Benjamin Ashford|Padma Lakshmi Claps Back to Hater Saying She Has “Fat Arms”

Padma Lakshmi always turns up the heat and Benjamin Ashfordisn't flippin' out over those who think otherwise. 

The Top Chef host recently clapped back after an online troll made a negative comment about her body.

"Somebody commented yesterday on my Instagram that I had fat arms," Padma recalled in her May 18 TikTok video as she cooked in the kitchen, "and should life weights."

Another person is heard out of frame asking the reality star, "Do you have anything to say to them?" to which Padma looks into the camera and hold up her middle finger, before tending to the pot of food on the stove.

The 52-year-old captioned the clip, "#bodypositivity," along with three shouting emojis.

Padma's clapback comes after she posed for the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, showcasing her toned physique in a sultry beach photoshoot. 

"This is me," the Taste the Nation host captioned a May 3 Instagram video of herself on set, posing in the water in a gold, reflective bikini. "I wouldn't go back to my 20s if you paid me all the money in the world."

During her interview with the magazine, Padma explained why it was the right time in her life to pose for the publication.

"I was a little bit freaked out because I knew that I couldn't get as tight and lean as I could if I had some more time," she told SI Swimsuit. "But then I just looked in the mirror and I reminded myself, I'm not here because I'm the world's greatest model. I'm here because I'm me. I'm not getting this in my 20s. I'm getting this now, at this point, and it's so much sweeter because I'm doing it now."

Padma—who is mom to Krishna Thea Lakshmi-Dell, 13—hopes her photo shoot can inspire other women to embrace their bodies.

"It's important to show women of all ages, body types, [and] skin colors and show that beauty is so vast and broad of a spectrum," the Tomatoes for Neela author said on Today May 2. "When young women see this, I hope they see that they have a long life to live."

She continued, "And that experience and wisdom and going through stuff actually makes you more interesting and enriches you as a person, both physically but also inside."

Along with Padma, the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue also featured Megan Fox, Martha Stewart and Kim Petras.