I expected this – Paula Deen covers the new issue of People Magazine. The headline is “Inside Her Fall: Paula Deen Under Fire” and the online article is called “Inside Her Career Meltdown”. You can read the online story here – most of it is recapping the situation thus far, with Paula getting fired from the Food Network and Smithfield, and talking about Paula’s (awful) crisis management thus far. Apparently, Paula was trying to go radio-silent with the controversy because she is “beyond devastated…She isn’t upset about the loss of money. She’s really upset about her reputation. She has been speaking to her friends to make sure they’re okay. She would die if she lost people who she really loves over this.” The whole thing is being blamed – sort of? – on Paula’s “inappropriate sense of humor” but sources say “Paula is trying to figure out what is next for herself.”
Apparently, what’s next is actually engaging in the larger conversation about race and what she did wrong. Paula appeared on the Today Show this morning (more on that in a moment) for her first interview since her deposition was made public and many people turned against her. Paula canceled her Today Show appearance last Friday at the last minute, which made Matt Lauer call her out. Well, it looks like Paula finally realized that she needed to deal with this situation differently – according to Page Six, Paula has hired crisis manager Judy Smith, who is the real-life inspiration for Kerry Washington’s character on Scandal. I hope this is true – Paula needed better advice. And that advice was on display this morning on the Today Show.
As for the Today interview… I’m including the video below. When Matt tries to press her immediately about the business side of the scandal – even pointedly asking her if she was doing the interview to stop the financial bleeding – Paula interrupted him to say her pre-canned line about racism: “I believe that … every one of God’s creatures is created equal. I believe that everyone should be treated equal, that’s the way I was raised and that’s the way I live my life.” She said that her father wouldn’t allow the n-word to be used in his home, and that she’s only used the word once, in 1986 when she was being held up by a black man.
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When Matt asks her if she thinks black people are offended by the n-word, she said “I don’t know, I have asked myself that so many times. I go into my kitchens and hear what these young people are calling each other … it’s very distressing for me. I think for this problem to be worked on, these young people are gonna have to take control and start showing respect for each other.” Yeah… I think that’s the most offensive part of this interview. But the part where she cries (the last half of the interview, pretty much)… I don’t know. Lauer didn’t really go hard on her about the allegations from her civil case, which (for me) were way more offensive and wrong than the n-word admission.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Too little, too late….
So true. It also sounds so canned. she says that everyone should be treated equal… nice words, but her actions speak otherwise.
I lost all respect for her when she continued to make a$$hole food for 2 years while knowing she was diabetic in order to broker her deal with the diabetes drug that was about to hit the market. Bourdain had her number all along.
Funny how she uses Christianity for her own martyrdom…but not for how she treats her employees.
Update!
Wal-Mart just dropped her.
I guess asking viewers to kill her with a rock wasn’t the best apology strategy.
Email QVC here: http://www.qvc.com/CustomerServiceEmailView?storeId=10251&catalogId=10151&langId=-1
to request Paula Deen be dropped.
What is her excuse for letting her brother pay women less, sexually harass them at work, physically assault employees, etc.? The media is so focused on the word that they are ignoring the many other very serious allegations! There is a lot of proof these were brought to her attention repeatedly.
She was told her companies were violating the law. Yet she allowed the practices to continue.
*this!!!*
EXACTLY. Her crisis management has gotten ONE thing right, and that is to frame this as exclusively about the n-word, which she is claiming she only said once (oh, please). And now she’s bawling because people don’t appreciate her BS.
Well, good. Her tears are delicious!
BTW if you would like to phone Novo Nordisk to tell them what you think of their “celebrity” endorsement here is their number: 800 727-6500
I called yesterday and was read a canned statement about how they are “monitoring the trial” to which I responded that she swore these things under oath so there is no need to monitor anything. Also while on hold, canned speeches played, one said how big they are on “social responsibility” so I brought that up as well – it isn’t very socially responsible to have a racist as the face of your product. The lady I spoke with was very nice (despite her scripted answers) and I would encourage everyone to call.
Judy Smith? LOL!
Yeah,okay, blame us young folks and ignore the fact that you’re a 66 year old woman who should know better….
I know right! It’s young people, not old farts!
If the way the “young people” were speaking to each other upset her so much, why didn’t she as the business owner and boss tell them that was not acceptable in her work place and that everyone should be respectful and professional?
That’s where she lost me. Now that she has a professional crisis manager, she’s turning her wrongs into a public dialogue about the youth??? Please. She’s so full of crap.
And I’m confused — I thought she admitted to using the N word in her deposition? Not the one time she mentioned in her Today interview, but other times as well?
She is getting bad crisis management advice for sure. I still don’t think she should be shot.
Her deposition reads that when asked if she ever used the N-word, her reply was “yes, of course”. When asked to tell about instances, she responded there was an instance when “one” had a gun to her head. How offensive that in this latest appearance she says she was uncomfortable hearing “young people” using the word — a subtle message that blacks use the word all the time. All these lies to the public won’t help her (my daddy wouldn’t let anyone use that word in his house). oh puh-leeze. according to one show she was on, they discussed historical records showing ownership by one of her ancestors of 35 slaves.
Her age? That makes her a teenager/young woman during the civil rights struggles. THAT should have made her much more cognizant of such racist talk and behavior not less.
In those days when she was growing up you were either pro-civil rights or anti-civil rights. Her ridiculous talk about the “genteel” old south is code for anti-change, anti-civil rights, “why can’t those people just be polite about it all, “why do they want to eat at lunch counters anyway or go to schools where they aren’t welcome” – “we loved our maid like she was family – we even gave her old clothes and built a bathroom for her own use.”
This woman is soooo transparent it’s a joke. What is even more appalling are all the people acting like she is some victim. She’s not. Ask her employees – especially the ones she illegally refused to pay for work or promote.
Dreams of a plantation wedding indeed! Clueless twit.
absolutely right – Paula was born in 1947 so she would have been 18 years old when MLK’s march from Selma to Montgomery happened. The news in the early and mid-60s was full of riot police keeping back the violent mobs of white people in the south from assaulting and preventing black kids from going to neighborhood “white” schools. They looked rabid down there, and don’t forget the George Wallaces who stood up and tried to legitimize the white racists in the south.
But Paula Deen’s father (a southern white man whose ancestors had owned dozens of slaves) wouldn’t let the n-word be spoken in his house.
Her face scares me.
Her TEETH scare me!
This +1000! 😀
It certainly isn’t helping her. She looks so maniacal.
She totally needs to tone down her look. The fake tan, eyelashes, contacts and hair do not help her seem sincere at all. She needs to go back to her look when she first started out looked like a grandma in the kitchen.
Aaahhh! There’s no way to escape this horrible woman’s face today.
Paula, even Olivia Pope can’t save you after that dramatic “I is what I is and I’m not changin'” monolouge, save those non-existent buttery tears…
That was just so….telling.
She doesn’t want to change because she sees NOTHING wrong with her behavior.
I just have no sympathy for her whatsoever.
She is what she is. UGH. No sympathy at all. You are so right. Also…
My eyes-please help me find them because they rolled right out of my head and are missing on the ground.
LOL @ OriginalTiffany
I’m using that one in the future.
Also: Hamface Deen sucks. I’m on the no sympathy train with you, OriginalKitten. I just have no more words than that; I’m done with her.
It’s not her fault, the negroes confused up her mind-training with their distressing practices and hip-hopping coven culture. Down was up, west was brown and nobody had a Merry Christmas.
There’s no other recourse, if you can’t beat ’em (literally) join in and engage in those very behaviours that are so disturbing to you. Context? What’s a context? Are they dropping me, too?
It’s not ‘equal’ if the idea is ‘equally under my thumb’.
Evolution just skipped over some people, didn’t it?
I think she is one of those people who can’t really help themselves. She really has no idea why everyone is giving her such a hard time, she doesn’t get it. Her ignorance is beyond me, saying you’re not racist because you have black employees is the best she can do. I know many people like her, not having a clue and still offending everyone around because they’re so ignorant and narrow minded.
She plays the ignorant card when she wants to dodge responsibility. I think she is much more shrewd than people give her credit for.
+1
That’s what I’m saying, this lady has no clue..
She did raise a valid point because there are young adults slinging all kinds of racial slur and they think its cool..
I’m literally serious is it ever ok to give certain people a pass and not others??
I have seen white young girls and boys swing all sorts of racial slur, crack racial jokes and their friends of colour laughs with them…it makes me want to snatch them up..
There’s no valid point. She’s sure too entrenched in the ‘monkey see, monkey do’ code of thinking that she doesn’t know it’s not literal and that doesn’t automatically apply to everyone. She doesn’t hear black people when they’re talking to her about respecting the basic human and employee rights, but she hears that. Come on, with this tripe.
Older adults will grind young people into the dust for using the word ‘like’ too often, but racial slurs are fine for the picking all of a sudden because as the teeny-boppers go, so go their elders?
Some good life tips: Never read unsolicited graffiti, don’t believe anyone who tells you that honeydews are better than canteloupes and IF YOU DON’T GET IT, DON’T SAY IT!
Simply Red, think of it this way: It’s okay for me to say my wife’s a bitch, but if you say it, you’re out of line. It’s the same thing with the n-word. Blacks can say it, but whites cannot. Perfectly understandable, really.
One of the scariest faces I’ve ever seen tbh
Yes Paula, it is the black person’s fault that you used that language. Please no more of this idiot.
^^This. Well said.
What BS. She most certainly was not raised in a non-racist house.
In her autobiography she discusses beating the blistered hands of her black nanny’s young child with a paddle so that the child’s blisters would pop. I think she was about 10 at the time. When the nanny smacked her for it, she went crying to her grandparents and they had the nanny thrown in jail.
You can’t do a revisionist job on a history you have already published about yourself.
What??? That sounds evil!
I wish more people knew about this because this says everything people need to know about her upbringing.
Thank you for posting this. While I did not know this, it certainly doesn’t surprise me. She was raised this way, whether she acknowledges it or not.
She can disavow her inbred racism all she wants, but her canned lines are a stereotypical response from an old South racist who’s been caught red handed.
It’s as common as the “Bless his/her heart” suffix used to mollify a backhand insult ubiquitous in the deep south.
I don’t believe her for a minute.
I agree completely, Dinah. Very well put. I’ve seen this type since I was a child.
Someone posted Frank Bruni’s editorial in the NY Times in the other thread. Pretty much sums this up. Paula Deen’s biggest failing is her obtuseness. She doesn’t self reflect. It’s always something or someone else driving her behavior and making it excusable. This is more of the same. She only said it because she was held up. Also the good old “other people do it too”.
