• media matinee

    Fragments from 'Salman! The Musical'

    From time to time the news cycle offers up an event of such import and complexity that it can only be comprehended through the medium of musical theater. This week resident composer Ben Greenman examines the tragic unraveling of a famous author's marriage. More »
  • the hottest woman in the world

    Chelsea-Bound Padma Means Doom For All Fugly Writers

    The full effect of the Padma-Salman split perhaps may not be felt for years. A few things thus far can be said with confidence. Salman Rushdie may be the greatest Indian writer since Rabindranath Tagore but Padma Lakshmi is perhaps the most beautiful woman ever. Sadly for him, his genius mind was obscured by his scrunchy face and pudgy Salman body. The situation left Padma full of desire; the desire to end their marriage. During the years of their togetherness, pudgy scrunchy-faced authors worldwide could look toward Rushdie and say, "Well, if HE can do it..." before approaching some gaspingly beautiful woman during BookExpo. Well turns out he couldn't—which is heartbreaking to the geeks and a relief for beautiful women tired of hearing the line, "Hey baby, wanna see my PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Fiction?" The more immediate and less depressing fallout is that Padma Lakshmi is moving out of the apartment the two shared. More »
  • regret the error

    Anthony Bourdain Totally Not Dating Padma Lakshmi

    Well, it was hot in our minds. But apparently Anthony Bourdain has like a real live wife and a new baby girl or something. (Mazel tov!) And therefore he is out of the running to be the next Padma-paramour. It's too bad. We do however stand by our comments about totally wanting to make out with the man most likely to be photographed with a half-smile, a great scarf and a cigarette. Though maybe now we won't put out.
  • defamer

    Age-inappopriate trophy spouse/Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi dumps fatwa-surviving sugar daddy Salman Rushdie. [Reuters]

  • our brad and jen

    Padma-Salman Split Official At Long Last

    Potheaded and alluringly cicatricial television personality Padma Lakshmi has finally ended things with her hubby, the apparently very famous author Salman Rushdie. "Salman Rushdie has agreed to divorce his wife, Padma Lakshmi, because of her desire to end their marriage," spokeswoman Jin Auh said in a statement issued to Reuters. Weirdly put, right? As if it's so big of him to condescend to divorce her! As you've decided by means of this scientific poll, she is now purportedly dating Anthony Bourdain. Ooh good call, we'd bone him in a heartbeat. More »
  • liaisons

    Which Married Chef Tops Padma?

    Padma Lakshmi—Top Chef hostess, pot head, wife of Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie, and possessor of the hottest arm scar since Winona Ryder in Girl, Interrupted—was recently spotted at the Rose Bar, says Page Six.
    While Rushdie was being knighted by the Queen of England last week [Ed. note: Mazel!], Lakshmi was spotted hanging out into the wee hours at the Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel with a well-known chef who was there without his spouse. "They seemed to be quite interested in what each other had to say," said a witness. "They were oblivious to the people around them."
    Two people talking? In public? Clearly if this chef is acting like he's interested in what she had to say, his intentions are less than honorable. We have a hunch who it might be but take our poll and decide for yourself. The truth is what you make it! More »
  • packing your knives

    Padma Lakshmi And Her Octopussies

    Top Chef starts tonight in Miami. Yay! if this well-circulated and composed photo of Padma Lakshmi (or this bizarrely revealing shot of Food and Wine's Gail Simmons) is any indication, the move to Miami is just an excuse to put Padma in strange locations wearing 10% less than what would be appropriate or functional elsewhere while fondling encephalopods that match her Salman-colored plunging top. Also, we hear, the weed is better down there, so you know girlfriend is stoked.
  • hot chefs in action

    The James Beard Awards

    The red carpet was unfurled along the travertine plateau of Lincoln Center last night. The bright lights of the big city and the brighter lights of the camera crews forced an unnatural daylight, and the tuxedoed men and begowned women under their incandescence seemed to glow. Bobby Flay and his redonk bride Stephanie March marched by, pucking Wolfgang Puck scurried past. Todd English, whose beautiful face is made better by the fact that it is stretched around his huge head, gave interviews to a gaggle of gaga televisions anchors. Ilan Hall showed off his bling: Real gold cufflinks he got for his bar mitzvah. More »
  • Salman Rushdie was spotted patting Padma Lakshmi's rump at the PEN gala on Monday. Perhaps Diane von F. declared their overness too soon. [R&M, last item] More »
  • 05/02/07
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    By Emily Gould

    Comment by VenusCloacina: Why does Michael Chabon look like a werewolf in that picture? And why is the editor of Details plump... more » | Other threads

  • literary couples, past and present
  • The Onion's take on the Greatest Literary Breakup Of Our Time. [The Onion] More »
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    By Doree Shafrir

    Comment by SeeingI: I guess Salman was, like the rest of us, heartbroken over Marcel-gate. What? Too soon? more » | Other threads

  • padma lakshmi

    Such A Shame About Padma and Salman

    Sad news today for anyone who was predicting that Salman Rushdie and his fourth wife, model turned food writer and TV personality Padma Lakshmi, would go the distance: no less than Diane Von Furstenberg is spreading the rumor that they're through. And Padma is apparently the dumper, not the dump-ee: per DVF, she's thinking of leaving her marriage to focus on her hosting duties on Top Chef. While Padma's commitment to her career is laudable, it seems potentially ill-considered. After all, the producers of Top Chef clearly have a trophy-wives-only requirement for their hostesses—how else to explain Katie Lee Joel? If Padma does ditch Salman, they will no doubt immediately step up their efforts to recruit Melania Trump. More »
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    By Emily Gould

    Comment by 24-7: Duh... I predicted it the day they got married. more » | Other threads

  • remainders
  • You know, Pamela Anderson, hosting those context-sensitive Google Ads on your official website might not be such a great idea. [Pamela Andersen] More »
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    By Emily Gould

    Comment by quieterhue: Ok, I know this is random. But has anyone else observed that huge-ass, scary scar on Padma's arm? more » | Other threads

  • dining

    Top Chef's Lachrymose Dave to Helm New 'Lola'

    We love anything to do with Bravo's 'Top Chef', especially since they've replaced last season's incompetent trophy wife hostess, Katie Lee Joel, with a far more confident (and, let's face it, better-qualified in the boob dept.) trophy wife hostess, Padma Lakshmi. So we were excited to hear, via Grub Street, that Season 1 "breakout" (read: "breakdown") star, Dave Martin, has moved on from his reality show fame and now has a real job at new downtown outpost of reopened restaurant Lola's. We can't wait to eat Lola's "haute southern" cuisine, but we'll know what to blame if everything's a little too salty.* More »
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    By Emily Gould

    Comment by Whatchuwant?: So glad Katie Lee's gone. She had NO fucking beeswax being there in the first place. Billy found her hostessing... more » | Other threads