Valerie Bertinelli was 'not bashing' Food Network with comments made after she was let go
Former Food Network star Valerie Bertinelli explained why her previous comments were in no way "bashing" the cooking channel.
Valerie Bertinelli is walking back her previous comments made about her former employer, Food Network.
On April 11, the TV personality took to social media to share her disappointment over Food Network's creative changes over the years.
"I fell in love with Food Network two decades ago because of all the amazing ITK [in the kitchen] shows," Bertinelli wrote on the Instagram text app Thread before referencing Rachael Ray's show "30-Minute Meals," as well as "Barefoot Contessa" host Ina Garten and "Giada at Home" star Giada De Laurentiis.
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Bertinelli, who formerly hosted the Food Network shows "Valerie's Home Cooking" and "Kids Baking Championship," continued, "I learned so much. It’s sad it’s not about cooking and learning any longer. Oh well, that’s just business, folks."
On Wednesday, nearly a week after the comments were made, an X user asked, "Valerie spent years on the Food Network mostly judging cooking competitions with the exception of one show where she cooked. Now that she wasn't asked back, she has an issue with the networks current love of cooking competition shows. Is that fair?"
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Bertinelli responded on X, "This isn’t something new. I’m also not bashing food network by saying I wish there were more actual cooking shows. I will always be very grateful that I was able to work for them for seven years."
Bertinelli announced in January that she had been let go from her role on "Kids Baking Competition."
In a video shared on her Instagram page, Bertinelli explained that she received confirmation the previous night and had been "avoiding" facing it "because it really hurt my feelings."
"And I know it’s not supposed to, logically I know that it’s business. Budget cuts, right? But it really hurt my feelings to know that I’m not going to be asked back to be on ‘Kids Baking Championship.’ It really sucks," she added.
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In the clip, Bertinelli shared that the episodes aired at the time were filmed back in the summer of 2022, "which was my apex year of hell. Like I was going through it and pretending everything was just fine, because that’s what you do.
"And, without sounding like a drama queen, the show saved my life. Working with all those really wonderful people and feeling productive and knowing I could spread some kindness and not just wallow in my hell and just try to keep my head above water, it helped me, it was like a flotation device."
She added, "So it really hurts that I won’t be able to go back and see everybody and say ‘Hey, I made it through, hi!’"
Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Stanton and Ashley Hume contributed to this report.