Celeb with TDS Humiliated: Sadly Posts Photo with Wife in WH East Wing, But Eagle-Eyed Viewers Catch Problem – Then Mockery Explodes on Internet

In the hierarchy of serious titles in the media industry in the 21st century, “celebrity chef” isn’t exactly really high up on the list of categories of people I feel the need to emulate. Granted, there’s a category or two below that — where you’ll find “crypto influencer,” “sourdough microblogger,” “famous fursona,” etc. — but that’s really the one or two tiers that lie beneath them.

With all due respects to the late Julia Child and Anthony Bourdain (both of whom had the good sense to broaden their import beyond just the food or the fame), most of these people are famous for combining culinary ability with personality and self-promotion. That’s it. Take out the gustatorial element, and they’re basically less-attractive Kardashians.

But therein lies the problem: Much like their other reality TV or online influencer brethren, these fine folks feel the need to become ultracrepidarians. For Rachel Ray, whose debilitating caffeine addiction doubtlessly leaves her unable to get beyond the second syllable of the word, that is “one who is presumptuous and offers advice or opinions beyond one’s sphere of knowledge.”

For instance, take Tom Colicchio. Please, Henny Youngman would have begged you. Colicchio is best known as the head judge on the show “Top Chef,” which airs on Bravo. He is the founder of numerous restaurants, most notably the Gramercy Tavern in New York City. He’s been doing the reality TV gig since 2006, so he clearly knows his entertainment. Fine.

Less fine, from 2013: “‘Top Chef’ Tom Colicchio Serves Up Side of Food-Stamp Politics,” in U.S. News and World Report:

Forget “Top Chef,” for Democrats the show’s judge Tom Colicchio is a top lobbyist on issues like food stamps. Colicchio made a repeat trip to Washington this week to urge House members to vote against a Republican plan to slash $40 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 

Though not meeting one-on-one with GOP lawmakers this trip, Colicchio hoped they’d come around. “We’re hopeful that we’ll have some Republicans who will do the right thing.”

Yes, because if there’s one thing haute cuisine has taught Colicchio about, it’s entitlements. He also wants to appear to be very knowledgeable on matters relating to Republican food perfidy, writing this piece for The Nation just before the 2024 election: “Scared of E. Coli? Donald Trump Should Terrify You.”

In case you’ve wondered what the etymology is for “ultracrepidarian,” it actually comes from ancient Roman author Pliny the Elder, who recalled the retort of the Greek painter Apelles to a cobbler who criticized his work: “ne supra crepidam sutor judicare,” or “let the cobbler not judge above the sandal.”

You could say that Colicchio was engaging in food-adjacent activities with his prior political activism — I’d disagree, but you could at least say it — but there was no hint of food when he decided to wade in on the White House East Wing renovation nontroversy.

In case you missed the faux outrage over the new ballroom being appended to the White House, here’s people in actual politics being dumb about it:

It’s not his house.

It’s your house.

And he’s destroying it. pic.twitter.com/YchFF5U1nO

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 21, 2025

Donald Trump doesn’t want you to see this picture.

He’s literally destroying the White House. pic.twitter.com/W63bLLwt82

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 22, 2025

Yes, he’s demolishing the White House! That’s the story on social media, anyway, with Democratic politicos denuding their posts of context for good reason: It made for misleading copy.

Colicchio also joined the East Wing preservation chorus, albeit with a post that showed why Apelles wasn’t just getting salty when he suggested that the “cobbler not judge above the sandal.”

“My wife and I in the East Wing. I can’t believe it is gone,” he said in a post very early Sunday morning, which has gotten 5.1 million views as of Monday morning.

The problem, for him at least? It’s not:

My wife and I in the East Wing. I can’t believe it is gone. pic.twitter.com/3AT16IQ6T5

— Tom Colicchio (@tomcolicchio) October 26, 2025

It didn’t take eagle-eyed viewers long to catch the problem. As X’s community note pointed out: “This is clearly the Diplomatic Reception Room, which can be found in the main White House building, NOT the East Wing.” Well, sure, but aside from that …

Suffice it to say, it was a fun Sunday on X if your surname wasn’t Colicchio

I too recently visited the East Wing. I can’t believe it’s gone. pic.twitter.com/QXkm5aQRzY

— IT Guy (@ITGuy1959) October 26, 2025

My grandparents visited the East Wing too pic.twitter.com/SekuVk1w84

— P Thomas (@Ptwarg) October 26, 2025

I’m so glad Seth and I had a chance to say goodbye to the East Wing before it was destroyed. pic.twitter.com/utYkL65Fjp

— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) October 27, 2025

I got to visit 47 and 48 in the East Wing earlier this year

And now it’s all been reduced to rubble

This is unreal pic.twitter.com/ogHjh1hGC2

— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) October 26, 2025

My wife and I on the east wing. I can’t believe it’s gone. pic.twitter.com/5gRpxwIXTB

— 30 Helens Straw Man Co.™️ (@30_Helens_Redux) October 26, 2025

A shot I took of the East Wing. I can’t believe it’s gone.

🤡🤡🤡 pic.twitter.com/fiPQzA88q0

— Cruadin (@cruadin) October 26, 2025

I’ll always remember the stockyard in the East Wing. So sorry to see it gone. pic.twitter.com/JrMjfEYNg6

— Cascades East🇨🇦🇺🇸 (@RTCdn) October 26, 2025

I can’t believe it’s gone. Photo of The East Wing of the White House when we visited recently. pic.twitter.com/c5BMiz7Tcm

— Boyz Willbeboyz (@BueyOBuey) October 26, 2025

In other words, let the foodmaker not judge above the blueberry cobbler with crème fraîche.

So, was the man lying to draw some eyes, or was he just genuinely ignorant? I’m not even certain those are mutually exclusive of one another, quite frankly. Can’t wait to see what the crypto influencers have to say about the scandal, though. I mean, if we’re going to scrape the bottom of the barrel here, let’s really scrape.

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