Last week, Martha Stewart let ‘er rip on what she really thinks of Rachel Ray. It was not pretty, but it classic Martha. Martha told Nightline that Rachel is “more of an entertainer… than a teacher” and that Rachel’s barely refigured recipes that Rachel is reselling in a new cookbook aren’t, in Martha’s words, “good enough for me.” For her part, Rachel seemed to take the criticism in stride immediately, even telling media outlets that Dame Martha was simply being honest, and that Rachel herself would prefer food prepared by Martha to her own crap.

But it looks like Martha felt bad about the incident. So she backtracked a little on her Monday show, saying that there were “no bad feelings” between the two women. Martha even called Rachel “enthusiastic” which I gather is one of the highest compliments Martha can give someone.

In Martha Stewart’s world, Rachael Ray is a good thing.

On her Martha Stewart Show Monday, the lifestyle mogul, 68, cleared the air about “some comments that are circulating on the Internet regarding me and Rachael Ray.”

In a recent interview on ABC’s Nightline, Stewart said that Ray is “more of an entertainer” than a teacher, and suggested that Ray’s skills at baking and writing cookbooks are inferior to hers. “”She — just did a new cookbook which is just a re-edit of a lot of her old recipes,” she said in the interview. “That’s not good enough for me.”

But during Monday’s cooking segment with Emeril Lagasse, Stewart says apologetically, “just for the record there are no bad feelings between us nor have there ever been.”
She adds: “I truly believe that Rachael has done a terrific job bringing people, many people who would of never of even stepped into the kitchen or made a dish to cook. I applaud Rachel for her enthusiastic approach to cooking.”

Ever the diplomatic hostess — and guest — Stewart notes how much she enjoyed appearing on Ray’s show, and vice versa. “It was a lot of fun to have her on this show making pie with me.” (On Nightline, Stewart pointed out that Ray confessed that she “couldn’t bake.”)

After imploring Ray to “come on back” to her show anytime, Stewart giggles and signs off with one of Ray’s trademark phrases: “I hope you have a Yum-o Thanksgiving.”

Last week, Ray said she didn’t mind Stewart’s slights. “I really just think she’s being honest. She does have a better skill set than I do when it comes to producing a beautiful, perfect, high-quality meal . . . I’d rather eat Martha’s than mine, too.”

[From Us Weekly]

Is it okay if I hate Martha a little bit for backtracking? I mean, what she said in the first place wasn’t even that harsh! She should have stuck by it. She should have doubled down with a comment like “Yeah, I meant every word and then some, Rachel can suck my homemade Connecticut jam.” Is Martha going soft? Is Rachel Ray powerful enough to take down Martha? NOOO!!!

Just so you know, I hear the theme from The Omen when I look at Rachel Ray.

The Daytime Emmy Awards were held last night, and Ellen DeGeneres is no longer the Hollywood elite’s darling. Ellen lost to Rachel Ray for best “entertainment” talk show, and the ladies of The View won for best hostesses, ending Ellen’s four-year reign as undisputed champion. The ladies of The View missed out on their winning moment though – none of them showed up for the show. I guess they assumed they would lose, and although I could say something nasty about why they should have lost, all I can think about is how much it would suck to actually win something and you haven’t even shown up. Meanwhile, other winners included: Tyra Banks (for “informative” talk show), The Bold and The Beautiful (best drama), Christian LeBlanc (for his lead role in The Young and the Restless) and Susan Haskell (for her lead role in One Life To Live). Here’s more from Rachel Ray’s win:

Rachel Ray has taken the crown traditionally worn by Ellen DeGeneres: the TV chef won the Emmy for best talk show, an honor that for the three previous years has gone to DeGeneres.

“I’m just thankful to have a job in the recession and be working,” Ray said after her win at Sunday’s 36th annual Daytime Emmy Awards, held at downtown Los Angeles’s historic Orpheum Theater and aired on the CW network.

On the red carpet before her victory, Ray told PEOPLE that she lacked an acceptance speech. “You know, I’m so bad at memorization and our show is completely unscripted, so I’m just going to go up,” she said, “and if something nice happens like that then we’ll just go with our gut.”

“I love daytime television,” informative talk-show category winner Tyra Banks said at the podium. “I learned the birds and the bees from watching [General Hospital's] Luke and Laura. I learned my ABCs, 1-2-3 from Sesame Street. This [Emmy] is for the women out there that do not feel beautiful … that do not have time to do their makeup … This is for you guys.”

Backstage, Banks said, “I was a little fearful, honestly, that we wouldn’t necessarily win this year because last year was so huge – ‘Kiss My Fat Ass!’ was heard around the world.”

The View’s Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd were named best talk-show hosts, over such formidable competition as Ray, DeGeneres and Live! stars Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa.

Other winners included Who Wants to be a Millionaire emcee Meredith Vieira, for best game-show host, and the often-overlooked The Bold and the Beautiful, for best daytime drama.

While Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams hosted the show (and stopped it with an opening musical number), the best line of the night came from a familiar, if not very attractive, face. After a lifetime achievement award was presented to Sesame Street, which will soon turn 40, Cookie Monster said: “It’s not only a great honor, but it’s delicious … Wow, that tastes even better than a Latin Grammy.”

[From People]

How in the world is it possible for Rachel Ray to have this kind of fan base? I know I’m not the only one who wants to scream at the sound of her voice. But apparently people love her. Her and Tyra Banks. I just don’t get it. As for Ellen, her show did end up picking up four Emmys, just not in any of the big categories. Ellen had been predicted to sweep – so is this a harbinger for the primetime Emmy Awards, coming on September 20th? I hope so. Even though I love 30 Rock, it would be cool to see some new shows take home big prizes.

Shown at the daytime Emmy Awards are Ellen and Portia, Jennie Garth, Tyra Banks, and Thorsten Kaye with Susan Haskell. Credit: WENN.com. Rachel Ray is shown at a different event on 6/3/09