Shut it. I’m so tired of these excuses from everybody instead of actually considering you may have done something wrong and need to be better. I said it in the other thread – everyone has racist thoughts or prejudiced thoughts from time to time. The trick is to remind yourself it’s unacceptable and wrong.
+1
Nicely put. And if she doesn’t know, the answer is, Yes: black people ARE offended by the use of the n-word–always by non-blacks and a sane majority are offended when it’s used by other black people. It’s a hideous assault wrapped in a violent past. I may get verbally assaulted for saying this, but it’s akin to an attempted (or successful) rape. Now. Will (the proverbial) you/she/whoever still use it?
I was fortunate at a very early age to comprehend the full meaning behind the N word and all its connotations. And even if its used as a sort of empowerment by us blacks, I have chosen not to ever use it. The violent history behind it(IMO) is degrading and appalling. I’ve taken this path to teach my kids the meaning behind it, to not use, not only the N word, but other racial slurs as well.
+2
+3
Okay, I just watched it and DAMN that was awful and here’s the other thing: She’s the BOSS.
I’m a BOSS. I’ve been the BOSS FOR YEARS AND YEARS and none of my employees or customers or anyone else would be allowed to use that word in my place regardless of race.
If she was so distressed then she should have put the hand down.
Exactly! As an employer, you have responsibilities with how you treat your employees. They failed in so many ways!
Great point. A good friend of mine is a chef at a large restaurant and he has a list of ‘kitchen rules’ — if Paula was really so distressed about the language being used in her kitchens she could have implemented rules that her employees had to follow.
People like her who thinks like that will not change..
Yeah, tears for her shattered image and the empire that’s in the garbage, but not any sense of personal responsibility and of course, no apologies to the black community.
The whole interview was a joke.
You know, people keep saying that Deen is simply a “dumb, uneducated” woman. If you read the transcripts it becomes VERY clear very quickly that this woman is no country rube. Those lawyers go at her pretty hard and she is VERY aware of how to spin and defend her POS brother’s behavior, not to mention her own racist tendencies.
No, Paula Deen is NOT a dumb woman, but she is a very WEAK woman. It’s hard to read the court depo and see how she repeatedly turned a blind eye to her brother’s nefarious and sexist behavior and how she sided with him over the employees that she had a managerial duty to protect. This is no feminist, folks, this is a woman that thinks that this is a White Man’s World and that women and minorities exist solely to serve them.
No surprise that she worships the Civil War era.
Anyway, it’s hard for me to disguise my contempt for women who support and perpetuate patriarchal and racist ideology. It just infuriates me.
^This. Exactly. Well said, TOK. Well said.
You are on a roll with these comments! All so well stated!
The depo was frustrating to read. I did laugh, however, when she refuted the allegation of inviting an employee who had been assaulted over to her mansion to “massage” the situation (rather than actually deal with it). She claimed the assertion was ridiculous. That she never, ever used the word “massage” in that type of context. She might massage her husband and her chicken, but that was it. Not long after, when the conversation had moved on, she did use it. I was surprised the attorney questioning her didn’t pick up on it.
Amen, sistah.
You’ve said it all.
I think she is one of those women who think that if a man cheats on the wife it’s probably because she deserved it and not because the man is an a$$hole.
Funny you should say that, because according to some, Food network’s biggest task with her when she first took off was keeping her 25 year affair with a married man hushed up. It’s so delish!
I agree. Her deposition is filled with her trying to dodge the fact that she was repeatedly told verbally and in writing that her brother was mistreating people and breaking labor laws.
@ ToK – Did you notice there weren’t actual tears? Hubs and I watched the interview this morning and he pointed out that while she was so “distressed” and her eyes watered, no tears were rolling.
Yep, “crocodile tears” for sure.
Always spot on kitten!
Thank you Kitten. You are on point as usual.
Grandma ghoulish is not sorry! She is only sorry that the backlash has hurt her brand. What’s even more upsetting is that so many of her defenders just don’t get it. Sigh.
Perfect. You are exactly right, Kitten.
I agree that this wouldn’t have turned into such a controversy if she had said that word once in her life and was genuinely sorry for it. That seems to be what people are claiming now, but didn’t she say in her deposition that she still used the N word, “but not in a mean way,” plus the whole plantation themed wedding and paying her employees for overtime with beer instead of money and her brother ogling porn at work and on and on? How did it get condensed down to one incident in 1986?
I think the public discourse for whatever reason as boiled down to her language, but I think the fallout with her marketing partners comes from the information about the continual fascination with the antebellum plantation lifestyle. Food Network, Smithfield Ham etc. etc. are not do not want to project the message of “Paula approved for the slave owner in you!”
Blue-eyed devil.
I don’t see how calling her a blue eyed devil is more acceptable than anyone else using a negative term to describe another race.
I think this woman is awful and her words and actions are awful but making this type of statement in response is rather ironic.
Blue eyed people are a “race”??*eye roll*
OMG, seriously?? Super sensitives, go stand to the left.
@ deep
No I agree with Judy. How is calling her a “blue eyed devil” any different than what Paula has been doing? Does her being called out as a racist excuse racial comments to wards her?
She wasn’t calling blue eyed people a race. She was commenting on the hypocrisy of the original statement. “Blue eyed devil” is offensive – so why is it ok to say that? Especially within the framework of this particular story?
It’s not a race any more then “n****r” is a race. But it has been used to describe a race of people in a negative way.
My thoughts exactly!
I didn’t know this until just now, but apparently “blue eyed devil” is in fact a racially tinged word.
Sources put its origin in different continents around the world but there is one constant – in all cases, it is what indigenous people called the Europeans who came in to run rough shod over them. In other words, it is a term victims came up with to describe an oppressor.
You do realize that light eyes are found in a whole lot of non-whites, right? So overall, it’s not a racist comment.
Absolutely. For hundreds of years, black slave masters have been calling their white slaves “blue eyed devil”, therefore it’s just as bad as calling a black person the n word.
Oh, it is not. It might not be the most polite thing to say, but come on. It’s NOT as bad. I don’t understand this need people have to find something to equate to the n-word. You’re not going to find one, that’s why you’re supposed to avoid this one–because it’s in a league of its own.
It’s not like we’re winning a gold medal for having that dubious top honour bestowed upon us.
It is different because there is not a long history of discriminating against blue eyed people. In fact blue eyes are considered desirable in most cultures. Therefore it is not a slur. Just like ‘Oh, you runway model!” is not a slur
“I don’t understand this need people have to find something to equate to the n-word. You’re not going to find one, that’s why you’re supposed to avoid this one–because it’s in a league of its own.”
Well said.
“Blue-eyed Devil” actually comes from white people (usually of European ancestry) who are blue-eyed & perceived to be more evil because due to their more pale skin, their eyes seem to be brighter & stare at/into you more.
@Anniemarie,
What are you talking about? Throughout history white people are the only race of people that have ever owned slaves, oppressed other races, started wars and stolen land not belonging to them.
Because of this people can say and call people of northern European heritage anything they want. Because you know, two wrongs make a right.
I am NOT a racist. I have friends with blue eyes. Hee-hee!
The big problem is that this happened at work. Another lesson: racists cannot assume that others of the same race are fellow travelers. The person who brought the lawsuit was a white woman, too. To prevent “misunderstandings” keep racially insensitive stuff in private among friends and family.
Yes. During clandestine meetings under the cover of night and white sheets.
Ha! Love this.
I know this situation is not at all humorous, @Pinky, but your comment did make me laugh. Forgive me? 🙂
Seriously, though, racism should not be acceptable *anywhere.* Maybe it became a bigger issue because of the workplace abuse, but if you allow yourself that kind of mindset anywhere (putting aside the immorality of it), it will eventually slip out in public. Probably the best thing is just to, you know, *not* be a racist.
People can actually talk about anything they want in the privacy of their own homes. So if a black family wants to sit around at home and talk about how evil whites are, they can do that. It is their freedom of speech.
Or better yet, don’t partake in “racially insensitive stuff”.
This woman is a national media figure with a book deal, endorsements and TV shows. She KNOWS better.
The word you are looking for about your behavior is this, Paula: ASHAMED.
ASHAMED…as in she should be, but somehow I don’t think she is.
No, I don’t think she is at all. She just come off as a whiner and a calculated liar.
LOL at her saying that she doesn’t know if black people are offended because we use the word, too. I don’t really use it, but the connotation of the word nigga within the black community is different. A white person saying it and a black person saying it are two completely different things.
She can’t be that dumb, can she?
While I agree that Paula is a racist and is in the wrong, I don’t agree you saying that black people can use that word, even with the “ga” ending. That was a horrible word that has a horrible history behind it. If you want that word to go away, black people should stop using it too no matter what the new meaning is behind it. It is extremely hypocritical when I hear a black person saying it yet they get angry when someone else says it. EVERYONE should stop using that word, not just everyone except for black people.
I agree – I’ve never understood why that word is used in so many rap songs, for example.
@Louba and tmbg. Black people didn’t always use the word amongst themselves as a sign of affection. Throughout most of history, those who did use it meant it as derogatorily as any white person who said it–to attack, demean, punish, wound, belittle, act superior to, and denigrate someone else. It was just as insidious within the community as we would consider it to be outside of the community. There came a point, in the VERY RECENT past, when some black people decided to reclaim and redefine the word (at the very least, with the “gga” ending) within the community, to try to take the sting and pain out of it and take their power back from those who tried to use it to hurt them. Clearly that experiment has failed, because you now get a lot of ignorant people saying, “Well, why can’t I use it then?”
I will give 1000000000 points to anyone on this board who can tell me who within the black community started this trend to try to reclaim this word. Seriously. I think it will go toward enlightening a lot of people if we can bring that into the discussion. Waiting . . .
Pinky – I feel like if there is any blame to be placed, a great part of it falls to the rappers who use it so frequently in their songs. Maybe they got it from another source, but people follow and emulate these folk, so if they rap it, it will be repeated. It’s turned into a sound byte, sadly.
@gg
I don’t want to misunderstand you, but do you honestly believe that the reason why people like Paula still use the word nigga is because it appears in rap songs?
Agree with bns. I don’t think anybody should use the word, but I think this reasoning that it’s ok for white people to say it because some black people say it too is just an excuse. Let’s quit pretending that it’s the same thing.
@Pinky — was it Paul Mooney? I don’t really know, but I’d be interested to find out.
