Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
NY Post

Rachael Ray announces ‘raw’ podcast about ‘life’s challenges’ after sparking health concerns

Eric Todisco
3 min read
Generate Key Takeaways
Rachael Ray announces ‘raw’ podcast about ‘life’s challenges’ after sparking health concerns

Rachael Ray is entering the podcast world.

The celebrity chef, 56, announced her first podcast, titled “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” on Tuesday after sparking health concerns in a viral video last month.

According to People, Ray’s podcast will focus on “what fuels us — our drive, resilience and how we face life’s challenges,” with a “melting pot” of conversations with guests including celebrities, chefs, artists, musicians and more.

Rachael Ray’s new podcast. Rachael Ray/Instagram
Rachael Ray’s new podcast. Rachael Ray/Instagram

Ray will get into “the highs and lows of hard work, sharing raw, honest stories with people she knows and those she’s meeting for the first time” on the podcast — where there’s ”no topic off-limits.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

In a statement, Ray said, “‘I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead’ (quite literally!) is about life’s journeys and what keeps us going. It’s unscripted, raw and real talk. Working fuels me, connecting with people fuels me, and this platform allows for connection and conversation on a more personal level, which really fuels me.”

Rachael Ray at the 2024 South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Getty Images
Rachael Ray at the 2024 South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Getty Images

The first episode of Ray’s podcast comes out Oct. 22 with guest Jenny Mollen. The pair will discuss how “having no filter has sometimes landed them in hot water,” per People.

Future guests include Billy Crudup, Bob Harper, Anne Burrell, Harlan Coben, Jacques Pépin, Jeremy Sisto and Billy Porter.

Ray also shared the news of her podcast on Instagram, writing, “Thank you so much @people for breaking the news. More coming soon.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

The Post has reached out to Ray’s rep for comment.

Rachael Ray at Fox Studios in NYC in February 2016. Getty Images
Rachael Ray at Fox Studios in NYC in February 2016. Getty Images

In early September, Ray made headlines after she appeared to slur her words in a cooking video.

In the Instagram clip from her “Rachael Ray in Tuscany” series, the TV personality whipped up Tony Bennett’s favorite dish, ossobuco, while recalling the time the late singer came over for dinner and slipped on her polished kitchen floor.

However, fans were distracted by the way Ray was speaking in the video.

Rachael Ray in the video that sparked fan concern. Instagram / @home.made.nation
Rachael Ray in the video that sparked fan concern. Instagram / @home.made.nation
Rachael Ray making ossobuco. Instagram / @home.made.nation
Rachael Ray making ossobuco. Instagram / @home.made.nation

“Wait! What’s going on with Rachael Ray?” one worried person commented.

“I love you but are you ok? I’m seriously concerned,” someone else wrote on the post.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“Is she slurring or am I slurring[?]” another person asked.

Others defended the famous cook and noted that “she’s aging like the rest of us” and could be on medication for a medical condition.

Rachael Ray cooking in an Instagram video. Instagram / @home.made.nation
Rachael Ray cooking in an Instagram video. Instagram / @home.made.nation

Ray, who ended her popular daytime show in 2023, still has not addressed her controversial video.

She ignored concerns when she posted a follow-up video shortly after where she shared a new paella recipe.

Rachael Ray at the New York City Wine & Food Festival in October 2023. Getty Images for NYCWFF
Rachael Ray at the New York City Wine & Food Festival in October 2023. Getty Images for NYCWFF

Ray previously addressed her health back in 2008, when rumors began to swirl that she was undergoing surgery for throat cancer.

“Rachael is the picture of health,” Ray’s rep, Charlie Dougiello, said at the time. “She is having very minor surgery to remove a benign cyst on her vocal cord. It’s a common in-and-out procedure that she will have in early December and it will not adversely affect any of her daytime show or Food Network tapings.”

Advertisement
Advertisement