Chef and TV personality Rachael Ray recently responded to fans’ concerns over a video where she appeared to struggle with slurred speech and facial drooping.
The video, in which she prepared a favorite dish of the late singer Tony Bennett, worried many fans who speculated about her health. Some thought she might be dealing with alcoholism, while others suggested she could have had a stroke or another health condition.
Fans flooded the video’s comments with mixed reactions. One person suspected a “mini-stroke,” noting, “Part of her mouth seems sinking.” Another suggested she might be aging or on medication, asking others to avoid being mean.
Others thought she looked “swollen” and speculated about alcohol use. Some viewers took a kinder approach, offering supportive comments. One nurse even encouraged Ray to get checked for conditions like Bell’s palsy or stroke, while another fan urged others to stop playing “internet doctors” and show compassion.
For a while, Ray did not address the concerns directly, choosing to remain silent about the viral video from September. However, she recently spoke out in the first episode of her new podcast, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, touching on her lifestyle and love of household tasks.
She explained her passion for “chores,” saying she enjoys cooking, planning dinners, and doing physical work around the house. “I like what people consider physical work,” she shared, adding that she even keeps a playful competition with her husband, John, when it comes to tasks like carrying firewood.
Though she didn’t comment in detail on her health, Ray admitted to having “a couple of bad falls,” which have made her take occasional breaks from her usual activities. These incidents hinted at her possible health struggles, but she chose not to go into specifics about her condition or the video.
Despite the speculation, Ray’s response was more about her daily life than a direct health update. However, her words seemed to reassure some fans, emphasizing that she’s continuing her work and maintaining her active lifestyle.
