Food Network Says It Won't Renew Paula Deen Contract After Admission She Used Racial Slurs

[Hissyspit]

Source: New York Times

@AP: BREAKING: Food Network says it won't renew Paula Deen's contract after admission she used racial slurs. -MM

CNN: Statement from Food Network: "Food Network will not renew Paula Deen's contract when it expires at the end of this month"

Food Network Drops Paula Deen

By JULIA MOSKIN
Published: June 21, 2013

The Food Network said Friday that it would not renew Paula Deen’s contract when it expires at the end of June.

The announcement followed a bewildering day in which Ms. Deen, the self-proclaimed queen of Southern cooking and a sugary mainstay of the network, failed to show up for an interview on the “Today” show and then begged her family and audience for forgiveness in two online videos for using racial epithets in the past.

She has faced a volley of criticism this week over her remarks in a deposition for a discrimination lawsuit by a former employee. In the document, she admitted she had used racial slurs, tolerated racist jokes and condoned pornography in the workplace. The Food Network statement did not elaborate on its reasons for dropping her, but a person close to the network said its shows featuring her sons, Jamie and Bobby, would not be affected.

In her first video on Friday, posted on YouTube and later removed, Ms. Deen, near tears, said: “I want to apologize to everybody for the wrong that I’ve done. I want to learn and grow from this. Inappropriate and hurtful language is totally, totally unacceptable.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/22/dining/paula-deen-is-a-no-show-on-today.html

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. I guess it is a double ignore - I can now continue to ignore someone that I already ignore!

[Hissyspit]

15. I am slicing open a home-grown tomato

as we post.

Maybe I will slather it with lard in Paula Deen's honor.

(Actually, just some salt, pepper, and dill.)

[NRaleighLiberal]

17. lard it - stuff it with lardoons, top it with mayo and whipped cream and some bacon! mmmm!

maybe some SMIFFILD HAYEM!



I am probably a week from some cherry tomatoes, 3 weeks from the real treasures!

[Hissyspit]

22. I just ate a slice with Dijon mustard.

Yum!

[JW2020]

26. Put it between two donuts

[Ohio Joe]

18. nooooooooooooooo

A nice slice of fresh Mozzarella... Maybe a little olive oil.... Thats it, that is all that should go on a fresh garden tomato

[Hissyspit]

23. Can't do the mozzarella. I'm dieting.

But agreed: yum. Real buffalo-milk mozzarella.

[Cal Carpenter]

52. That, and a leaf or two of fresh basil.

IMHO

[obama2terms]

106. You know what is really good?

Putting mozzarella ( or any cheese you like) on a sliced tomato, with some chopped fresh basil on top, pop it in the toaster oven until the cheese melts, and mmm it's good!

[MrMickeysMom]

132. Here's another great recipe

Racist-free Fried Green Tomatoes!

[obama2terms]

135. MMM

Good!

[obama2terms]

105. Mmmm

Stop, you're making me crave a homegrown tomato! I miss my veggie garden soo much now.

[Aristus]

33. Same here.

There's no way I can ignore this woman less than I do already. It kind of pisses me off...

[midnight]

115. Those are some very impressive tomatoes. My plants have some little tomatoes on them but I'm

in Wisconsin. In a few weeks, I hope mine will look as nice as yours.

[avaistheone1]

2. No wonder she made her apology.

Although it was a weak one.

[onehandle]

3. Excellent. nt

[Hissyspit]

4. @theharryshearer: Crow Pie. #PaulaDeanRecipes

[KamaAina]

31. Another gem from Harry

Baby Back of the Bus Ribs!

[MisterP]

5. not because she's the culinary equivalent of The Ring?

[thelordofhell]

6. Looks like FOXnews is going to get a cooking show

[NJCher]

24. DU-zy!!!

OMD, that is classic.

(Tears rolling out of my eyes)


Cher

[Doremus]

45. LOL!

I really needed that laugh today -- thanks!

(still chuckling....)

[El Shaman]

62. Good

one TLOH!!

