Top Chef judge Padma Lakshmi is using Independence Day to combine two of her passions to send a message to her followers on Instagram about immigration and the camps set up on the border.
The Daily Mail says that Lakshmi made an “American pie” to send a message about immigration and the way children are being kept at the border. She explained that while her followers are celebrating with fireworks and barbecues, people are being detained in camps with horrific conditions.
Lakshmi created a red, white, and blueberry crumble that reads “Close the Camps” in pastry to resemble an American flag on her Instagram page.
“While we celebrate the Fourth, there are refugee families legally seeking asylum in this country being detained and forced to sleep on concrete floors with aluminum blankets and no medical care. This is a stain on our nation and we need to do something now. Contact your representatives tomorrow to demand they #CloseTheCamps #4thofjuly#AmericanPie#independenceday#thisisamerica#resist.”
The initial photo was the raw dessert, and then Padma shared a picture of the cooked berry deliciousness bubbling, and asked her daughter, Krishna, what she thinks of her holiday creation.
“Doesn’t that look good? Doesn’t that look good Krish?” she asked.
#Repost @GlobalFundWomen From @padmalakshmi – While we celebrate the Fourth, there are refugee families legally seeking asylum in this country being detained and forced to sleep on concrete floors with aluminum blankets and no medical care… https://t.co/HcAqETSRBE pic.twitter.com/PMrYMEUnll
— Inner Voice Artists (@Team_IVA) July 4, 2019
The Top Chef host and judge explained to her daughter that “The immigration camps where they’re keeping the kids detained.”
This is not the first time that Lakshmi has spoken out about our immigration crisis, saying that it’s unacceptable on American soil. She explains that being denied fresh water, a toothbrush, and a bed is something that needs to be addressed.
She explains that as an immigrant herself, she is proud to now be an American citizen, but she’s not proud of the way that the border crisis is being handled. Lakshmi was born in India.
Lakshmi recently tweeted to her followers that they should imagine how it would be if they were detained on the border.
“Imagine being held in a facility against your will, forced to sleep on concrete w/ an aluminum blanket,” she recently tweeted. “You haven’t bathed your infant for three weeks. Guards laugh at you, call you a w***e, and tell you to drink out of the toilet.”
In addition to speaking out about the immigration crisis, Padma Lakshmi has also been outspoken about the #MeToo movement, and on a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, she talked about being disappointed in Mario Batali and his behavior in reference to his own assault charges, The Inquisitr reported.