Rachael Ray returned to social media but failed to address her fans’ worry after sparking concern by appearing to slur her speech in a recent video.
The professional TV chef, 56, dropped an Instagram post on Wednesday, marking her first since causing frenzy over her health earlier this week.
Ray did not appear on camera, but her hand and yummy homemade paella did.
Showing off the colorful dish filled with shrimp and sausage, playfully captioned the post, “Break out the cast iron 🥘 it’s time to put a little pep in Wednesday night’s dinner step with a shrimp 🍤 and chorizo paella party 🎉.”
Seeming to be in good spirits despite the concern from fans, Ray chose to ignore pleas for answers about the state of her health.
The best-selling cookbook author raised eyebrows when she shared a clip from her series “Rachael Ray in Tuscany” via Instagram on Monday.
While telling a story about almost killing late icon Tony Bennett at a dinner party, Ray seemed to stammer over her words.
She recalled inviting the “New York State of Mind” singer — who passed away on July 21, 2023, at 96. after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease — and polishing her floors to impress him. Her grand gesture turned out to be a mistake.
“When I pulled out the chair for Tony to sit down for his starter snacks and aperitivo, the chair slid out from under him and he hit his head on my marble counter behind him, and he fell to the floor,” Ray shared.
“I thought I killed Tony Bennett,” the TV star said. “I thought I killed him, literally. And his wife, Susan – so glorious – he says to me, ‘Rachael, he’s fine. He’ll pop back up. Just let him be.'”
She revealed he did just that and had double portions of her dinner.
Fans couldn’t concentrate on Ray’s story with the happy outcome because they were distracted by her “slurred” speech.
“Is she slurring or am I slurring[?]” one follower asked. “Wait! What’s going on with Rachael Ray?” a second concerned fan wrote.
“I love you but are you ok? I’m seriously concerned,” another commented on her video. “You guys, her mouth is always slanted like that but she is deeeefinitely slurring. I think she had a little too much wine. She is acting like my stepmom when she would drink a bottle,” someone else commented.
Ray has not addressed their concerns or shared any news about her health in nearly a decade. In 2018, rumors started swirling that she was getting surgery for throat cancer.
Her representative later cleared the air, telling fans, “Rachael is the picture of health. 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.”
Ray ended her syndicated daytime show after 17 seasons in 2023.
The Post has reached out to her rep for comment.