[calimary]

69. Welcome to DU, El Shaman!

Glad you're here! I've been checking the Food Network's Facebook page -

https://www.facebook.com/FoodNetwork?fref=ts

And MAN, first one shitstorm over what she said and how she didn't go on the "Today" show as she was scheduled to do, to comment, and how people wanted her gone.

Then a second shitstorm over the network deciding not to renew her contract, which was about to expire, in the wake of what she said! TONS of people posting about it, raining down condemnation and swearing they'll never watch the network again. Evidently, from the transcript of the deposition, and excerpts I've read, she indeed had, back then, used the "n" word, PLUS the "p" word used against an underage waitress. The manager of one of her restaurants said she had to share her office with Paula Deen's brother, who did nothing but watch porn all day. I'm not sure if this is the manager suing Paula Deen now.

Amid all the anti-Food Network vitriol, though, somebody posted: "I have a killer recipe for Whine and Buttered Crackers."

[davidpdx]

78. KKK Cooking with Paula Dean

[Kennah]

100. "Today we're going to serve dark meat."

[SummerSnow]

103. She will.get a new show..

Antebellum Hour with Paula Deen

[MrMickeysMom]

133. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

That IS a DUzy, ya'll!

[olddots]

7. thanks again CNN for important news

Wolf must be beside himself in fake grief .

[iandhr]

8. To steal a line from Jessica Williams...

... of the Daily Show.

Is her racism Type I or type II

[louis-t]

9. Maybe she'll get a job working in a

soul food kitchen.

[Lunabelle]

10. As ashamed I am as to admit it, I have used the "n" word in a horrible derogatory way.

I am a 51 year old female who grew up in Alabama and Tennessee. As a young child I used that nasty word and it tears my soul to think that I ever did this. We were taught to fear people of color. I have a memory of being afraid of some children on a playground due to their darker skin. I was about 3 years old and it sticks in me like a knife.

I am sorry Ms. Deen chose to carry this mental disturbance into her adulthood. As a child, I had the thoughts and fears of my elders until I began to develop my own senses. At around 7 years of age I had the heart and conscience to know that what I had been taught was a damned lie and even attempted to apologize to a classmate for my forefathers crimes.

I am sorry. I will always have that feeling of shame and sorrow at what I once did as a child. I hope Paula Deen can make her peace with what she did as an adult.

[noiretextatique]

12. thanks for sharing. please know: you were taught to hate

and that is not your fault. the fact that you recognized it that what you learned was wrong and changed is what's significant, because some people never learn. there is no shame in overcoming ignorance and hatred. however, paula deen should have known better and now she will pay the price...literally. i am about your age, black and female. i was taught some things that i had to unlearn also, and i don't feel bad about what crazy adults taught me. peace

[Hissyspit]

13. You have nothing to be ashamed of if you figured it out at 7...

I was raised in Arkansas in the 1960s by a woman who was the child of a cow farmer and later a county sheriff. I was taught by mother to NEVER use the word and to respect people's character. I don't know Deen's upbringing, but in adulthood, she has NO excuse.

[dawn frenzy adams]

25. Thanks for sharing and your honesty.

She stop growing as a human being. You didn't.

[calimary]

70. Welcome to DU, dawn frenzy adams!

Good to have you with us! I posted earlier about the shitstorm on the Food Network Facebook page. Found another zinger among all the mourners who vow to cancel FN now, and/or if Paula Deen is not reinstated:

"You'll be tuning in within a few days so you can get some more sodium and fat in your system."

[Kablooie]

36. My mother was raised in Virginia during the 30's.

She had a black nanny (She called her "Mammy&quot and looked down on the "colored people" in her town.

In later years though, her views changed and she raised me emphatically not to judge anyone by their race or color and would become angry with anyone who expressed racist ideas.

[nolabear]

54. Lovely post. Somehow I haven't, but people I dearly love certainly have.

The world is a complicated and sometimes awful place. And we learn awful things. As for Paula Deen, since I can't see into her heart, I don't know whether she is sincere or merely covering her ass, but I hope she is, and I hope people eventually forgive her.

[reflection]

68. Me too.

Grew up in TN. It was verboten in my house but all the kids at the schoolyard would throw it around. When I understood the gravity of it I was ashamed. It's getting better in certain places but I still hear it regularly.

