Why Reddit Is Concerned About Sunny Anderson
The line between friend and celebrity can blur for some people, especially when the celebrity is doing something as personal as cooking for us on TV. This may explain why so many people on social media show concern about Sunny Anderson's physical and mental well being. This past winter, Anderson took to Instagram to address her fans' concerns that she must be too cold while cooking outdoors for segments of "The Kitchen." (Her response? "I found a coat.") So many people on social media questioned her decision to film outdoors, when her "Kitchen" co-hosts were filming inside a kitchen, that she finally revealed on Instagram again that she and her cameraman both have autoimmune problems and film outside during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect their health. Now you know.
Social media habitués haven't stopped gossiping about Anderson's well being. On July 24, a Redditor started a thread questioning Anderson's mental state. In a post titled, "Is Sunny Anderson okay?", the Reddit user, bookedwebstress, critiqued Anderson's appearance on "The Kitchen" that day. "Almost manic," bookedwebstress declared, saying Anderson shouted too much and laughed at inappropriate times. The Redditor wondered, was the pressure of shooting her segments outside, isolated from her co-hosts, causing Anderson to engage in "LOOK AT ME antics?"
Some concerns expressed about Sunny Anderson overlap with stereotypes about Black women
Sunny Anderson has singled herself out in the eyes of fans of "The Kitchen" by shooting her cooking segments separately, outdoors, while the other hosts work together inside. But her fans may be unconsciously singling her out, too, because she's Black. The loud, sassy, or angry Black woman is a harmful stereotype that's been perpetuated by the U.S. media since the 1800s (via Jim Crow Museum). Someone pointed this out on that Reddit post that questioned whether Anderson was "okay."
"She is the only person of color on the show,' Redditor LallybrochSassenach commented. "Some characteristics that are very normalized are pointed out when it is Sunny. If Alex (Guarneschelli) or Katie (Lee) has ever gotten loud or punchy, I've NEVER seen anything said about it here."
To be fair to Redditor bookedwebstress, who started the conversation about Anderson, they said they were aware of the unfortunate stereotype about Black women but still thought Anderson's bearing had changed for the worse on "The Kitchen." If that is the case, maybe we can chalk it up to a general pandemic stress that isn't limited to Anderson. As Redditor MisterNashville commented, "All the hosts in this show are a bit 'off' if you ask me."