Politics

Alina Habba Claps Back After Viral Food Prep Fail (& Butchers More Produce In The Process)

Alina Habba outside courthouse pointing right Pool/Getty Images
By Shana Aborn/

Donald Trump's attorney Alina Habba isn't involved in his ongoing hush money trial — it's out of her legal wheelhouse — so she has time to help out her friends and gain some new fame in the process. On April 22, Habba visited her good friend Siggy Flicker of "RHONJ," where she helped make Passover dinner. "Now you know we are going to HABBA NICE PASSOVER!" Flicker punned on Instagram. Flicker showed pictures and video of Habba helping prepare brisket with vegetables. One clip in particular caught the eye of frequent Trump critic Ron Filipkowski: Habba cutting celery with a knife too dull for a clean chop. Her fingers were also perilously close to the blade, and her cutting board was halfway off the narrow countertop, where it slid as she worked. "Alina Habba gives a masterclass in how to saw celery," Filipkowski quipped on X (formerly Twitter).

The post has gotten nearly 1 million views as of this writing, along with shrieks from followers who were both amused with her technique and terrified for her safety. "The mom in me is screaming, 'DANGER!!' There's an entire island behind her, why the f*** does she have to do this??" wrote popular podcaster JoJoFromJerz. Mollie Katzen, author of the famed "Moosewood Cookbook" series, added: "Those splayed fingers, presenting themselves for slicing. #justdont." Other commenters poked fun at her daytime job. "I'd say she should stick to lawyering, but I've seen her lawyering," said one. 

Habba herself responded with a jab of her own that has also become viral.

Alina Habba could use some kitchen lessons

Alina Habba pink suit James Devaney/Getty Images

Ever the prosecutor, Alina Habba fired back at Meidas Touch founder Ron Filipkowski with a video on X showing her (lack of) technique at produce-cutting. "Hey, guys, I've never done a video like this, so I thought I would try because Ron Filipkowski's getting, like a million views from me chopping celery," she said. Habba showed an avocado she'd sliced rather clumsily — at one point, it rolled off the cutting board — then ate a piece and jeered, "Hey Ron, you little 'trollski,' look. I'm not good at this either. ... Get a life!" Maybe she had the right idea — the post has gotten more than 760,000 views and 3,000 comments as of this writing. 

But Filipkowski is a former federal prosecutor himself, so he couldn't pass up the opportunity to repost the zinger. It, too, is getting a huge response, including a pun about Habba being a "sue chef" (ha!) and one about her being a "celery lawyer." "General Hospital" star Nancy Lee Grahn also offered up a cutting comment: "I see the Habba hack is now doing cooking videos for attention. It must be so exhausting." But Habba's supporters also chimed in to cheer her on, including Siggy Flicker herself. She replied by sharing another clip of her friend searing a piece of brisket in a cast-iron skillet to add some flavorful char before slow-cooking. "My family loved it. Happy Passover!" she wrote. "Make video go viral." 

Well, if Habba and Donald Trump ever part ways, maybe Bobby Flay could take her on as his own "sue chef"?

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