[davidpdx]

80. I grew up in a rural town in Oregon for most of my life

I wasn't born there, but it is where my mother moved for her job. I lived there for around 8 1/2 years and moved to Portland (which I claim as my hometown) where I lived for 11 years. The racist culture didn't suck me in, but I did start to notice it as I got older. There were very few African-Americans in the town and the rumor was (and I don't know this for sure) that they were run out of town. When I started college in Portland I met all kind of people, including my RA who was from Iran. He was a real nice guy. In graduate school there were about a dozen Turkish students in the same program I was in. I moved to South Korea after Portland and went from a city of 20,000 in rural Oregon to the Portland Metro Area which was about 2 million, to the Seoul Metro Area with 23.8 million.

It's never too late to learn about new cultures and it's a good way to make amends with yourself and let it go.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

113. This black woman thanks you so much for your honesty. I wish there were more people like you.

You are brave and humble. Hate is taught; it is learned. No one comes out of their mother's womb with hatred in their hearts. Thanks again for sharing.

[Mad-in-Mo]

121. Perhaps Ms Deen's mind is going

My mother, who was the most liberal person I knew, began to "lose her marbles" 5 or 6 years before her death. She lived in an assisted living facility which was staffed largely by hispanic and black people. One time she was having dinner in the dining room with my brother in law and in a loud voice said "Our niggers were much blacker than they are now" which of course made him want to slide under the table. She was not raised in a home with servants or "help", but side by side with the blacks in the community. In her normal years she would have rather died than use the term. This was when we knew for certain that she was going over the edge into a world of dementia.

That said, I'm no fan of Ms Deen. But it is something to consider that maybe her inhibitions and subconscious were messed up.

[Arugula Latte]

131. This was an ongoing thing over years, though. African Americans were paid less than white people

in her restaurants, and she put the lighter-skinned African Americans as servers and had the darker-skinned people in the kitchen. So I don't think the "losing her marbles" explanation applies.

[alp227]

11. Bye. a LONG overdue firing for a talentless sugar/salt/fat promoter. n/t

[Release The Hounds]

16. Couldn't have said it better.

[Tom Ripley]

14. Well, shut my mouth!

[frazzled]

19. Now, if they could just fire most of the rest of the talent on that network

Honestly, I used to watch the Food Network (and sister channel, Cooking Channel) ... when they had real chefs making real food (I'm recalling Sarah Moulton, Ming Tsai, etc.). Now it's Guy Fieri running around to redneck drive-ins and diners.

As for the Ms. Deen ... never really watched her show because I don't cook that kind of food and I always found her incredibly grating. And I am married to a Southerner, a native of Charleston, SC ... who is over sixty and never once in a million years would have used the "N" word. Ever. Besides, Charleston cuisine is in a class by itself: she-crab soup and fresh seafood and such.

[bitchkitty]

28. I think Charleston is in a class by itself.

I have never visited but hope to one day, as I have heard very good things about it. For one, I hear they have the best manners in the world! LOL

[calimary]

72. Dang! I thought I was the only one who's

FUCKING SICK AND TIRED OF GUY FIERI!!!!! Good Grief, enough already! A little of him goes a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnng way. A VERY little.

And I also agree with you about Paula Deen. I found her grating as well. Not as obnoxious as Guy Fieri, but she's not my style, either. And her cooking would send me straight into late-onset diabetes too. It killed my dad, slowly and rather horribly. We have a really serious obesity problem in this country, and I don't think cooking like that is a good thing to glorify anymore. Not saying make it all go away, and of course, that's impossible anyway. But I don't think it should be celebrated the way she did.

[frazzled]

76. Well then, you need to relive the famed Guy Fieri smackdown

Last November, I opened up the New York Times one morning and started reading this review of Guy Fieri's Times Square restaurant. It was hysterical ... and like nothing I'd ever read in the NYT before (or since). The best part is that the rant goes on for pages! It was like the reviewer just couldn't stop himself. Here's just a small taste. Enjoy:

GUY FIERI, have you eaten at your new restaurant in Times Square? Have you pulled up one of the 500 seats at Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar and ordered a meal? Did you eat the food? Did it live up to your expectations?

