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Tag: Nigella Lawson

  • Nigella Lawson Granted Visa to New Zealand

    Nigella Lawson was denied entry into the United States from London earlier this month. Now New Zealand has granted her a visa to enter that country. Lawson was supposed to work in L.A on the cooking show The Taste, but because of her recent admission of drug use she was denied entry–or so it is believed. U.S. officials have declined to state why Lawson was prevented from flying to L.A. from London. New Zealand officials had the following to say about her entry into their country.

    “As Ms Lawson has been excluded from another country, namely the United States, she was ineligible to be granted a visa to enter New Zealand unless given a special direction,” the statement said.

    “A special direction was considered and granted and subsequently her visa application was approved.”

    Nigella Lawson admitted during a court case last year that she had previously used both cocaine and cannabis. British newspapers speculate that this is the reason she was denied entry into the United States. A spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in London confirmed that Lawson was denied permission to fly to Los Angeles more than two weeks ago but declined to say why because of privacy reasons.

    Lawson is in New Zealand for work as well. She is filming a TV ad for a chocolate manufacturer there.

    Do you think Nigella Lawson’s admission of drug use is the reason she was denied access to the United States? Is this something that will eventually be formally announced? It will be interesting to see if she is permanently denied entry, and if that is the case, who will replace her on The Taste? Anthony Bourdain serves as a judge on The Taste with Nigella. He is appalled that she wasn’t allowed back in to the U.S.

    If Lawson truly is a drug risk, why is New Zealand allowing her there? Perhaps their drug laws are less strict than those in the United States?

    Hopefully in the next few days more information about Lawson’s denial into the U.S. will be explained so people can rely more on facts and less on conjecture.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Nigella Lawson: Is Her Ex-Hubby Trying To Ruin Her?

    After word spread that Nigella Lawson was stopped from boarding a U.S. bound flight, many felt confused, and thought the United States was being unnecessarily harsh.

    Allegedly, Lawson was stopped because she admitted to using cocaine during a court trial involving her two former assistants.

    However, there seems to be much more to the story, because according to Lawson’s friends, her ex-husband, Charles Saatchi , is behind the failed flight and he’s trying to seek revenge for having his name trashed for allegedly choking the TV personality.

    “Her friends are absolutely convinced there was something more to this,” said one of Lawson’s friends in an interview with the British newspaper Sunday People. “The view is that someone, perhaps her ex-husband, had tipped of the U.S. authorities.”

    And these accusations don’t only come from Lawson’s pals, she herself said that she fears Saatchi, and has a feeling that he’s in payback mode and wants to destroy her. She also still feels trapped by him, say her friends, despite the couple divorcing back in 2013.

    “Nigella has said several times that she believes Saatchi is out to ruin her,” said a Sunday People source. “Clearly, she puts nothing past him. This is a dreadful situation. She feels she will never get away from him.”

    Last month, the brunette beauty opened up about her tough 2013, and she tearfully admitted that the tabloid stories have hurt her, but they’ve also made her stronger.

    She also said that she’s way more empathetic to other celebrities who have faced similar situations, however, she never felt that way until last year. “I’m not an innocent, I understand how it works,” said Lawson in an interview on British television.

    “I just don’t involve myself. I don’t speak and don’t comment. I could say things and be indiscreet but I don’t want to…..the real truth is if you don’t read things and don’t get too involved it doesn’t enter your bloodstream. If it doesn’t enter your bloodstream you are not contaminated.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Nigella Lawson Stopped From Boarding a Plane to the U.S.

    Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, who has admitted past drug use, was denied permission to board a flight to the United States on Sunday, the U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Lynne Platt said Thursday.

    The embassy did not disclose the reason Lawson was not allowed entry into the United States.

    According to Platt, Lawson was stopped from traveling on the Los Angeles- bound flight on Sunday, and that she was subsequently invited to the U.S. Embassy to apply for a visa.

    “Applicants for admission bear the burden of proof to establish that they are clearly eligible to enter the United States,” Platt said in a statement.

    “In order to demonstrate that they are admissible, the applicant must overcome all grounds of inadmissibility,” the statement said.

    The day before, Nigella posted a tweet noting she was planning on traveling to the U.S. for vacation.

     

    British citizens are required to have a visa to work in the U.S., but not to go on vacation.

    In December, Lawson testified at the fraud trial of two former aides. She told the court then that she had used cocaine a handful of times, and denied claims by the defendants that she was a regular drug user. Police later said they would not investigate Lawson.

    Lawson, 54, worked in the U.S., where she judged contestants on the ABC prime time cooking show The Taste alongside Anthony Bourdain, 57, for two seasons. Bourdain, who is Manhattan-based, took to Twitter on Thursday morning to rant about Lawson being denied entry to the U.S.

