Apparently, some of the lessons learned in prison by daytime talk show diva Martha Stewart (@marthastewart) are serving her well on the outside. While recidivism is not a concern, her recent behavior compels us to question whether she’s been rehabilitated.

Before I begin, let’s start with the jailhouse lessons. It has become common knowledge that when you are a high profile inmate, the key to survival is to join a large coalition or to become a coalition-of-one. The best way to achieve the latter is to sucker punch a gang leader or bitch slap a prison guard. Either way, you’ll likely end up in solitary confinement, which, all else being equal, is a cozy and safe way to pay your debt to society. Martha Stewart has done her time but I can’t help but notice a recent blurring of the lines between daytime cooking and cell-block living.

In the Nov. 19 interview with Cynthia McFadden on ABC’s Nightline, Martha Stewart blasted fellow daytime talk show host Rachael Ray (@rachaelrayshow) for a lack of professionalism in the kitchen.  She described Ray’s recent cookbook as “a re-edit of a lot of her old recipes” and suggested it doesn’t “fill a need in someone’s library.”  The Domestic Diva later went on to distinguish her credentials (culinary, not street) from those of Ms. Ray.  She described Ray as a “bubbly entertainer” as opposed to a teacher, like her.  In response, Ray spoke with an ABC News correspondent a few days later and offered a gracious reply.  She admitted “Her skill set is far beyond mine,” then added “That’s simply the reality of it. That doesn’t mean what I do isn’t important, too… I don’t consider it needling.  I really just think she’s being honest.” Martha Stewart, with subordinate Emeril Lagasse at her side, later issued an apology to Rachael saying “there are no bad feelings between us.”  Despite the apology, the damage has been done.

As they say on Law & Order, you can’t unring a bell.  The only question left to answer is why Martha Stewart threw a first punch.  Rachael & Martha are the two biggest names in daytime talk shows and they are the only celebrity chefs to host traditional talk shows.  Each recently appeared on an episode of the other’s show, however they compete for viewers and advertisers and they are carried on rival networks.  Rachael Ray is aligned with ABC/Disney and her show is syndicated by Oprah’s King World Productions.  Martha’s show is produced by reality mogul Mark Burnett and can be seen on NBC nationally. November is the start of the holiday cooking season so it makes sense that they would partner to broaden the collective audience for daytime talk shows that emphasize cooking and domesticity.  At the heart of Martha’s attack, however, might be uncertainty about her longevity at NBC.  The current sale of the network, possibly to Comcast, and the threat of new bosses may be what caused the ex-con to resort to jailhouse tactics to insure her survival.

Let’s not forget, Martha’s relationship with NBC is not one that is forged in loyalty.  It is not that long ago that the network pulled the plug on her “Apprentice” spin-off.  The people behind the peacock further alienated themselves from Martha when they allowed Donald Trump to repeatedly and publicly throw her under the bus as the reason for the show’s failure.  They could afford to because Martha didn’t really have that many options.  After all, she has a record.  To protect herself from similar such attacks, Martha Stewart acquired the media assets of Emeril Lagasse in 2008.  The deal was expected to improve her celebrity profile; up until then, her most widely known celebrity partner was daughter Alexis Stewart.  Overall, the deal was well received; broadening her programming portfolio made the Martha Stewart coalition more appetizing to advertisers.  It seems perhaps, her plans at coalition-building have a limited shelf-life.  It should be painfully clear why she resorted to bitch-slapping an authority figure to improve her relevance and insure her survival.

Martha is no stranger to hip hop and her efforts to reach Rachael Ray’s younger audience seem to focus on relationships with P. Diddy, Nelly and friends.  Perhaps her combination of street cred, tough-as-nails attitude and “who me?” deniability will be enough to sell cookbooks this Christmas season.  She is, after all, a proven commodity and Martha Stewart has gotten further in this industry than most (where is B. Smith now?).  For as long as there is a need for culinary inspiration and training, there will be a need for what Martha has to offer.  People, especially millennials, still need help in the kitchen.  While we don’t endorse her tactics, we wish Martha Stewart well nevertheless.

Below, Joy Behar and her panel of guests on her talk show, The Joy Behar Show, discuss the war of words initiated by Stewart.

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