Celebrity news sites this week were buzzing about a story that could tug at anyone’s heartstrings- TV chef Ina Garten, of Barefoot Contessa fame, reportedly denied the request of a seriously ill child named Enzo.
Not only did Garten say no to the boy’s wish to meet and cook with her, she did so twice, with the second being a “definite no,” according to the original story. The internet pretty much exploded with rage after a post on the family’s blog that described the heartbreak in detail:
Unfortunately as we were arriving home from the hospital I got word from “Make A Wish” that it is has been officially confirmed that Ina Garten (the “Barefoot Contessa” ) has declined Enzo’s wish to meet her and cook a meal with her. I felt terrible for him, he has been unwavering in his desire to meet her for 3 years and despite many attempts to get him to pick a 2 nd wish or change his mind he would not . Last year Ina gave a “soft no” supposedly because she had a 10 month book tour and they called and asked him what he wanted to do and he said “I will wait” and he did …As I wrote in last month’s update they came to our home again and tried to convince him to change his wish but he did not want to. Even yesterday when I told him the unfortunate news, his reply was simply “why doesn’t she want to meet me”?
Enzo’s mom followed up with a post after TMZ picked up the story, begging people to chill out about the whole thing and reporting that Enzo had already accepted a different wish- to swim with dolphins- but the internet hivemind had veered off into ragetown and there was no coming back.
A plus size to the tale, though, is that the pressure seems to have put Enzo’s wish at the forefront of the busy Ms. Garten’s to-do list. Not only did she change her mind, but in a terse statement from her reps, let those who were angry know she receives about 100 charity-related requests a month. The statement continued:
“She contributes both personally and financially on a regular basis to numerous causes, including to Make-A-Wish Foundation. Sadly, it’s of course not possible to do them all. Throughout her life, Ina has contributed generously to all kinds of important efforts and she will continue to do so.”
Let’s all hope because of the confusion, Enzo gets to do both wishes.
[ LAT ]