Did panic grip your soul as you stared into the whirling hypno wheel of the menu, where adjectives and nouns spin in a crazy vortex? When you saw the burger described as “Guy’s Pat LaFrieda custom blend, all-natural Creekstone Farm Black Angus beef patty, LTOP (lettuce, tomato, onion + pickle), SMC (super-melty-cheese) and a slathering of Donkey Sauce on garlic-buttered brioche,” did your mind touch the void for a minute?

Did you notice that the menu was an unreliable predictor of what actually came to the table? Were the “bourbon butter crunch chips” missing from your Almond Joy cocktail, too? Was your deep-fried “boulder” of ice cream the size of a standard scoop?

What exactly about a small salad with four or five miniature croutons makes Guy’s Famous Big Bite Caesar (a) big (b) famous or (c) Guy’s, in any meaningful sense?

Were you struck by how very far from awesome the Awesome Pretzel Chicken Tenders are? If you hadn’t come up with the recipe yourself, would you ever guess that the shiny tissue of breading that exudes grease onto the plate contains either pretzels or smoked almonds? Did you discern any buttermilk or brine in the white meat, or did you think it tasted like chewy air?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/dining/reviews/restaurant-review-guys-american-kitchen-bar-in-times-square.html?_r=0

This review was so unique and out-of-character for the Times that it went viral. People are still laughing 8 months later.

[Beartracks]

102. Wow. Awesome review. ROFL. n/t

[calimary]

126. Yeah, no kidding! Thanks, frazzled, for posting it!

I had not seen that one. All I know is that I find him dreadfully tiresome. If I had a dollar for every one of those stupid sartorial, vocal, or attitudinal affectations he's adopted, I'd be almost as well-compensated as he is. He's actually the main reason I turn off the Food Network. I hope that with Paula Deen gone, they don't decide to fill the void with more of him.

[Beacool]

20. I wonder one thing.

If a famous male chef during a sworn testimony had been asked if at some point in his life he had used the "C" word in reference to some woman, would he have lost his contract if he had said yes?

I'm not condoning the fact that Deen had used the word in the past, but past is key in this situation. Is she still using that word, does she still feel that way about AA? She's a woman in her mid sixties who was raised in GA. I think that the majority of people of that generation and from the Deep South would have lied if they had answered no to that question.

[yardwork]

27. Read up on what she actually said and did.

I think you'll see why she was fired.

[calimary]

94. Indeed.

http://www.atlawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Jackson-v.-Deen-et-al.-Complaint.pdf

Kinda hard to find defensible things in here for Miss Paula and her operations. Including her Neanderthal brother.

[politicat]

29. I don't give her a pass on age.

My grandmother is nearing 80, and grew up in the stronghold of the Midwestern Klan (Central Indiana) during the Midwestern resurgence of heavy racism. It got pretty nasty in the 30's. By no means is she more progressive or better educated than most of her peers (finished high school, got a nursing degree in the 70s.)

She does not use racial slurs and never has. Calls people out on it when she hears racism (still common in that region).

Deen is my father's age -- a Boomer, not a Silent or a Greatest Gen -- and that sort of thing is not okay. She came of age during the Civil Rights movement, so she knows better. She has no excuses.

I'm glad FN terminated her contract. They should have done it a long time ago. They had strong talent interested in healthy, smart food (Alton Brown, Ming Tsui) and they wasted them in favor of cupcakes and junk. I hope they take this as a wake-up call.

[obama2terms]

107. I agree

If my grandmother were alive today, she would be 89. She grew up in Mississippi, when hearing the N word was about as common as hearing hello. And she DESPISED the word, and even called people who used it, filth and trash. Also my mother, who is around Paula Deen's age, knew it was wrong to say, and she grew up in Memphis. People need to stop using, "Oh she's an old southern white lady, what do you expect?" Excuse. Any decent human being, knows it's just wrong. Plus if all her defenders did any research, they would know she did more then just say the N word a few times.

