Most people are thrilled to be able to put 2020 in the rearview mirror, yet moving on from the awful year that was can be easier said than done.
That’s the case for Padma Lakshmi, who took to Instagram on Saturday to share an emotional video admitting she’s having a tough time at the start of 2021.
“Feeling pretty raw and stripped of all energy, both emotional and physical. I always feel like this in the New Year, and this year feels especially bleak. Who can relate?” she wrote in the caption.
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“I’m also thinking of all my friends whose restaurants have closed down, whose employees are out of work and don’t know how they’re going to pay rent. Where’s their relief?” added the “Top Chef” host. “So many beloved restaurants have closed forever. The recent stimulus package didn’t include The Restaurants Act that friends like @tomcolicchio fought so hard for.”
She concluded by sharing her hop for the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff races which could wrest control of the U.S. Senate from the Republicans.
“If we turn Georgia blue on Tuesday there’s a chance to pass it and bail out the industry which has been devastated by COVID,” she wrote.
“I don’t know how you guys are feeling, but I wouldn’t say I’m happy, though I am feeling gratitude … for a lot of things this year, even though it’s been a difficult year,” she shared in the video.
“I feel blah. I feel empty. I know you’re supposed to have this renewed energy at the new year, and it’s turning a new page and everything, but I look outside and there’s still a pandemic, there’s still people who actually aren’t wearing masks on the street, believe it or not. And I just hope for all of that this ends soon,” Lakshmi continued.
“I know this is not a very uplifting video but I just thought I’d share some realness with you guys on the morning after New Year’s Day,” she added. “Hope you’re well.”