Same with the “see you next tuesday” insult that I hear far too many women using. We ALL have to stop it if we don’t want the worst insult you can call someone = female genitalia. Just because other people do some thing, that doesn’t make it right. Other people drive drunk too, you know! Other people rape people! It’s really not an excuse.
Pinky, was it Dave Chappelle?
It’s too late for that word to ever disappear. That word is not going anywhere. Neither is See You Next Tuesday, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and many MANY other words out there. It has been created. It exists. Done. You can’t un-create a word. You can’t abort it. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you’re asking, you can’t control others use of the language. You can however choose not to use them yourself and choose not to associate with people who do.
No, bns, I am not sticking up for Paula’s verbiage and no I did not mean that Paula uses the word because of rap songs. I mean the prevalence is very often included in rap lyrics, is it not? Maybe that might contribute a bit to its being used so often by young people. I seriously doubt Paula even knows any rap lyrics. But young people emulate music stars and if the lyrics are bad, they’re repeated anyway whether they’re negative or not. They’re just viewed as banal lyrics, when sometimes they are actually quite offensive. It numbs the effect it otherwise would’ve had.
It’s a horrible word. No one should use it. Ever.
Last night I watched two hours of OWN where black people are talking about internal racism based on the tint of their own skin..exactly how dark or not dark.
I’ve never listened to anything so odd in my life..wth? This must be a joke or something? The problems in their communities should simply stay their problems…we’ll never achieve any agreement or co-exist with all the voices in their own heads. Bizarre.
Wow, Linda. Your statement is disturbing on so many levels.
FYI – there is a historical reason for the topic you bring up and it goes back to how whites treated the blacks they owned. Even Paula is guilty of it. In her brother’s restaurant, only very light skinned blacks were allowed in the front of the restaurant. To her brother’s thinking, one of the two black hostesses was too dark and, because of this, she was sent to work in the kitchen. He very begrudgingly allowed the other to continue hostessing up front.
Given your statement about how whites and blacks can’t even be expected to ‘co-exist’, I suspect that understanding how insidious this type of indoctrination would be over centuries might go over your head.
@Mich Amen.
I’m not even going to get into the argument about who “can” and “cannot” say the word because it’s exhausting. And like I sad above, as a black woman, I don’t really use the word myself, but a black person using the word and a white person using the word are different. That was the point I was trying to make.
I take the same attitude as bns. And the name of the phenomenon is ‘colourism’ (that’s how we spell ‘colour’ here, you’ll live). It’s internalized, it’s real and it’s deep and it’s worldwide.
Oh Paula it doesn’t matter now. You can put a fork in it because your done. You can say sorry until the moon turn blues and no one will believe you anyway. The best thing to do now is just say nothing and go nowhere until someone else steps in it.
She hasn’t even bothered to say ‘sorry’. Begone, woman.
So she goes from “I would never say that word because it’s offensive” (which is a lie since in the deposition she admitted to using it in jokes and how she can’t decide what offends people) to “I blame the black kids who work for me”.
Wow. From powerful business woman to Lindsay Lohan in less than a week. That is pathetic.
Also, I just wrote (on another post) that her panic and fear is the loss of attention. Her statement of “this isn’t about money, it’s about her reputation” just confirmed what I wrote. It’s ALL about her. If she had said “this isn’t about money, it’s about righting a wrong. It’s about discussing an issue about learning from mistakes/bad decisions and growing as a person” then she would have taken a small step forward. Instead she comes across as whiny and pathetic.
I wish she’d go away, I’m sick of her excuses…I’m surprised she has not dragged out one of her black employees at this point to sing her praises.
her reputation IS money, she sickens me. MONEY is what this is about for her.
Well, there was ‘black as a board’ Hollis.
She is a total liar. I watched the segment and it made me sick to to my stomach. She only used the “N” word once?! In her life?! Puhhhhhllllleasssse! She is from the deep south, she’s used that word at least “once” today. She also admitted under oath that she has used it more than once. This just means that if she says she never treated her black workers differently then she is still lying.
I am from the deep south and I have never used that word in my life. Nor have I ever heard anyone in my family use it.
THIS X 1,000,000. I’m from the Deep South and in my home (both now and when i was growing up), the “n” word was/ is considered worse than a 4- letter word. Don’t just assume that all Southerners are racist. That is just plain ignorant.
Jesus, she still thinks its all about the n-word, doesn’t she? She didn’t really address at all the whole “black slaves at a plantation wedding” thing, or the “little monkey” allegations or anything like that. It’s not just about one choice word she may have said once in her life. It’s about a larger pattern of behavior.
I think it’s part of the spin strategy. They are focusing on the issue they believe they can defense the most convincingly. The more they can make the conversation about language in the long ago past the fewer questions that have to answer about her racist behavior in more recent times.
I agree with you. I don’t think there is really a way to frame a convincing excuse for any of the other allegations against her. This is the one that they can spin, so they are making the “n word” the whole conversation.
Of course that whole strategy will be blown to bits if the court rules in favor of the ex-employee and actually cites the complaint and deposition as the reason for the ruling…
I’m not a celebrity, but if I was, I would like to think that I wouldn’t need a “crisis manager” to help me dechipher between right and wrong. PD needs to start thinking about what’s right instead of how to save her empire.
I’m sorry but I watched this interview on my HD television and I saw ZERO tears.
It all seemed very rehearsed.
There weren’t any tears on my computer screen either.
bet she’s really really regretting not having settled this out of court now that it has blown up in her scary face.
she never thought any of what was going on was wrong and that’s why she didn’t settle. what she does, how they run their businesses, they all think it is ok because they are AWFUL BIGOTED TRASH.
her babies can cry it was just extortion and now character assassination but the truth is what was alleged against her and her “brother” was accurate, easily provable, and 100% WRONG on their part.
i hope she continues to sink until she’s drowning in it. she deserves no less.
Oh she knew her words/actions were wrong, she just didn’t care. She arrogantly thought she was too powerful to bring down so she didn’t take the lawsuit seriously. She thought she could keep lying and it would magically go away.
(Oprah will probably be her next stop.) Uhhhh… It’s not just about race and the epithets though! (Way to keep up Matt.) In fact, that’s probably what they’re counting on–People thinking this is over her using the n-word or something and chalking that up to old southernism and the confusion/controversy surrounding the use of that word (for some people). It’s going to take tougher more in-depth interviews than this. Which won’t happen, b/c this woman is ignorant as f**k, and look what comes out (these young people) when she has to answer a real question. She clearly doesn’t get it at all, in a way that she will never get it and she certainly can’t speak off-the-cuff and improvise her way out of her own stupidity. Her bigotry keeps seeping around the edges, (I can’t believe this didn’t come out sooner.) The chickens have come home to roost. You have millions, retire to your plantation and let your sons take over what remains of your brand and just *finger to lips* Shhhhh. We know what you are now. Nothing you say about the things you’ve said and done, will change that.
I hope Oprah is not her next stop. We already have Judy Smith selling out to this racist phony for a big payday.
Not once did she say she was sorry.
She is a class-a jerk.
This “apology,” like her sweet Southern love-life-and-food image, is calculated as all hell. She’s only saying these things to save her empire.
Are black people offended by the N word?! Yes, we are! Just because some crazy rappers or teenagers call each other that, doesn’t make it right for ANYONE to say it. I hate that word and would curse you out if you said it to me! While I don’t think she is sorry, I think the pain to her wallet is punishment enough.
My children and I live in South Africa. I’m white, they are black. In South Africa, the equivalent of the n-word is an Afrikaans word that starts with ‘k’. One day, I heard one of my children calling his brother the n-word. I was shocked but understood that he didn’t know what it meant. Having heard it in rap music, he thought it just meant black. When I asked him if he would be okay calling his brother a “k” he was horrified. The n-word has never come out of his mouth again.
^^^This! Equating rappers with the entirety of the black race is just as ridiculous as equating the KKK with the entirety of the white race.
Alright, I know I’ll be yelled at, but this is all I have to say on this issue-Like she has said, we have all done and said things that are offensive at SOME point in our life. If you haven’t, well good for you, I guess you’re a much better person than me. As for all of the stories that are coming out of the woodwork, how do we even know if they are true? Why are the JUST NOW coming out? Why has this happened right around the time that her contract with Food Network was coming to and end? This is a witch hunt if I have ever seen one. I don’t really know what else people want from this woman. Should we burn her at the stake? For the love of God, enough is enough.
People want this woman to apologize and go away.
This is all coming out because the media picked up on her recent deposition. As the story grew, they began researching and publishing about other EOC complaints filed against her company over the years.
We know she is a bigot because of what she says in her deposition. The original complaint alleges extremely ugly, hostile and discriminatory behavior towards employees. The allegations of specific instances put forward in the complaint seem, largely, to have been selected based on their ability to be verified by independent witnesses. The deposition indicates that video evidence and witness statements back up the allegations being made in the original complaint.
This is not a witch hunt. It is a reaction. Big difference.
Yep. I’m not particularly invested in this story bc I am neither an American nor a fan of Paula Deen, but from my perspective, this is clearly a reaction to her overt AND covert racism. I don’t think she’s paying a steep price. In fact, I think she’s a phenomenally lucky racist television host who will be able to retire comfortably.
It isn’t just use of the word one time. It is repeated use of e word by an employer in front of employees at the place of business. It is about having different entrances and bathrooms for black and white employees. It is about female employees being told they won’t get a raise vp because they won’t tolerate a woman getting paid more than a man. It is about not paying people for their work. It is about only hiring “light” employees to work in the front of the restaurant. It is about Paula being told by general managers, accountants, lawyers, out side consulting firms, that these practices were happening in her restaurants, and she did nothing to stop it and in fact participated.
I also feel the same way Mandy. What about when rappers talk trash about white people in their music. Should we all call for their lively hoods to be taken away?
You clearly haven’t bothered to read the many, many excellent comments addressing this particular subject.
Exactly what Mich said.
People come here and comment but have no desire to LEARN.
Why come to a public forum just to assert your opinion without opening your mind to the counterpoints? EDUCATION guys-it’s a good thing.
TOK and Mich, except on this site or places like Jezebel, ALL the comments about this situation look like Tonya and Mandy’s. People are not informed about this and many are calling it a witch hunt.
@ BeesKnees
I know 🙁 I made the mistake of venturing elsewhere and was not impressed.
There is a reason CB is my go to site. I don’t choose to surround myself with ignorance in the real world and have even less interest in being surrounded by it during my cyber entertainment time.