[Major Nikon]

37. She used the word in regard to children

"Well what I would really like is a bunch of little n***ers to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties, you know in the Shirley Temple days, they used to tap dance around… Now, that would be a true Southern wedding wouldn't it? But we can't do that because the media would be on me about that."

She said this in 2007 and people knew it was very wrong to say it 50 years ago. I have no sympathy for her.

[Beacool]

40. That's what the plaintiff alleges.

How do we know that Deen actually said it?

[tarheelsunc]

42. Well, she issued three crappy video apologies and never even tried to deny the claims. eom

[Beacool]

43. I guess time will tell.

Are there other people who will now come out of the woodwork and accuse Deen of similar behavior?

[Doremus]

48. She's admitted to doing it. Why try to diffuse from that fact? nt

[Beacool]

50. Because I don't think that people should be hanged for everything they may have said in the past.

As long as they have evolved and don't currently feel the same way, which is something we don't know.

[obama2terms]

108. I read today

That more employees have come forward about it. She supposedly paid black workers less, and when one person threatened to report it, he was told " You have no civil rights here". Also, she tended to keep darker skinned workers in the back and white and lighter skinned black people up front. This sounds like the things that went on, before any civil rights laws were passed protecting black people. I guess that explains the "You have no civil rights here".

[LanternWaste]

63. About the same amount of people I would imagine

"Are there other people who will now come out of the woodwork..."

About the same amount of people I would imagine, who will defend her actions in their hearts, if not in their words.

[Ash_F]

96. It takes a lot of courage to speak out against the boss in a public manner.

Even after no longer being employed by them. It sounds crazy, you would think they would not be afraid of retaliation after that point, but that is how it shakes out. Read about how class action lawsuits go. It takes a statically rare person to get it going.

If Dean gets taken down a peg by popular media, and the plaintiff gains some clout, then yes you will most definitely see others speaking up. Morale needs to build first though.

[jakefrep]

129. She apologized. Period.

Get over yourself.

[Major Nikon]

47. Because she apologized for it?

Just throwing that out there.

[Beacool]

51. I didn't hear her apology.

But there's something distasteful about the feeding frenzy tearing this woman apart. It seems hypocritical. I think that she was truthful during her sworn testimony and now she's being punished for it. She could have simply lied and said that she had never in her life used that word.

[Cal Carpenter]

59. Personally I find blatant racism distasteful

especially from an adult, public figure who knows damn well the implications of her words, I find that much more distasteful than the criticism and repercussions she is facing.

FFS. Distasteful.

[Major Nikon]

60. She is a hateful, disgusting woman

And she did lie during her deposition. What she did tell the truth about revealed her true nature.

“If you think I have worked this hard to lose everything because of a piece of pussy, you better think again.” Asked in her deposition whether she actually said it, Deen responded with an abso-friggin-lutely: “I said that day and I would say it again today if it applied.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/19/paula-deen-uses-the-n-word-7-shocking-details-from-her-deposition.html

[Scairp]

53. Then what was she apologizing for if she never said it?

She said it or something very like it or she would have shown up for the Today show and denied saying and she would not have made a tearful apology video. She too much like so many of the white people in the south who in private say it more often than they admit. Believe me I know, I've lived there.

[Beacool]

57. She said that she had used the word in the past.

She didn't say that she used it in reference to the woman's allegations. I don't particularly care for her or her show, but I think that she's being treated as if she killed someone.

[MikeW]

64. unfortunately

Thats how it is on DU and the mass media these days.

DU is laughable these days ... everyone preaching like they are as clean as the preachers sheets. Yea

sure you all have fking halo's over your heads LOL.

Why dont we wait and actually find out what happens at trial ... instead of "off with their heads".

She should have done herself a favor ... deposed and then no comment until trial was over.

Ive already seen the "food police" out in full force already ... GOOD NO MORE BUTTER SUGAR blah blah blah.

Bunch of health blow hards.

If Im making a batch of cookies Im using butter and sugar ... not freking apple sauce!!!

Thats why you only eat them ONCE and a while not as a freking staple.

[Beacool]

65. She should have settled the case.

That was the lesson from the Paula Jones case too. Guilty or innocent, it's better to settle and be done with it.

