Nigella Lawson Just Weighed In On This Controversial COVID-19 Meme
"Ambushed by Cake: It just has to be the title of my next book!" Britain's beloved celebrity chef, Nigella Lawson, tweeted this week along with the hashtag "#AmbushedByCake" (via Twitter). As far as anyone knows, however, there is no "next book" underway. Rather, the tweet was really Lawson's cheeky dig at United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party. In case you haven't been keeping up with the antics of politicians outside of the United States, a COVID-19-era controversy has been "baking" around Johnson for the last 18 months.
It all started on June 19, 2020, when Johnson's now-wife, Carrie Symonds, threw him a surprise birthday party in a meeting room at 10 Downing Street (where the government meets), per BBC. The party was attended by 30 people over a period of "less than 10 minutes," according to building staff. None of this would be newsworthy, of course, if it weren't for the U.K.'s COVID-19 restrictions at the time, which limited social gatherings to two people — outdoors. It was discovered that this birthday party was one of several restriction-violating gatherings attended by the prime minister during the pandemic, which prompted civil servant Sue Gray to begin a formal investigation into the events. Gray's report is set to publish this week, per BBC, which is why Brits are discussing the topic now. As for where cake comes in...
Johnson was ambushed with a cake, a supporter said
In a clip shared on Twitter, British journalist Cathy Newman recently interviewed Conservative Party member Conor Burns about Johnson and crew's gatherings. "The latest party wasn't just a bit of cake in the office, was it? It was a party," Newman said. What Burns said next has set the internet aflame with a new COVID-19-related meme. The prime minister, he explained, had not planned a party but "was, in a sense, ambushed with a cake" by his fellow cabinet members. "Ambushed with a cake?" Newman repeated to Burns in semi-disbelief.
Making the situation even richer for critics of Johnson is that he was the first world leader diagnosed with COVID-19, per CBS News, and has promoted safety regulations throughout the pandemic. After singer Rita Ora threw a birthday party during a lockdown, for example, Johnson's spokesperson told ABC News that it is "important that everybody in society sets an example by following the rules. That is for every member of the public, including celebrities." Fittingly, many people seemed to love Nigella Lawson's tweet, such as one user who said, "How to troll, by Nigella Lawson." Her post has been liked more than 70,000 times.