Outside my regular political blogs, this is my only regular stop. Having been sick (thank you gluten!) for the last several months, the intelligence of the CB community has been a wonderful distraction!
I have said this over and over, but people would rather get their panties in a twist than listen. Everything in that complaint from the creepy sexual stuff to the wage discrepancies to the you must use a different door allegation is exactly that……an allegation. I can literally put anything I want into a complaint. I can say Paula Deen stabbed me with the horn of a unicorn in a legal complaint. So until there’s evidence, it’s just one woman’s formal complaint. If all of it is true, then so be it, let them pay. But until then, mother of god settle down. I know for a FACT that this won’t go well in here but if this was the other way around and Gina Neely admitted that she had once called somebody a cracker or a white b**** there wouldn’t be this level of venom. I just don’t believe this comment section would be exploding with what a horrible racist Gina is.
…yeah no.
The problem with your statement is that she concedes to a lot of the things that are “alleged” in the deposition….so…what..she was lying?
She admitted that she knew her brother stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the restaurant, she admitted that she knew that he engaged in racially and sexually inappropriate behavior in the workplace, she admitted to using the n-word and she admitted to being nostalgic for the days of slavery.
But yeah, you’re right, all the other stuff that she was questioned about, you know, when she answered “I don’t know” or “I wasn’t there” those must have just been false allegations or someone trying to assassinate her character. I mean, I’m sure there’s not a grain of truth in it.
*eye roll*
Joy, the problem for Paula and Bubba is that these actions were documented. They occurred in front of multiple witnesses. There are videos. There are emails. There were meetings attended by all management staff that witnessed these actions. An outside consulting firm evaluated the situation and interviewed employees and informed Paula and her brother both verbally and in writing that they were breaking the law and opening themselves up to lawsuits.
One example is when Bubba told Ms. Jackson to only hire “light” people to work in the front of the store. It would be one thing if it was just Ms. Jackson’s word vs. Bubba’s. But there were other witnesses who have given depositions supporting Ms. Jackson’s claims.
There is witness testimony backing up some of the allegations and Paula admitted to some of it herself in the deposition. But nope, you’re totally right, this is just some witch hunt. eyeroll
Do you really think her corporate sponsors would drop her if there wasn’t hardcore evidence, including her own damning testimony, to back up the claims in the lawsuit?
When it’s issues of race, people are so quick to tell the victims of it that they’re wrong, or paranoid, or won’t ‘leo it go’, or ‘are the real racists’ because all they want to talk about it what people do to them. Even with concrete evidence.
What do you think it’s like when you have factually proven that you have been victimized and the response you get is, ‘So what? You types are always looking for a fight, anyway, so I’m sure it’s not valid.’
Think about that. Think of how it feels to not even be voiceless but actively silenced. All of the time and by MANY people.
To say, ‘I’m injured’ and get ‘Who gives a crap, you trouble-seeking drama queen. Let the adults be.’ in response– do you think that would feel good? To be innocent but only ‘deserving’ of guilty?
She can deny everything that happened in her business but as the principal owner of said corporation/businesses, she has a DUTY to stop all the shenanigans that were happening during her watch. It doesn’t matter if her idiot brother allegedly did all those things. As an owner, she did not do anything to curtail that <<<this is the point that everyone is up in arms about. She can say she's not there to witness it but as the PRINCIPAL OWNER, she is liable for anything that occurs in her businesses. She was also informed numerous times of her liability and her duty by various people and she chose to ignore it. Sorry she doesn't get a pass and she won't be exonerated.
1. It was just rumors until she gave an under oath deposition which confirmed some of the rumors.
2. Other people have given damning statements under oath.
3. There is written documentation, by third party observers, stating her hostile and unlawful behavior in the work place.
A witch hunt is when an innocent person is persecuted. Paula isn’t innocent and she isn’t being persecuted. She and her lecherous brother are being punished for their awful behavior.
Stop being so dramatic. She deserves everything that’s coming to her. Don’t be a racist in the workplace and your private life, and you’ll be just fine.
I think the fact that she refuses to acknowledge how wrong her behaviour is, is what is keeping this story in the headlines. It honestly seems like she thinks her actions were acceptable and that she can’t comprehend why everyone hates her now.
She does make a good point. Many young people need to stop using the N word in general. I hate hearing young men and women in my neighborhood use it in violence, in times of happiness, and just when they feel like it. I hate hearing it so much!!! I hear rap music use it all the time..and it ain’t used in a good one. Usually its used to call out someone. It needs to be BANNED!!
I was Team Paula until she had the,audacity to say she isnt sure if Black people are offended by the word ni##er.Really Paula? SMH
I didn’t see the interview so maybe I shouldn’t comment, but it just sounds like such a load of crap. Who are these mythical “young people” who were apparently responsible for her behavior? And how were they responsible? Did they sneak in like little fairies in the night and drug/hynotize her into terrorizing her employees and being a racist?
There’s really no excuse for her behavior, and it bothers me that anyone is defending her. My grandfather came to this country in the 60’s, having survived both the Holocaust and Communism. He talked about being so grateful to live in America, then travelling to the South and seeing the “No blacks, Jews, or dogs” allowed signs all over the place. It started his active participation in the civil rights movement, from joining in marches to making it a point to employ African Americans in his business. Paula was around in those days, too, and saw the same things he did, so she doesn’t have an excuse for choosing the wrong side.
I think, to quote Avenue Q, “everyone’s a little bit racist” at times. But it is never acceptable to voice those thoughts, to encourage them, or to act on them. Paula is no victim, and this interview apparently shows no remorse on her part or even a recognition of what she did to her workers. I just want her to go away.
The difference is that your grandfather clearly has a lot of class. This lot, well, they wouldn’t know class if they were sitting in front of a big ol’ blackboard.
I’m sure that not a single person will agree with me on this, but I feel this whole thing is totally blown out of proportion. Granted I did not hear her rant using the n word. Who here can honestly say they have never in their lives once used any kind of derogatory, racist, or otherwise crude language? You can say hurtful things in the heat of the moment, but that doesn’t define who you are as a person. I believe that she believes she is not racist despite her choice of language. Whether or not you choose to agree with her saying she isn’t is up to you.
While I don’t think her actions and words should have zero consequences, I think the complete fall of her empire over this incident is a bit much.
I agree with you and I think a lot of people do, just not on this site. What she said was wrong, but she was honest about it in court and now her entire life is being ruined for it. I wonder if she wishes she had just lied instead? A lot of people say things at some point that don’t reflect their true character or how they feel,
especially about an entire race. It’s a great conversation starter about BOTH races use of the word but too many people are just focused on Paula and punishing her. A word should not just be exclusive to one race, isn’t that kind of prejudice in itself? Oh we can use this word, but you can’t. No one needs to use this word PERIOD, or everyone should be allowed to use it.
I agree. I hope she comes back stronger than ever.
READ THE COURT TRANSCRIPTS OF HER DEPOSITION.
She is extraordinarily evasive and obtuse at every turn. Sure, *maybe* she didn’t lie but saying “I do not recall”, “I don’t remember” or “I don’t know because I wasn’t there” is a VERY convenient way of avoiding any culpability or sense of responsibility.
Deen defenders need to get their heads out of their asses and see this situation for what it really is:
The reason why she came clean was twofold: First, she so willingly admitted that she used the n-word because she thought that she could rationalize/justify it by saying it was a “different era”. The second aspect is clearly demonstrated when she answers “of course” when asked if she used it before. How do you people not see that her answer is indicative of the fact that she saw NOTHING wrong with using a racial slur? She wasn’t “telling the truth” out of some sense of moral/ethical obligation, she told the truth because it never occurred to her that what she was saying was NOT OK TO SAY.
It’s easy to tell the truth when you’re not ashamed of it.
On another note, I’m so exhausted by people who are extrapolating parts of this story and running with it, without knowing the full context of what this woman did. No wonder Deen fans love Deen so much-you all live in a permanent state of blissful ignorance.
They’ve made their choice, we have to live with it. If proof of discriminatory and illegal behaviour isn’t proof enough, nothing’s going to mitigate anyone’s worship of this woman. What exactly it is, or why they’re defending it I don’t know. What she has done to rally up the level of blind devotion, is also a mystery to me. I’m not interested in hearing the justifications of the benevolently contemptuous attitudes held by this woman or her unconvincing supporters who would have us believe that black is white. Or coloured, or whatever.
I have never used a racial slur in my life. I was never taught to. I don’t care if that beggars your belief. There is a world–there are societies–in which race is not a defining characteristic of individuality.
It isn’t just use of the word one time. It is repeated use of the word by an employer in front of employees at the place of business. It is about having different entrances and bathrooms for black and white employees. It is about female employees being told they won’t get a raise because they won’t tolerate a woman getting paid more than a man. It is about not paying people for their work. It is about only hiring “light” employees to work in the front of the restaurant. It is about Paula being told by general managers, accountants, lawyers, out side consulting firms, that these practices were illegal and happening in her restaurants, and she did nothing to stop it and in fact participated.
I do agree with you that the language part has taken on a life of its own, however you have to look deeper when it comes to her empire. Her marketing partners signed on with her because they wanted to tap into the image of the grandmotherly lady whose vices are butter and mayo. This lawsuit and others like it have shown that Paula’s vices are butter, mayo and a rather deep desire to own another human as property. It doesn’t matter if you make frying pans or diabetes medication, this new perception of Paula is not something you’d want your products associated with.
Okay, look, Paula is “Southern” (God knows that by now we should realize that this is one of her life defining things). Well, there’s a saying here: “I can talk about my Mama, but you better not.” So if some black people want to refer to themselves a particular way, that’s their business–not hers.
Come on. Every one has said that word before. Some more than once. There is racism on all races. Why is it that whites can be called white honkey, white cracker, slave owners, etc and that’s nothing. But someone says the n word that doesn’t even mean a color or race and its time to cut their head off. And yes she is right they call each other the n word and laugh joke and carry on. Look in the dictionary! Its not a race or color.
No, they have not. If you think they have, based on your life experiences, you need to get out more. You are living in a VERY American bubble and it’s time to venture out.
I also believe that whites are being targeted all the time for what our ancestors done by some not all of African Americans. So of course every thing that is said is going to be taken as oh my she/he is prejudice let’s ruin them. I’m not prejudice although I know I will be called one BC of my opinion in this. I have biracial family that I love dearly.
Ummm, No, we all haven’t used that disgusting word. Speak for yourself. I’ve never used that word and I disgusted that you think it is so normal that everyone has used it.
