Where is Bad Vegan’s Sarma Melngailis now?
In 2017, Melngailis pleaded guilty to theft and fraud charges and spent four months behind bars, The New York Timesreported. In May 2018, Melngailis filed for divorce from Strangis after she was released from prison. She confessed that she had an affair with her attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, only finding out that he was married and had a family when The New York Postreported on it. Her good vegan recipes live on: From March 25 through March 27, 2022, former Pure Food and Wine chefs Nikki Bennett and Missy Maidana are offering a pre fixe menu from the shuttered eatery through PostMates.
Where does Sarma Melngailis live?
According to The New York Post, Melngailis currently resides in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood with her rescue dog, Leon. As far as we know, Leon isn’t currently immortal, despite Strangis’ promises to Melngailis. Melngailis told Netflix’s Tudum, “Having Leon around me is extremely grounding. If I’m worried or upset, I sometimes hold his face and look in his eyes and tell him that everything’s going to be okay, which makes me feel better. In effect, I’m reassuring myself. Some dogs get anxious when their guardian leaves the house, but for us, it’s the other way around. Leon is fine; I’m the one who gets anxious being away from him.” The adorable pit bull recently celebrated his 12th birthday. Melgailis is still sensitive about the potential immortality of her beloved pet. She called out Netflix for a viral ad mocking the idea, which you can see below. She wrote on Instagram, “I’m sick. On behalf of dogs and the humans who love them. And on behalf of anyone psychologically abused. Please see my Twitter to hear the audio on this clip, for which the word disturbing is far too mild. The audio is… making a joke out of me. This is how @netflix markets #badvegan? By mocking me, and worse… by luring people to click via… pet immortality? How is this ok?? @netflix you made this. I wish I could ask all those who signed off on this to explain it to me so I understand. Was there a room full people laughing while the audio was scripted? And everyone was just cool with this?”
What is Bad Vegan doing now?
Melngailis is currently focused on telling her story, but she’d love to open a restaurant again someday. She told The New York Postin 2019, “If there was some magical opportunity to open the same restaurant in the same place, I would do it in a heartbeat. I think New York would take me back.”
Did Sarma get paid for Bad Vegan?
Melngailis did, in fact, get paid for Bad Vegan, but she pointed out on her website that it was for a specific reason—and that the reason wasn’t personal profit. “It’s standard practice—to say nothing of journalistic integrity—that subjects do not get paid for participation in documentaries, at least not the reputable ones,” she wrote on her website after Bad Vegan was released. “In my case, however, and at my insistence, the producers made an exception so that I could pay the total amount my former employees were owed—amounts that accrued after my disappearance in 2015. Of all the harm and the many debts resulting from my downfall, this portion weighed heaviest.” She added more context about her deal with the streaming giant and how it impacted her former employees. “In exchange for the source materials and images I contributed to the documentary, the producers paid an attorney on my behalf who then, on the same day (which happened to be the day NYC restaurants were first shut down due to the pandemic in 2020) wired full payment directly to the attorney representing the employees,” she wrote on her website, adding that she declared the income on her taxes despite not receiving it directly. “Beyond getting former employees repaid, I did not otherwise profit from Bad Vegan. Netflix and/or the producers can confirm this,” she insisted. “Anyone who’s been the subject of a reputable documentary or who works in the industry could also confirm the standard practice of not paying subjects.” “I was relieved once this payment went through, but that was just a small part of what remains outstanding,” she concluded. “I want to be clear that I’ll keep working towards addressing it all—one way or another—eventually.” Next, find out where fellow disgraced blond scammer Elizabeth Holmes is now.
