Priya Krishna, a former star of Bon Appétit's Test Kitchen series of cooking videos, left the popular show in early August, citing an underlying issue of inequality at the Condé Nast-owned production.
"A number of my colleagues and I found out that there are extreme disparities between what certain groups of people were being paid and what other groups were being paid," she told Cheddar. "So, essentially we asked leadership to close that gap, to the very least pay us what our white colleagues were being paid, to give us the same number of appearances that they were being promised, to give us some sort of guarantee that they were interested in investing in us as talent."
Krishna said that the contract that Condé Nast offered didn't contain those commitments, leading to a back-and-forth negotiation that ended without an acceptable agreement for many of the people on staff. The unsatisfactory response led to the departure of multiple Bon Appétit video personalities, including Krishna.
"I didn't want to be told to be grateful for scraps when I knew what my colleagues were making," she explained.
The food writer and cookbook author also alleged that during her time at Bon Appétit she was tokenized as an expert on Indian cuisine (something she emphasized she was not). For example, she was asked to participate in videos starring the channel's white hosts when they were making Indian dishes.
"It just felt as though a lot of the people of color were not allowed to be multidimensional characters in this video space whereas our white colleagues could cook whatever they want, do whatever they want, flit between different worlds and cuisines," Krishna added.
She went on to describe how BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) cooks across the food media industry, not just at Condé Nast Entertainment, are often limited to producing dishes from their particular heritages.
Stepping outside of this box, Krishna said her cookbook, Indian-Ish: Recipes and Antics from a Modern American Family, explores the cuisine of her childhood, which doesn't fit neatly into a single category.
"I wanted to show people that the food that I grew up with, which is this hybridized cuisine that's rooted in Indian flavors but draws inspiration from across the country and across the world, was just as American as your hot dogs, as your roast chicken," she said. "I want us to sort of expand the definition of what American food means."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