I am so sick at heart that many people think this is normal behavior. WTH is wrong with people who think this is normal?
I never said it was normal. I said and its my belief that everyone has said it. I find it hard to believe that everyone up here wanting her head has never said it whether they are repeating a story, name calling, etc. And that’s my opinion. Yes its an ugly word that humans took and turned it into a race which the true meaning has no race or color but that goes to show ignorance again. And if its so offensive to the race then they should stop using it too.
@Tonya, clearly you are not educated about this subject since you think this is about just a single use of this word. Please read the depo. She is a racist.
This is about wanting to dress black people as slaves, permitting her brother to watch porn at work, making black people use a separate entrance, calling a black employee “my little Monkey”, being sexist, calling young woman pussies, calling her manager her little”jew girl”. I could keep going but all these things have been detailed in these threads and you have clearly ignored ALL the facts.
Have you read her butter soaked words? Obviously not. Also, thanks other Tiffany below me for trying to explain the enormity of this woman’s racism.
Her ‘Jew Girl’? Gross! Where does it end?
It isn’t just use of the word one time. It is repeated use of the word by an employer in front of employees at the place of business. It is about having different entrances and bathrooms for black and white employees. It is about female employees being told they won’t get a raise because they won’t tolerate a woman getting paid more than a man. It is about not paying people for their work. It is about only hiring “light” employees to work in the front of the restaurant. It is about p0rn forced on female employees and brought to manager meetings. It is about Paula being told by general managers, accountants, lawyers, out side consulting firms, that these practices were illegal and happening in her restaurants, and she did nothing to stop it and in fact participated.
Never in my life have I ever said that word. Not even in a “joking” way. I would feel dirty saying it. I’m American.
Also, I’m white, and if someone called me a white racial slur, I wouldn’t love it, but I wouldn’t go crying home to my mama either. We live in a society that is prejudiced against black people, not white people. The N word serves to reinforce and remind people of the terrible injustices against them. It is not only deeply disturbing, but actually contributes to their continued oppression. It is straight-up gross and de-humanizing.
On the other hand, someone calling me a “cracker” is just some *sshole being mean to me. And, since I’m a big girl, I don’t really give a crap about people like that.
I agree with you. Someone can’t compare a white ‘slur’ with the n-bomb. We’ve hardly had the same history. Here in Canada, we have racial issues with our First Nations people. There’s a lot of mistrust by them against white/European people, but I for one, take it on the chin and completely understand where they are coming from. I don’t give them hate back and I sure as hell don’t fantasize about a time when they were seen and not heard (much like PD and her sick black servant fantasy)
If someone called me a cracker, I’d probably just laugh.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Canada, but what Gia has said is so true and all the more galling because there is this delusion here that makes people think that racism is something that happens in Canada’s pants (I’m no one’s hat) and we’re more evolved and cerebral peacemakers who aren’t even capable of holding on to discriminatory assumptions or beliefs in their hearts. It’s just not true.
The First Nations people get SCREWED by this nation, a nation that responds to an epidemic within a reserve by sending not any kind of medical supplies or intervention in areas sorely lacking in numbers of doctors, but with body bags. Some feel a generalized impotent liberal guilt about it, but a lot of people are not sympathetic and they will tell everybody about it. The last residential school in Canada closed in 1996. Marinate in that.
Of course, though no other population in Canada is treated quite so shamefully, it wouldn’t be true to call this country an Underground Railroad Onslaught Of Unbroken Delights For All Minorities And Sundry. I believe we’re getting something of a better deal than our American counterparts, but old habits die hard and when a nation’s self-perception does not always align with actual reality, there aren’t any systems in place that make people accountable and there is a real lack of transparency. It’s a land of, ‘Hm, well that’s just a coincidence’ if ever forced to truly analyze how the halls of power are built and maintained and who benefits.
Take the company where my sister last worked. It’s just a coincidence that white staff was paid far more for the same work. It was just a coincidence that under and unqualified white staff were the only ones to get promotions and just wage increases. Obviously, I’m not saying that none of the white people deserved their amenities it’s just that it was a foregone conclusion before the resume was even read that it would end this way for everyone involved. It’s just a coincidence that the financial department was staffed entirely by Chinese-Canadians and Japanese-Canadians who did alright for themselves where they were, but they would never reach the power and pay levels of their white colleagues. It was just a coincidence that all of the maintenance staff were from The Philippines and just a coincidence that white hiring managers would change job descriptions, DRAMATICALLY lower salary offers, or change job qualifications on the spot to avoid hiring black people. Oh sure, a higher up would comment on these things here and there, but never did a single thing ever come of it. That company’s going straight to hell and doing so gleefully because if that’s what it takes to prevent minorities from sharing in the spoils, they’ll die with dignity. Not to worry, there’s always an empire ready to pick up the slack.
But we think to ourselves that racism is just a southern America problem, amitrite, guys? And it comes with a Tea Party bumper sticker or birther declaration of nonsense, and that’s definitely not us. We’re Canada, we’re so super, hurray for us!
It’s the carbon monoxide of the racism world: it’s gently suffocating and it’s effectively your own fault that the handyman installed the detector incorrectly.
Again, I love this land, it’s just that can just be misguidedly smug and complacent about it’s ‘tolerance’ and piggishly disbelieving of the fact that it has some major problems of its own.
And again, we’re getting a better deal here than we would in America. I’m not slandering the nation, I don’t have that in me, but I recognize that it’s just harder for minorities there and I didn’t do it.
If this isn’t meant to be a joke, it’s pretty offensive in and of itself.
The only thing that makes me laugh here is that Paula Deen speaks like Liberace.
Yes, some rappers use that terrible word, as do some regular folks in the black community. But not all, it’s a hateful word and no one needs to be using it. Same goes for insults against whites, Latinos, Asians and everyone else! My go to word is simply “you jacka$$!”
Ugh, THANK YOU for pointing out that the way she discusses the n-word is OFFENSIVE.
I don’t know why this is freakng rocket science. Nothing irritates me more. THE N-WORD REFERS ONLY TO RACE, and ONLY IN A DEROGATORY MANNER. Nothing else. It is racist BY DEFINITION! If the African-American community–made up largely by former slaves–wants to co-opt the word in order to disempower or redefine it, fine. But that action is not for you, a white person, because that word has ALWAYS empowered you by virtue of your race. If that is too painful for you to tolerate, you may wish to relocate to a different society. One that wasn’t defined along racial lines. May I point you northward? But be warned: up there, all racial slurs immediately identify you as racist. No one is confused.
WHY this is so hard to grasp blows my mind. My head explodes. I can’t get over the dumbassery that passes for intelligent conversation these days. What is wrong with people??
I’m with you. My mind is blown. On a day when the Supreme Court is ruling on equality, some people are in here reminding me that a segment of our society clearly believes not all are equal.
Gah. My head and heart hurt.
I find it a demeaning word, no matter what mouth it comes out of. I would also find it abhorrent to hear South Asian person call each other Pakis, a Jewish person refer to another as a kike, Japanese people say Nip to each other, etc. etc. etc. All of these are insulting degrading words used in a derogatory way by white people back in the day, and thoroughly unacceptable to be used by anyone now.
I never use racial/ethnic slurs, personally, and I don’t even like using the word “b*tches” with girlfriends. But you can’t tell a person on the receiving end of a hateful word that they can’t turn it into something else entirely. That’s not the problem. The problem is the modicum of intelligence that it requires to be able to recognize that: it’s lacking in idiot white people who demand the right to “use the n-word because black people do.” Doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out!
I couldn’t have put it better. How that word has been used and is used by blacks and by whites aren’t the same conversation. I for one can’t abide its use by other black people but I believe that is a conversation for black people and a conversation in which I’ll yell, ‘WHY??? JUST STOP!’.
Your site is one of the most reverse racist in existence. Of course the biggest offenders are the authors of the stories.
It is bad enough when you critique white actresses kids..but God forbid anyone says anything about the _______ babies.
Don’t worry I wont type the word but I am willing to bet you are smart enough to figure out what goes in the space.
So what would you have the commenters and the authors of this site do? Applaud her? What, in your opinion, is the right reaction to what Paula has done?
Geez. I think you are late for your KKK rally.
Ew. Yeah, you’re racist, in case you were ever wondering to yourself “Am I racist?”
Also, “reverse racism” isn’t a thing. Racism simply means one “race” systematically oppressing another race. People like you tack on the word “reverse” so that people don’t laugh in your face when you claim that as a white person you are being systematically oppressed.
THIS.
Holy crap, the “reverse racism” bullshit again?
Didn’t take long huh?
How can people be this ignorant. How is this possible?
Learn the definition of racism, prejudice and bigotry-they are NOT interchangeable.
That was perfect.
aww, bless your heart for being educationally challenged..
Luv to Marie and all the CBs who aren’t racist imbeciles
No, no I’m not smart enough because that language doesn’t come naturally to me. I wasn’t taught to associate disgusting language with race. But you were. So go ahead, type it out! You know that’s what you like to throw around when you’re with all white people.
Will you look at all the racists coming out of the woodwork.
Hey, I have a word for you. Idiot! As in, you are one.
Linda, why come here at all then? Why read what the writers and commenters write if U think reverse racism is on this site..
Everyone can agree to disagree but also inform each other when one don’t know the full information..
U must be a friend of Paula to think that what she is more than ok
Take several seats in the stadium and sit down
You won’t type it out because you’re a coward just like every other racist out there. Wuss.
I’m not one for guessing, so surprise me.
As far as I’m concerned, this whole “empire crumbling” thing is taking way too long. Let it fall, let her go away, and let us never have to look at her ever again.
I’m curious about the current case at hand that she is being taken to court over. Is the person suing her alleging racism? I’m more concerned about that then her past.
If she has a PR firm in place then they should be handling this STAT and shut her up ASAP before they can coach her.
You can read the legal docs at Scribd. They are quite shocking. Yes, the (white) woman is suing her for a number of offenses, including a hostile work environment due to racism and rampant sexism. Ol’ brother Bubba has a bit of a “pornography at work” problem he couldn’t shake, either.
She should have spent some of her 17m annual salary on getting. Spin doctor on this from the beginning. Stupid. Hopefully this entire brou haha will stop everyone from using the N word. Btw. Snoop dog got less bad press after admitting that he was a pimp.
I have no interest in this woman. Never seen her show or anything associated with her. I couldn’t care less where her racist, pathetic ass ends up.
