Rachael Ray’s unrecognizable appearance in new cooking video raises health concerns

Many people recognize Rachael Ray by face and voice almost immediately after her long profession as a cooking show host. But Ray’s appearance in her latest video has her fans fearful.

In a September 2 promotional clip for her show “Rachael Ray in Tuscany,” Ray shares a funny memory she has of the late singer Tony Bennett as she introduces an osso bucco meal she was cooking. According to Ray, “Osso bucco is basically slow-stewed veal shank, and it comes in many styles in different cities.”

Ray begins the film by telling the story of how Bennett got here to her house and he or she “almost killed him.” In preparation for his arrival, she polished the kitchen floors and cleaned the home.

“I may have overdone it a bit with the floors, because when I pulled out the chair so Tony could sit down for his appetizer and aperitivo,” she said with a smile, “the chair slid out from under him, he hit his head on my marble counter behind him and fell to the floor, and I thought I had killed Tony Bennett.”

Rachael said Bennett’s wife, Susan Crow, assured her she didn’t need to worry, saying he was “fine” and “made it through dinner,” eating double portions of food. Bennett died last 12 months at age 96 in Manhattan after battling Alzheimer’s since 2016.

While the story was a funny and heartfelt strategy to introduce osso bucco to her audience, fans couldn’t help but be distracted by the way in which Ray appeared on screen. Some thought she spoke slower than usual and slurred her words, but others appeared to think she looked unrecognizable.

One person said: “Is that Rachel Ray the food lady? WOW,” while one other user X bluntly He said, “What the hell happened to her.”

However, many appeared to have more real concerns in regards to the host’s health. One wrote: “I think it’s a mini stroke. Part of her mouth seems to be collapsing. When was that???? I haven’t seen her, it makes me so sad.”

One of Ray’s defense attorneys added: “She’s getting older, just like the rest of us. Maybe she has a disease, maybe she’s on medication. Regardless, there’s no need to be mean.”

Having been in the general public eye for over 20 years, Ray has faced intense scrutiny for her looks. But she has also faced multiple lawsuits over her pet food brand, Rachael Ray Nutrish. Other celebrity chefs have condemned her culinary skills, and he or she has even been criticized for making racist statements about famous former talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

After a 2005 book signing, Ray and several other friends went to a restaurant in Los Angeles. Ray reportedly drank a minimum of 4 glasses of wine before hurling insults at a photograph of Winfrey from her film Beloved that was hanging in her Chicago production studio on the time. In the photo, Oprah’s back is visibly scarred, indicating that the film is ready in the era of slavery.

In response, Ray allegedly told her friends on the table, “Why is she wearing a slave outfit? She clearly has issues with being black.”

Ray faced backlash not only due to nature of the comment, but in addition because Winfrey’s Harpo Studios produced Ray’s afternoon talk show, which aired under his name.

The Color Purple star has not responded to the alleged comments.