In her interview with Frommer, Roman discussed her own brand's direction. She criticized the business model of home organizing expert Marie Kondo and said she is "horrified" by the "Cravings" empire created by Chrissy Teigen. She said doesn't aspire to have such product lines.
Teigen shared her reaction on Twitter, saying: "This is a huge bummer and hit me hard." In a follow-up Tweet, she said, "I didn't 'sell out' by making my dreams come true."
Roman's comments sparked disappointment and debate on Twitter, Insider's Darcy Schild wrote. Several of Roman's fans and critics seem to agree that there's nothing wrong with having different business priorities, but others were upset seeing Roman single out two women of color.
Writer and social commentator Roxane Gay summed up the divisive nature in a single Tweet: "I like Alison Roman's recipes. I really like Chrissy Teigen and her various endeavors. That interview included some terrible takes. It's lousy that women of color were the target of her disdain when this is a space dominated by white women. I mean come on."
In response to the backlash, Roman tweeted, "I want to clarify, I am not coming for anyone who's successful, especially not women." She has since apologized to Teigen on Twitter, and issued a lengthy apology statement on her social media channels Monday, in which she called her comments to New Consumer, "stupid, careless, and insensitive."
Teigen accepted the apology, saying that it didn't occur to her that Roman should even apologize for her "genuine thoughts," but that the comments stung because Teigen admired Roman.