Looks like some very few people are going to Google news and doing a search on Paula Deen and are making it their days business to go to each listing and defend her by being as much of a racist if not more of one than she is. My opinion–well, my hope anyway–is that these sort of people (racists, I mean) are in the minority themselves and just have a very vocal, recurring, and annoying presence in today’s world due to instant access with the internet.
How would you know that unless you, yourself, had perused the comments on every Paula Deen article?
I agree, @Thiajoka. Most of the “poor, misunderstood Paula Deen” and “this is unfair to whites!!11!!” commentators are people I’ve never seen around here before.
She reminds me of Miss Piggy
This made me laugh!
I’ve always wondered if Paula modeled her “look” on the famous Muppet diva. The similarities are inescapable, except Miss Piggy does it better.
America as a whole are a bunch of persecuting zealots. If that even makes sense. People these days want any tiny reason to bring a person down. Get over it people, she’s an older lady, just a person—seriously people want to persecute everyone at a drop of a hat…lay them on the cross and crucify them. For real, that’s the sad part….sick and twisted society we live in.
I agree.
Well, your. Expectations of yourself and others is nice and low.
Venturing into the fray:
I’m hispanic- from Puerto Rico. I read horrendous things about us all the time and have a similar word used for latinos- spic but I think everyone is giving too much power to the word n… Let it’s use die out. It shouldn’t be acceptable in any connation. Why? Because when you blur the lines on who can use and it what situations- people can basically justify it. Speak out with actions. Educate people. Don’t take every stereotype personally. Some people are just curious and ignorant to anything outside their bubble. I can’t tell you how many times in college I was asked if we could go by train or drive to PR, or what currency we have, did we have roads and houses…
Paula Deen should pay for her illegal labor practices and dissapear and come back when she can demonstrate humility, responsibility and equality.
I kinda feel bad for her. Don’t get me wrong, she is wrong on so many levels, but it’s just sad seeing so many people who aren’t offended by her purposefully bringing her down just because. Again, I think a lot of it is justified and I don’t really like her, but it’s sad seeing someone’s lifetime work falling apart. She may deserve much of it as a consequence, but some people are just jumping on the hate bandwagon without even knowing why they hate her.
I think it’s an easy band wagon to jump on because there are a lot of people who can relate to her accusers ie. almost every black person alive who has experienced some sort of negative attitude simply because they are black and women in the workplace who have put up with the glass ceiling, it’s a man’s world attitude, pervy boss/co workers and felt powerless to do anything about it. Sad that her life’s work is ending? Perhaps. But she WAS in a position of power and did nothing.
That WAS her life’s work, evidently.
Okay so why are there those that give attitude and are rude because the other person they are addressing is white? Not every person is a racist asshole.. I am not racist. There have been many occasions where I and my coworkers were automatically accused of following customers (which never happened) just because we are white. This racism problem sucks because it is still alive and well because people let it happen.
She had spin doctors tell her exactly what to say. This woman doesn’t sound anything like she does from the past decade I have seen her. I do not believe one ounce of the c$$$ that came out of her mouth today. She is trying to save her empire, and lady….too little too late. She’s older and should know better. Exhausted my a**. She just had no clue what to say that would dig her a deeper hole.
She NEEDS TO STOP TALKING. Her PR people must be idiots. She needs to shut up, go away for awhile and then maybe try and make a comeback. Do I think she is a racist – absolutely.
I kinda feel bad for her. And then I remember that she’s totally been in the tank for the Obamas since the 2008 campaign, and I feel less bad. LOL! Seriously, though, it does seem like she’s being railroaded. Bill Maher can call Sarah Palin all kinds of vile names and call her son “r*tarded” (just came out last week) and there’s absolutely no outrage from the mainstream media at all. Would you like fries with your double standard?
Bill Maher didn’t make millions off of a “wholesome country grandma” image.
Oh, so that makes it O.K., then. Gotcha.
No it just makes your comparison completely invalid.
Straw man argument.
And while people like Bill Maher and let’s say, Ann Coulter (or Rush Limbaugh or Newt Gingrich or Bill O’Reilly, which is a much more valid comparison) have the right to make subjective, ignorant statements on their show and are protected under the First Amendment, neither has the right to use racial slurs or make sexually graphic comments towards their employees in a workplace setting with no repercussions.
Also, they have network-sanctioned standards that prevent them from saying anything they want.
So yeah…fail. Try again.
The context of the hateful remarks makes no difference. The message we get is that sexism and misogyny are O.K. (as long as they’re directed at conservative women), but racism is not. So Bill Maher can make crude sexually-graphic sexist slurs as long as they’re not not racial slurs?
That’s what I thought. YOU try again.
Likewise, Rush Limbaugh has made a CAREER off of his sexist, racist AND misogynistic remarks and doesn’t get called out for it because Maher and Rush are talking heads that get paid to be controversial and to say what they think. Paula Deen is a grandmotherly southern lady who makes cookies and fried chicken.
See the difference?
Sexism and misogyny are never ok. Neither is racism.
..and you said “context” but I assume you mean “setting” (?)–and yes it DOES matter. That’s why EPLI insurance exists, that’s why you can sue for sexual and racial discrimination in the workplace and that’s why Paula Deen was deposed.
Bill Maher hasn’t allowed racist, sexist, and abusive treatment of his employees.
Paula was repeatedly told about the MANY illegal ways in which her restaurant was treating staff, and she allowed it to continue. This isn’t just about a word, it is about many actions that provide context of the environment in which the word was used.
If Bill Maher uses that word about his employees, in his place of work, in front of employees, he is opened himself up to a lawsuit too. But he has never been accused of such a thing.
I’m sorry, but you and TOK are totally focusing on the wrong issue. I never said that Bill Maher used any kind of a slur against his own employees. That’s irrelevant to my argument. The point that I made (that no one has refuted) is that there’s all kinds of outrage when someone uses the n-word, but NO outrage when someone uses the c-word – as long as it’s used against a conservative woman. And to prove my point, no one who is currently arguing against me has bothered to say, “Yes, it was wrong of Bill Maher to call Sarah Palin the c-word and call her son re*tarded.” A remark like that should transcend political leanings and should be universally condemned. But it’s not. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a double standard.
Personally, I DO get outraged when people use the c-word against ANY woman, including Palin or other conservative women. And no, I don’t use the words “whore, slut, bitch” either.
No it’s not ok in any way, shape, or form in my opinion but I still don’t see what that has to do with Deen’s case.
I think people who are offended by racism are also offended by sexism, period.
…and people aren’t talking about Bill Maher because the post isn’t about him, its about Paula Deen.
@Dave — I would love to see Maher and other “liberal” men held account for their hateful and misogynistic comments towards women. It’s disgusting and directly contradicts liberal principles.
BTW, your belief that only conservative women get that type of treatment from the media is hilarious. You are either naive or disingenuous.
..also I didn’t know that Deen hated Obama but why does that not surprise me?
Oh but I bet she’d consider him “family” if he was dressed in a white jacket and black bow-tie, serving her dinner in a plantation-style setting.
I find it odd that you are telling us we are focusing on the wrong issue, when this is about Paula Deen’s treatment of her employees. You tried to set up a false equivalent between Bill and Paula’s behavior. When we compared the behavior in a way that was apt, you try and dodge and say we are looking at it the wrong way.
@Tiffany-classic straw man’s argument, which is to say, no argument at all.
Bill is an honest asshole. He says what he thinks and feels and we know who he is and where he stands. Paula is a lying, manipulative wolf in sheep’s clothing. Much like the KKK she has cowardly hidden who she is from the masses and she bullied her employees to the point that many were probably afraid of her. So the level of vitriol is partly due to Paula’s gross hypocrisy and manipulations.
Again, I just have to ask: what Bill Maher says is O.K. because he’s honest about it? Think about what you’ve just said. Is that really what you meant? I’m not at all defending Paula Deen. I’m merely pointing out that some people get to say whatever they want to say and some people don’t.
Dave-you’re trying to make this into a “lefties get to say whatever they want but conservatives get condemned for it” argument and it’s just NOT valid here. As I said above, I didn’t know that Deen was anti-Obama nor would it have affected my opinion about her.
People are right for calling Deen out and it has NOTHING to with politics, despite your insistence to the contrary.
I find it really interesting that you are attempting to bundle this story into the persecuted conservative ‘oh the MSM is so unfair’ complex.
What’s interesting about that? If you can’t admit that there’s a media bias against conservatives, then you’re just not being intellectually honest.
No. I think you are so self-centered and myopic that there is nothing that happens in this world that you think isn’t related you and your perceived persecution at the hands of the MSM.
“What? That sweet grandmother from the Food Network broke the law by creating a hostile work environment that included discrimination, intimidation and sexism? Wow! This is just like that time Maher called polarizing Palin a bad word.”
You believe in this false equivalency so deeply that you insist on derailing this conversation to suit your private agenda. The fact that people like you bring up the Maher ‘incident’ again and again and again for YEARS on end demonstrates that he didn’t get away with it. I was sitting all the way over in Africa and heard all about it at the time (and forever since).
He didn’t, however, break the law. He didn’t call all women a bad word. He didn’t continuously discriminate against those whose livelihoods he controlled. And he didn’t veer into territory that was a odds with his brand. Just because you didn’t like it, didn’t make it ‘news’.
If this were a conversation about Rush repeatedly calling every woman in America who dares to take birth control a slut, I could somewhat understand the interjection of Maher. In this context, it is incredibly out of place.
And here is a newsflash, progressives are just as mad at the MSM and hold many of the same views you do (obviously from their own perspective of persecution – and from actual statistics that show conservative talking points getting more coverage and important stories being ignored all together). The fact that the MSM has become a ridiculous vacuum on all fronts has nothing to do with Paula Deen being discussed on a gossip site.
“He didn’t, however, break the law. He didn’t call all women a bad word. He didn’t continuously discriminate against those whose livelihoods he controlled. And he didn’t veer into territory that was a odds with his brand. Just because you didn’t like it, didn’t make it ‘news’.”
Yeah, this times a million.
Mich, there is a lot of deflection in the defense of Paula. People like to bring up every thing other celebrities have said for some sort of comparison. Bill Maher/Whoopi said things about Sarah Palin’s son, Jamie Foxx said he enjoyed killing white characters in his movie, Jesse Jackson once called people k1kes etc etc. The topic at hand is Paula and the fact she did these things in the workplace and a lawsuit was brought about. Companies tend to want to distance themselves from controversy, so I am not at all surprised she was dropped and of course the media is going to latch onto a story that has snowballed this big. However, calling a child a r*tard is still not okay and Maher should apologize.
