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.