     

    “There are several ways of legally traveling into the United States, and Ms. Lawson has been invited to come to the Embassy and apply for a visa for travel to the U.S.,” Platt reportedly said Thursday.

    “We understand she has professional requirements for U.S. travel and these matters are generally handled routinely and expeditiously, so stand by,” the spokeswoman said.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Nigella Lawson Goes Makeup Free For Vogue. And Stuns

    The past year or so has been pretty tumultuous for celebrity chef and food expert Nigella Lawson, as she’s been in and out of the press for a couple of different reasons.

    First, there were photos released last year of Lawson and her now ex-husband Charles Saatchi having a very nasty spat inside of a restaurant. Based on the photos, Saatchi was choking Lawson during the argument, and once everything was released to the public, the former couple had a lot of explaining to do, especially Saatchi.

    And if that wasn’t enough, Lawson had to talk about some very embarrassing accusations concerning her drug-taking-history, after a couple of former assistants revealed in court that she used cocaine and marijuana in the past, and used it extensively.

    But this time Lawson being in the press and going viral are for far less scandalous reasons, as she’s on the cover of April’s issue of Vogue magazine, and she took the photo with absolutely no makeup on, and felt very uncomfortable doing it, she said.

    “I was terrified of being photographed without makeup,” said Lawson. “And I hate having my looks talked up. It always makes me feel I’m going to be a disappointment in the flesh.”

    And although she obviously still has a passion for food and loves being a celebrity chef, Lawson says she’s pursuing other things, because up until now, she hasn’t had the time or the intense desire to make her other interests profitable.

    “I love what I do, but there are other parts of my brain that I haven’t flexed in a professional way,” she said. “I do sometimes think that I’ve let the more analytical part of my brain slump slightly. I do like writing about food, but there’s so much that interests me….I’ve been working–in a cottage-industry way–on an app, which if it works could be deeply thrilling.”

    Image via Twitter

  • Nigella Lawson Speaks About Her Trial and Drug Use

    Nigella Lawson, TV personality and food expert extraordinaire, finally spoke about her past drug use and the court trial involving her two former assistants. She spoke to Amy Robach of “Good Morning America.”

    Although Lawson admitted to going through a tough time in the past year, she’s putting everything into perspective, she said.

    “There are people going through an awful lot worse and to dwell on any of it would be self-pity, I don’t like to do that,” she said. “I’ve eaten a lot of chocolate, had a very good Christmas and I’m into the New Year.” The 53-year old English native said her main priority through the trial and the many accusations she faced were to protect her little ones.

    “My only desire really was to protect my children as much as possible which I wasn’t always alas, you know, I couldn’t do,” she admitted. “To have not only your private life, but distortions of your private life put on display is mortifying.”

    Last month, her former employees Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo, were sued by Lawson’s ex-husband and art collector Charles Saatchi for using the couple’s credit cards for expensive shopping trips. The two sisters faced a $1.02 million fraud suit, but were ultimately acquitted. However, during the trial Lawson had to admit to using cocaine and smoking pot in front of her children, as she was one of the witnesses in the trial.

    “I did [feel like I was on trial] but it’s one of the niceties of the English legal system that you’re not allowed any counsel if you’re a witness,” she said. “But maybe it will change. Maybe that’s good.”

    Also during the trial “The Taste” host spoke about the choking incident that took place in June of 2013, when her husband grabbed her throat inside of a restaurant. Plus, she admitted to using cocaine three years ago after another fight with Saatchi to escape for a bit. “I felt subjected to acts of intimate terrorism,” she said. “A friend of mine offered me some cocaine and I took it [but] it completely spooked me.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Nigella Lawson Faces Cocaine Investigation

    Just days after Nigella Lawson’s two assistants were cleared of their fraud charges, British police have said they will be investigating the chef for cocaine use. The Metropolitan Police plan to check out “all the evidence emerging as part of a review into this matter and in conjunction with the Crown Prosecution Service, will determine an appropriate way forward.” They have no plans to prosecute Lawson at this time.

    Nigella Lawson admitted to occasional cocaine use during the trial of her former assistants, Francesca Grillo and Elisabetta Grillo. She did speak out against accusations on behalf of the assistants, claiming she was a habitual drug user, however.

    Meanwhile, life seems to go on for the famous chef. Her Twitter posts are void of any negative or defensive comments, but rather filled with a wealth of decadent holiday dishes instead.

    Following the trial of Nigella Lawson’s assistants, she issued a statement to the media.

    “My experience as a witness was deeply disturbing. When false claims about habitual drug use were introduced I did everything possible to ensure the (Crown Prosecution Service) was aware of the sustained background campaign deliberately designed to destroy my reputation,” she wrote.

    It will be interesting to learn exactly what–if anything–the police turn up in this cocaine investigation. Do you think it will serve to only smear Nigella Lawson’s name even more, or might it turn up a few things about the renown chef she’s trying hard to hide?

    Image via Wikimedia