Padma Lakshmi's Red, White And Blue Dessert Had A Clear Message

Padma Lakshmi, although Indian-born, not only makes her home in the United States now, but she grew up in this country. It's no wonder, then, that she would choose to celebrate the Fourth of July in a fairly traditional way. No, not with beer, barbecue, and baseball — she's a New Yorker, after all, so probably not much room for backyard festivities. Instead, she baked a cake with a red, white, and blue color scheme, kind of a variant on the familiar fruit-topped flag cake, and then patriotically posted a photo to Instagram.

Even though the cake's decorations are fairly plain in both design and execution, it bears a message that seems meant to garner reactions. Spelled out in frosting between a field of blueberries and one of red currants are the words "Separate Church [frosting blob] State." This message is hardly a controversial one, as the Pew Research Center says that a majority of Americans support the concept. The caption to Lakshmi's Instagram post indicates that she's referring specifically to the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a ruling that Axios reports is unpopular with many in the U.S. As Lakshmi says of this year's holiday, "Not much to celebrate this 4th, I'm afraid ... No matter what, we'll keep fighting for the day where all humans have the same rights, at least of their own person and body."

No matter what Padma Lakshmi posts on Instagram, she's pretty much guaranteed to get a good response from her hardcore fan base. This post, of course, brought out a plethora of positive emojis, with some even hailing Lakshmi as a heroine with praise, "Thank you Padma for using your celebrity to champion the rights of many who have no choice" and, "Thank you Padma! You give me so much hope."

Others, however, aren't too happy with Lakshmi criticizing the U.S. on our national holiday, dropping comments like, "Not much to celebrate but your freedom. Don't like it, leave it" and, "You should check your privilege. Name a time or place in the world where It is literally government responsibilities to protect your dissenting opinion." There are also those who aren't too thrilled with what they refer to as Lakshmi's "Using ... fame for empty gestures and self promotion" as well as her "maudlin virtue-signaling."

The real hero of the day, however, may be the Instagrammer who tries to turn the tide back to a more civilized discourse with the inquiry, "The blueberries from ur garden?" As Lakshmi replies, "Yes ALL fruit on this cake is from our garden," which, in itself, is something worth celebrating. Our congratulations to her on a successful summer harvest.