‘Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi Speaks Out After the Brutal Attack of a Family Friend: ‘Every Parent’s Worst Nightmare’
Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi tweeted recently to plead for support for a family friend who in March endured a savage attack.
Hereβs what Lakshmi is asking of her followers on social media.

Lakshmiβs friend was attacked in March
Lakshmi posted on social media recently about a family friend, Nafiah Ikram, who was attacked with acid thrown in her face by a male assailant. The incident occurred in mid-March directly outside of Ikramβs home.
βI am lucky to be alive,β the 21-year-old Hofstra University student told The New York Times this week. βI think that the whole βmaking sense of itβ will come when hopefully the person that did this or the people that were behind this get caught. But right now, I am trying to just be O.K.β
Ikramβs father is employed by Lakshmi as a driver.
The young womanβs mother, who is a nurse practitioner, immediately rinsed her daughterβs face. Still, Ikram suffers from severe burns to her face and eyes.
The βTop Chefβ host drew attention to Ikramβs condition
Lakshmi this week relayed to her followers her outrage over the attack on Ikram.
βThe acid splashed onto Nafiahβs eyes, face, chest and arms,β Lakshmi wrote. βHer contacts melted into her eyes & weβre not sure if sheβll ever regain her vision. Her parents tried to help her and it got on them as well.β
The model and television host explained in a video that accompanied her post that because the student cried out when the attack occurred, she swallowed some of the acid and this has affected her digestive system.
βThis Pakistani family is such a nice family,β Lakshmi said. βIβve known them for over a decade and this young girl, who is a student at Hofstra, has had her whole life shattered.
βThey donβt even know if sheβll be able to see properly. Sheβs still not able to eat solid food a month after.β
Lakshmi encouraged followers to donate to GoFundMe
The cooking competition host included information for a GoFundMe account created to help pay for Ikramβs growing medical bills. The family set up the account with a goal of $1.
βWe are setting this goal because we cannot bring ourselves to put the true amount of her expenses, as it feels too much to ask of our community who has already done so much,β they wrote. βThis way people can donate as much as they feel comfortable with, with no expectations.β
Lakshmi emphasized, βThis is every parentβs worst nightmare. Nafiahβs medical costs will be astronomical. HerΒ @gofundmeΒ is in my bio if you have anything to spare.β
The Taste the Nation host hasnβt been shy about bringing to her followersβ attention those causes and movements that she feels need collective support.
Recently, in the spate of attacks against Asian Americans around the country, she stated on social media: βHate crimes targeting Asian Americans have spiked over 150% in US cities. Elderly Asian Americans are being attacked and killed in the street. It needs to end.β