Some things never change I don't watch this show ongoing but I catch a few seasons on Netflix now and again. I just watched Season 12 after having missed a few seasons and whilst the show has good elements, I was disappointed about the bad.
In this season there was a lot of bullying, intimidation and open fighting, but grown people who should be adults and not children. Maybe that's okay in the USA, but it was dreadful behaviour. A lot of what goes on in that show would have people fired in my country. We have actual laws to combat that type of work environment and is this what the USA is all about? I was very disappointed that bullies went unchecked; that's a legal issue.
The other aspect of the program which I see has not, sadly, changed is Padma's ongoing inclination to make sexually laced comments and flirt and attempt to be sensual around men. I'm not a prude, but there is more allure in being a Lady, then a tramp. There were a couple of "jokes" that clearly made men uncomfortable. I.e. Talking about how good looking one was, he looked shocked so made a "joke" about him being gay. With other men, she leans down into them, curving her body sensually. Maybe they are married, or have girlfriends, and she is completely disrespecting their lives and their professionalism by acting like a trollop. When the football player came on as a guest judge, she practically jumped him - it was disgusting. She may have been taught how to walk like a full human, but she's still down on all fours like a lower hominid with her behaviour. She still didn't figure it out when she wore the long yellow dress with cut outs all of it? Every time the camera man swung her way, the camera was swerved up or away. OMFG woman, she's such a you-know-what.
The women who are contestants on Top Chef are in an industry dominated by men and they face job discrimination, lack of opportunities, and every day they go into battle to be equal to their male peers. So there they are on the show, working their butts off to compete as an equal, with Padma behaving like a woman who has to use her sensuality, sexuality and body to get ahead. Her behaving in that manner is really disrespectful to the woman on the show, and all women who work hard in male dominated industries. She's 53 years old, time to grow up!
She's warm and smiley with the men, but a lot of her interactions with women are cold and forced. She has found fault where there was none, with other judges disagreeing with her about a woman's dish. When they disagree her face turns to stone. She's not a nice person and brings nothing to the show. She is one of the reasons women continue to have to work harder, because she sends the message that women are only good for sex.