Names and faces

• A celebrity branding company on Wednesday sued Ayesha Curry, the food and lifestyle personality and wife of NBA star Stephen Curry, seeking damages for breach of contract. Ayesha Curry, a 31-year-old native of Canada, was an actress who began offering cooking demonstrations on YouTube in 2014. Flutie Entertainment said in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court that the five years it spent with Ayesha Curry brought “significant and unprecedented results,” including helping Curry land a Food Network show, a hosting role on ABC’s Great American Baking Show, as well as a best-selling cookbook and the start of successful food-based businesses. The Florida company, founded by Robert Flutie, says it was “clearly and undeniably instrumental in helping her achieve success.” However, it said that in the 11 months since terminating her relationship with the company, Curry has denied the company its share of proceeds from the businesses, deliberately slowed down new enterprises, took away a top employee and “essentially gutted and devalued Flutie Entertainment’s interests.” The suit also names as defendants six Curry-affiliated companies and a former Flutie employee who handled Curry’s business for the company but now works directly with Curry. Curry’s attorney, Michael Plonsker, called the claims baseless, saying Curry “terminated her business relationship with disgruntled manager Robert Flutie in early 2019.”

• Rachael Ray had big plans for the quarantine break at her home in upstate New York. She envisioned “a Renaissance time,” rereading the classics, resuming her Danish lessons and studying Italian. “I was going to get more serious about my painting. I had all these lofty goals … and none of that’s happening,” the popular daytime talk show host said in a phone interview. But, Ray now says she has never worked so hard as she tapes #STAYHOME With Rachael two days a week from her home. Her husband, John Cusimano, is now the cameraman, producer, cocktail maker and musical guest. Their beloved pit bull Isaboo accounts for the entire studio audience, Ray jokes. She wears sweats and no makeup, cooking low-budget meals based around pantry staples like chickpeas and pasta, offering a refreshing peek into her kitchen and a comforting smile. “This is a weird time. I can’t say there’s a silver lining … but there are found moments every day,” she said. She recently announced her organizations will donate $4 million to several charities including food banks and relief funds for laid-off restaurant workers and animal rescue, saying she wanted to “help people more than just, ‘hey, here’s three things you can do with canned tuna.’”

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