Anti-Ray Charity Claims NOT Persusasive

One of the Rachael Ray haters who responded to my post the other day had an interesting justification for his/her negative attitude toward Ray. The individual expressed disgust at Rachael's alleged exploitation of the Susan G. Komen charitable foundation. The charity is dedicated to ending cancer and, by all accounts, is an absolutely wonderful organization.

Where does Ray enter the picture? Well, the post wasn't too clear on that, so I did a little additional research. Apparently, Rachael Ray was selling t-shirts emblazoned with "Yummo". The site (apparently Ray's) at which the shirts were offered indicated that a percentage of all sales wold go to the Susan G. Komen charity.

So, where's the exploitation there? I suppose you could argue that anyone who attempts to boost sales through the mention of a charitable contribution is walking on thin ice. However, I think most of us don't have a problem with vendors telling us that our purchases will help support a good cause. Besides, the "exploitation" to which the poster referred was actually of a more potentially sinister nature.

There is a rumor circulating that Rachael Ray was lying about the shirts and making donations. I know, it seems silly (what a potential PR disaster), but there are people out there who believe this. They argue that Ray traded on the good Komen name and never gave the charity one red cent.

The evidence? Not much. A few posts on message boards from someone who dislikes Rachael Ray. This individual(s) claim(s) to have contacted the Komen organization through emails and telephone calls. According to those reports, the people who responded to the ace detective work didn't know anything about the shirts (other products may have been involved, but the few commentaries I could find on the topic usually mentioned shirts) or receiving any money from their sale.

Here's an excerpt from one accusation:

"Oh and the clincher?? She said that proceeds of some of her sales go to the Susan G. Komen foundation. Well, why don't a few of you call the foundation and find out how much they're getting? Surprise!!! Not a flippin dime, she's pocketing that money and hopefully the foundation will make some noise about that."

So, Rachael Ray is a liar, right? I suppose it's possible, but the odds against it are huge. Consider a few alternative explanations...

The person making the arguments about the Komen donation is a true RR hater and made the comments just to drum up distaste for her. Not saying that's the case, but it seems possible.

The person who did the detective work failed to discuss the matter with the right person at the Komen charity. They may have discussed the issue with people who were not well-positioned to provide information and/or who felt they had more important things to do than to respond to a random Rachael Ray hater about a few t-shirts.

The person who investigated the matter failed to ask the right questions. "Are you getting donations when Rachael Ray sells t-shirts?" might not elicit the right response. Consider the different possibilities in terms of structuring/providing the donation.

The donation could have been made after all sales ecomplete. Perhaps Ray's people hadn't given Komen any money, but planned to/did after logging a certain number of sales.

Donation made under different identification. Perhaps donations were being made under a subsidiary name, the name of a production company, a non-Ray titled company name, or in some other fashion that didn't show up under "Ray" and wasn't known by the people with whom the "ace detective" discussed the matter.

Donation made at different level. Perhaps every sales helps the Komen foundation because the wholesaler of the t-shirts or the supplier of the blank shirts is guaranteeing a donation based on order volume. I don't know if Rachael said she was personally making the donation or not and some arrangement on a different level could explain the matter.

Okay, I know the suxters won't be happy with all of this. They will probably continue to make comments about Ray's exploitation of a great charity without any hard evidence.

But really... Why would RR lie about a modest donation based on the sale of some t-shirts? The risk of a real scandal that might emerge would clearly swamp any potential monetary gain from selling a few more shirts. The people at Komen would undoubtedly be on the warpath if a big celeb like Rachael was cheating them. Also, there is NO SOLID EVIDENCE supporting the argument--merely a few remarks from zealous Ray-haters.

I see no reason to believe that Rachael Ray exploited the charity.