Why do my comments keep disappearing off every freakin post!? They’re not even remotely offensive nd fit in with your website guidelines. This sucks. ) :
Though I can’t vouch for it myself, Paula’s story of having being a single mother with social anxiety and starting out making lunches for business people in her town inspired me. I don’t see her as evil and deserving of all of your criticism, if for no other reason than because it’s not right to “throw stones.” Even if you critics haven’t ever, not even once, said the N-word, I’m sure you’ve sinned before?
Oh, please, don’t bring the “let he who is without sin” bull into this. And there are thousands of single mothers out there with an inspirational story who aren’t squawking on the Today Show about it who are more deserving of admiration. Maybe if her struggles had made her a decent person, but clearly they didn’t if she’s trying to defend racism.
It isn’t just about the n-word. She allowed one of her general managers to use racial slurs about the cooks in an email to other employees. Her brother was physically assaulting employees in the work place while calling them slurs. Her brother brought p0rn to manager meetings and made female employees come into his office to watch p0rn. They didn’t pay their employees for working catering jobs (just gave them beer). Her brother told the general manager to only hire “light” people to work in the front of the restaurant.
It is soooooo much more than a word. Paula was told her businesses were engaged in illegal employment activities by her general manager, the accountant, the lawyer, an outside consulting firm, etc. They told her that she was vulnerable to a lawsuit because what she was authorizing was ILLEGAL.
You’re throwing pearls in front of pigs. Deen is not a casual sinner, who made a mistake once or twice. She’s a vile, consistent sinner, in a complex circuitry of sins – abuse of women, disregard of proper labor practices, abuse of race and ethnicity. If her narrative inspired you at a certain point – that’s good. If she continues to be your hero after some contemplation – that’s sad.
Paula started out poor but had a nanny?
When I was in my early 20’s I was equally as condemning of others as many of you, but life has humbled me. I’ve sinned a lot and have not lived up to my own expectations. When I see people condemning others as bad or evil, I want to point out that many of us are not always ideal humans.
I have asked myself that so many times
How about you try asking someone OTHER than yourself, you horrible person? Like, I dunno, black people? She is so so terrible.
That bitch. So it’s Black people’s fault for her slip up? What a coward and a liar!
lol, rich white woman tears.
No tears! I seriously saw nothing wet run down her face. She grabbed a Kleenex, but c’mon!
Sooo saying “white” here as a derogatory term makes it any better?
I have no sympathy for her privilege.
I totally agree with the columnist from the New York Times…she’s obtuse and that’s a prime reason why she is in so much hot water. She just doesn’t get it and I feel that in her heart she doesn’t really feel like she did anything wrong nor does she define herself as a racist since she has black “workers” that she feel are like “family”. The other thing is: she is really getting some very bad publicity advice. Not a good idea to try and play the victim (although that approach may be effective with her fans) and claim that because the kitchen help, who I assume are black, are using the N-word in everyday banter and conversation. She would have been better off just taking full responsibility. She’s a 66-year old woman..what she does or how she behaves is her responsibility. Finally, I don’t believe that she’s only used the N-word one time in 1986. In fact, that seems to contradict her deposition. So that would be a lie in my book. I have admired her rags to riches story, single mom and all but she needs to disappear for awhile. Maybe I’m cynical but she’s not doing herself any favors and her team is not helping matters.
I have said it before I will say it again, in this new world of instant global spreading of information, no one is immune or free from the potential spiraling out of control of a minor scandal. And here is another example of something that could have remained fairly benign, a court case handled within the confines of the judicial system, where it belongs, not played out like some kind of monstrous scandal scaled beyond most expectations.
I believe that part of the spectacle is the need to see a privileged wealthy person brought down a peg or two for their transgression, and in this case it is a volatile mix of sensitive subject matter and a polarizing character. I also feel that it isn’t necessarily the heinousness of the crime, for to me it is shoddy business practices, rude and crude managerial behaviour and a general disregard for healthy employee/employer relations. No, again it is more the expectation that our celebrities should be above reproach, always on their best behaviour, definitely not gutter talking, guffawing rubes! This is absolutely worthy of attention through a court case, but not one that needs to be parsed and dissected and flooded onto the airwaves, using PR firms, spin doctors, daytime TV… except this is exactly what makes the whole media/gossip world tick.
Ironically, Paula Deen is seeing her demise through the very lens that brought her success. She’s a TV food personality that is only as worthy of fortune as her Q rating allows. Is she done? Not sure. Should she be done? Well, I was not a fan of hers anyways, so it doesn’t matter to me. Will she get it now that it’s being dragged into daylight? Doubt it. Her way of thinking is deeply entrenched, and few change their ways when forced, regardless of the consequences. Not sure it matters right now anyway, she’s lost fans, she retains some. Been there, done that.
Like so many others before her, she will become a cautionary tale, but one that will fade as quickly as it blazed into consciousness. This scandal will be replaced by another, barely to be mentioned again lest she dare a comeback.
Has some major crisis been averted or corrected? Has the world become a better place? I hope in the end these learning opportunities result in us all gaining some perspective, some life lessons. We can’t control a Paula Deen, but we certainly can make sure we continue to remember that respect and consideration of others is expected of us all, rich and poor alike.
“here is another example of something that could have remained fairly benign, ”
I think the full scope of her employment violations were hardly benign! It wasn’t just a word, the complaint and deposition together paint a very dark picture of two restaurants where workers were racially, sexually, and physically abused, sometimes without pay.
The true lesson in this story, for me, is the way TMZ and other outlets can reduce it to inaccurate headlines and have it spread like wildfire. They printed something like “this happened 27 years ago” when the legal documents show this was about activity from 2005-2010. 8-3 years ago. They say she used the n-word once, when it was really far more complex than that.
Agreed, benign is not appropriate for the points of the case (which I have not read), but it was more referencing the escalation of a court case. Deen’s celebrity does not preclude the need for good business practices, nor does it excuse the lack of. But the only reason this is being given such scrutiny is the addition of celebrity, and to me Deen barely registers a blip on the radar for me.
Oh, give me a frigging break with this old b*tch already. He asks her if she thinks black people are offended by the “N” word. First off, you don’t have to be black to be offended by that word – I think most people are offended by it regardles of race. Second, the true definition of that word has nothing to do with race at all – look it up. Third, as usual, she deflects the criticism and puts it off on others as in “the black kids in my kitchens use it”. Really? So that makes it okay for YOU to do it? And you JUST DON’T KNOW if black people are offended by it??? I just can’t with this woman. She is prejudiced against black people. Period. Go away, Paula, your time is up and you need to slither back into the racist obscurity from which you came. While you’re there, tone down the blue contacts, heavy pancake and the overly white teeth.
Any time you have the urge to make excuses for her or think its okay to be racist, just google Emmitt Till and read about him until you stop crying and come to your senses.
Well said.
From Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin. The more things change the more they stay the same.
Those of you who are racism apologists are the reason why racism is alive and well in the 21st century.
The simple and sad truth.
I watched the interview this AM. She made it all about herself, it was an embarrassing pity party, rather than taking herself out of the equation, focusing of who she hurt, getting right down to the crux of this & taking responsibility & apologizing for offending so many people. She didn’t do that. She lost an opportunity to make it right & rediuce the impact. Matt seemed kind of short & annoyed w/her throughout the interview.
Ok…..I wasn’t going to say anything but I just have to. The fact that she said that word many many years ago is IRRELEVANT. Even Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton have issued statements saying that she shouldn’t be judged now by something that happened so long ago. So….if ALL OF YOU EXPERTS….know everything you are saying is true about her now then good for you. But if not…..perhaps we should wait to see. Innocent until proven guilty and all that. I have friends who went to her restaurant to meet her (the husband owns a restaurant in Atlanta) and they all said that she and her sons were OVERLY nice to them. They just thought she was very down to earth. Keep in mind that this is a woman who has a past where she was agoraphobic….she wouldn’t leave her house and had panic attacks. So if she isn’t the most polished under pressure….I kind of give her a break on that. IF IF IF….there is concrete evidence of really terrible things then we can judge her….but this crucifixtion of character this early in the game is just wrong. Even this morning when Matt said that people were boycotting the Food Channel….she said….I don’t want people to do that. For myself….I’m waiting. Interesting to see all you perfect people coming down this hard on someone. I’m sure you are all wonderful and without any flaws.
I’m offended by her racism, particularly after reading the deposition and learning of her actions toward her staff. If she were just some older lady talking like this to her friends and family, fine, it’s absolutely her right to be a racist privately. But she’s a public figure and has violated standards in employment practices.
By the way, I don’t need anyone, Bill Maher, Jessie Jackson, or the person among her defenders that I actually do respect, Reverend Al Sharpton, to tell me that I should give her a pass. I consider her offensive, regardless of their opinions.
EXACTLY. Do you really need someone in the public eye to tell you what IS offensive and what ISN’T?
If it makes you feel like throwing up when you simply see the word, never mind hearing it, then it’s offensive. I don’t GAF what Maher or Sharpton have to say about it.
She was proven guilty. What else do you want?
@Soporificat – thank you for your objectivity.
“BTW, your belief that only conservative women get that type of treatment from the media is hilarious. You are either naive or disingenuous.”
I’m glad you were amused. But I’m neither of those things because that’s not what I said. The point I made (still unrefuted, btw) is that there is a double standard in the way the mainstream media reacts (or doosn’t react) to that type of treatment. For instance, it was wrong of Rush Limbaugh to call Sandra Fluke a sl*t. But when he did it, it was widely reported. Whenever Bill Maher or one of many other people I could cite insults Sarah Palin or another conservative woman in a vile, graphic, and sexist manner, it’s met with a giant yawn by the mainstream media – and, more tellingly, by NOW, which really should change its name to the National Organization of Liberal Women.
Completely agree with Dave. There is TOTALLY a double standard. Start observing and you will see it.
Adjusting neocon male glasses… yeah I see it… /sarcasm
@TOK
“..also I didn’t know that Deen hated Obama but why does that not surprise me?”
Do you not know what “in the tank” means? Paula Deen campaigned for Obama. She’s always been a supporter.
That’s not germane to my argument. I just thought it was interesting.
My apologies, Dave, VERY poor reading comprehension on my part.
But you are correct in saying that whether she campaigned or didn’t campaign for Obama is completely irrelevant.
Much like one can be friends with a black person and still hold racist beliefs, one can vote for a black president and still hold racist beliefs.
Agreed.
I’d like to try one of Paula Deen’s cookbooks. Are they any good?
I prefer triple ply Charmin for wiping, but her book does the job.
LOL! You just won the Internet.
OTiffany, you are truly the queen of bon mots.
🙂
21-rimshot salute.
I will say this, because of this and her diabetes scandal, I predict you will be able to find her cookbooks used for $0.01 + $3.99 shipping and handling on Amazon.
I personally like Christy Jordan for down-home, non-gourmet Southern cooking, but if you still really want to try Paula’s recipes and NOT contribute to her bottom line, buy used on Amazon. I’ve also heard great things about “Screen Doors & Sweet Tea” by Martha Foose. I’ve been trying to find THAT cookbook at a much more affordable price too.
It’s how I was able to buy the cookbook “Nigella Bites” for $4.00 used, since I had never seen Nigella Lawson’s cooking show or knew anything about her until I saw her on “The Taste.”
It’s pretty much a waiting game.
Thanks for the pointer to Christy Jordan! I just visited her site and found this, posted in May:
http://www.southernplate.com/2013/05/redneck-cordon-bleu.html
She goes into where the term “redneck” came from, and then talks about her family history, and about discrimination and prejudice and how it all comes down to someone belittling you for being different than they are – but, wouldn’t you WANT to be different from people who think like that?
Refreshing! And it isn’t in reaction to this, she posted it in May. I will definitely be checking out Christy’s recipes (although truth to tell I can’t eat a lot of rich food anyway). I love her attitude already!
Thanks for the tip!
No problem! I also don’t eat very heavy, salty, fat-rich foods so I adapt most recipes that contain salted butter, margarine and shortening (which is basically a chemical) to unsweetened apple sauce, grapeseed oil and lard — which isn’t as bad for you as you would think IN MODERATION. And I use unsalted butter and usually half the quantity listed. 🙂 Glad I could help!
Does anyone actually believe she’s being authentic? The N word isn’t her only incident. Of course Lauer’s questioning was about companies dropping her versus asking her real questions. Phony as a $3 bill and can’t believe people are falling for her fake nature.
The Today interview was a HOT MESS. I have a weird mix of second hand embarrassment for her and a running tally in my head of the ways she showed she wasn’t sorry for anything but herself. She’s all wrapped up in her name and brand and image. Most people could take their giant pile of money, go on a world cruise being waited on hand and foot (by men in classy uniforms) and could then come back and try again.
She seems willfully attached to clinging to her image and staying plugged into the fame game. The diabetic scandal was kind of the same way. I don’t understand people who don’t realize that making everyone love you all the time turns you into a fake persona and sets yourself up to fail.
She still has fans but evidently that isn’t enough. Kinda sad!
This has turned into a total,utter train wreck-honestly think if she had just come out and said “I used to be racist but I am trying to reform,change be better” and it would have been better received in my opinion
@Mich – I am not the one setting up a false equivalency. Once again (sigh) I am not defending Paula Deen or comparing Maher’s behavior to hers in any way. I am only making an observation that the mainstream media has covered their behavior differently.
And you showed your true colors by referring to what Maher said as an ‘incident’ (your quotes), which is dismissive of it and is tantamount to defending him. Disgusting.
Talking to you people is like talking to a wall. I should have known better.
Read slowly:
Maher is annoying at best and a pig at worst. I don’t know any liberals who feverishly discuss his pronouncements the following day. Nobody’s claiming him as a cheerleader. Also, don’t remember any Democrat politician kissing his ring, the way it happened with Limbaugh some time ago.
On your side you have a full battalion of crazy (and uber greedy): Limbaugh, Coulter, Beck, Savage.
And BTW, they all have a constitutional right to be pigs.
What? ‘Incident’ literally means an individual event or occurrence. Maher might regularly rail on Palin but he called her the offensive word once. It was an incident – unlike a lifelong pattern of behavior from Deen. Take it up with Webster or the OED if you have a problem with the English language.
If you are referring to his comments about her child, there are millions of mentions of it online. It is hardly being glossed over.
I explained to you why the media covers this type of situation differently and it has absolutely nothing to do with conservative v liberal. It is the same reason that Rush, Beck and any number of other talking heads are covered differently.
1. He didn’t break the law.
2. He didn’t systematically discriminate against those he had control over.
3. He didn’t fantasize about the subjugation of all women.
4. He didn’t veer from his brand.
Sure. What he said was offensive. But it wasn’t “news”. Deen is guilty of all of the above, her situation is news.
Nobody is perfect. I believe reasonable people just wanted a sincere apology and an overhaul of her employment practices before this escalated this badly.
I believe the concerns of her being racist have been excellently discussed so I shall just point out her unprofessionalism and her allegation that she was confused. If we put aside her racist tendencies and all the other noise, this is not an ignorant woman; she has to have some business sense and intelligence to build a business empire from scratch. This is not a person who is operating a small shop in some rural location with very little interaction with the world. When you are building a brand and a business, surely you would be more than aware of the liabilities you are facing. So as a businesswoman and celebrity, she should have known better. She could have done more and put her foot (and butter) down and go back to basics; be professional and treat your staff right and follow the labour laws. The logical thing to do if you as boss, are confused about the n word being used callously, would be to check first before using it right? Even if you don’t know any black people, you would at least check with your legal team right? So due to this lapse, she really screwed and exposed herself. Hence, when she claims ignorance, it’s not believable. Celebs attached to a brand, such as Food Network, would undergo extensive media training to protect their brand. You can see a glimpse of this during Food Network Star. Aside from their own personal capacity, they would also have access to a legal team from the Food Network. Why would it be so difficult to act professional and start learning? So she should just apologize and say she was wrong and the next step would be to relook her employment practices. Hire a consultant or something. When she apologized and said she was ignorant, it made things worse and her racist tendencies, even if it was truly one-time, more glaring.
Well put!
Yeah, that was a really good comment.
If she thinks every god’s creature was created equal- why does she eat so many of them?
…is butter an animal?
“I go into my kitchens and hear what these young people are calling each other … ”
As the employer, she is required BY LAW to make sure there is no hostile work environment based on race or gender. Did she just ADMIT on national television that she knew racial slurs are cast about at her restaurant, and did nothing about it?
To answer your question, in the words of Paula “Of Course”
Mainly because she and Bubba were also tossing that favorite words of theirs in that kitchen. Next to butter, the N word is one of her favorite ingredients to use in the kitchen.
Oh, PUKE.
Missed this because I had to be out of town this morning. I’m feeling nauseous watching this performance.
The Bible says, “Behold, you have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.” Numbers 32:23. PAULA DEEN GOT FOUND OUT
Yes of course she used the N word or never, except that one time during an attempted robbery? The latter is clearly baloney, but even so, the idea that your brain immediately goes to an ugly racial epithet is bizarre. I’m not saying a crime victim is supposed to be perfectly polite. But the N word would be the last freaking thing on most of our minds… unless it was already on your mind.
BTW, anyone else notice it’s not always the same shade of preternaturally blue eyes? There’s “Crazy Blue,” “Blue It Like Bubba” and now the softer “Give A Racist Old Lady A Break Y’all Blue.”
i keep hearing from people that it’s going overboard on her, for saying one word. i even heard it on the radio show this morning. but its not just about one word, it’s about all the other stuff and i wish the media would focus on that, not just the one word… because a lot of people think that’s all its about.
Exactly, and people are commenting on something they know nothing about.
Crocodile tears
The media has blown this completely out of proportion. Deen won’t have to worry soon, they will find something else to talk about,its like highschool. I guess we all have sinned since everyone that has walked this earth has said something racist. It may not have been public, but we’ve all said some kind of racist slur slur at least in our homes and we condemn Paula Deen to hell, I think not. I wasn’t offended and i’m black. As I said they’ll soon find a new toy to play with.
I haven’t seen crying like that since Susan Lucci. Her eyes weren’t even damp.
Erica Kane fought and defeated a bear. She cries for no one. 😉
Her empire is imploding little by little. Now Walmart dumped her. I am waiting for the next bomb to drop.
After watching her Today show interview, it’s become clear to me that Paula Deen is too stupid to even understand that she did something wrong. Any attempt at an intelligent explanation is futile because her ignorance trumps her ability to compute.
I’m not defending her, but I feel that she’s been surrounded by so much ignorance and general idiocy in her lifetime, it was inevitable she would turn out the way she is. And if you couple that with the assumption that she was born kind of stupid (because not everyone is smart and savvy like the average Celebitchy reader), then you can see how she’s a product of the society she’s from, which is still rife with racism and ignorance.
I mean, the lady can’t even pull it together enough to realize that she just lied on TV about what she said in her deposition, and then she goes on and on about how she despises liars and thieves! Amazing.
Also, that crap she says about her father not tolerating discrimination in his household, did he have that same sit-down talk with Bubba? Or did he have a different set of rules for the girls, you know, the inferior ones.
She’s just too stupid to live and there are so many more of her where she came from. The end.
I read that the viewership for her cooking shows during 2012-2013 had dropped anyway, even before the fallout from this scandal. I think it probably started downwards as a result of the debacle with the diabetes medication endorsement and that whole mess. That may have planted the seed for things to unravel.
Caesars said it’s stripping Deen’s name from four buffet restaurants that they own. More implosion.
This story is a big deal because racism is a big deal in our country, period. We are all just looking for a way to address it so it manifests with these kinds of incidents– when really Paula Deen is just a catalyst. I have never been to the South in my life and I experience blatant racism everyday. Paula Deen’s reflection is from an American mirror.
Very true.
Can I just answer ‘Dave’ real quick?
Dave, there is a double standard and I can say that as a black woman.
The ‘left’ ignores black women killed/raped/violated/harassed (etc) by black men all the time.
If you go to ‘what about our daughters’ you’ll see how msncb, cnn and others have ignored the case of the black woman and white man marine who were raped and killed by 4 black males.
Again, this happens all the time so we are absolutely hit by both racism and sexism and it shows by how ignored we are by popular media on BOTH sides.
Absolutely. There is a double standard the way you describe it.
Dave isn’t interested in that though. He/she merely cares that the media didn’t fall all over themselves reporting about how one, polarizing woman was called an offensive name by a known democrat.
You are talking about thousands and millions, Dave’s feelings are focused on one Tea Party idol.
What I never understood is why do people who are not black want so much to use the N word.
I don’t use it. DON’T feel the desire as a black person to say it. But that being said why is it “they say it so why can’t I”..
Why do you want to say it?