[RobinA]

71. My Feeling Exactly

Plus, she has a damn good chocolate cake recipe. Which I happily admit I have made and enjoyed on several occasions. Butter, refined sugar, white flour, and probably a bunch of other things it is currently immoral to eat.

[obama2terms]

110. She does have some alright recipes

But my parents are diabetic, so I try to steer away from that type of food. If I never cook it, they never ask for it!

[jessie04]

75. I got reamed in GD for saying the same thing.

Everyone makes mistakes. And all these people that are out for blood will make mistakes too.



I hope they get the forgiveness that they won't give to her.

[obama2terms]

111. I've done bad things in my life, but not like this

But she's done more than said the N word a few times. More employees have come forward saying she paid black employees less, and when one guy threatened to report it, he was told "You have no civil rights here". Also, she kept dark skinned black people in the back and only let white and lighter skinned black people work up front. How 'bout some butter with a side of bigotry!

[firenewt]

116. So DU is laughable these days and we all have halos. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. My

question to you is why are you still here given your obvious dislike of DU?

[davidpdx]

79. When I read that I was also wondering how far in the past

By all means I'm not condoning her behavior, but it would be interesting to know if the past was 3 years ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago? In the past is very vague.

[Beacool]

83. That's my feeling too.

I lived in South Florida, and although it's not really the South as it's full of people from Northern states, I know that people had a mind set in the past that they mostly do not have in the present. Most people have evolved. I read last night on CNN an interview with her pastor. He's AA and he came out in her defense. I also know that she helps finance a school for underprivileged boys. I watched once an episode of her show where these boys had been invited to eat at her home. Most of the boys were AA.

I think that the perception of racism is the third rail in this country. Short of committing a major crime, everyone would rather be called anything other than a racist. I think that the media is having a knee jerk reaction because they too don't want to be called racist. Ditto for the Food Network. I checked their Facebook page and they are being killed over her firing. I think that we as Americans consider ourselves to be fair people. We don't like it when someone is being railroaded.

Look what has been happening here the last week or so when some posters started threads accusing other members of being racists if they opposed Obama's NSA spying. It created a lot of bad feelings. There's nothing that stops a conversation faster than hurling the "racism" word at someone.

[kwassa]

89. Racism is a lot trickier than just using the N-word.

The most damaging type comes from those who know how to hide it best and are in real positions of power. Those that control access to jobs and housing, for instance.

Paula Deen should really be arrested as a threat to public health. Whether or not the racist tag sticks is harder to pinpoint.

[CreekDog]

119. so it's okay for you to tell us to not think something's racist when you haven't even read about it

what's the standard for racism?

that Beacool thinks it's racist.

if it doesn't rise to some threshold, then we are just beating up on good, old meaned-no-harm, Paula Deen.

sounds fair.

[Beacool]

122. Save your sarcasm for someone who gives a crap.

I'm not the thought police, but neither am I a lemming who has to go with the crowd.

[calimary]

120. Guys, it's NOT about "that" word. Goes WAY beyond that.

Last edited Tue Jun 25, 2013, 03:52 PM - Edit history (1)

I found this among the posts on the Food Network Facebook page - where most people are excoriating the Food Network for being so unfair to Paula Deen. Having read a lot of the documents in this case, I thought the post below was an EXCELLENT summation:

" PAULA DEEN SUPPORTERS I am posting this again because I know most of you have not seen this. Many people think that Paula lost her contract with Food Network over saying the N-word 28 of 30 years ago. If only that were the problem, but it isn't.....

The Lawsuit that was filed against Paula and her Brother Bubba is a Federal EEOC suit alleging violations in protecting workers at their workplace.

Paula opened a restaurant with her brother, Bubba, 5 years ago. The business has never been profitable. That was the first red flag for me. One of Paula Deen's restaurants not profitable in her home town? It is at least $300K underwater.

Paula hired a business consultant to help her, and Bubba, figure out what was wrong with the business. The consultant came back with a report after studying the restaurant and speaking with all the employees. The primary problem was Bubba! The other major problem (risk) was numerous EEOC violations in the workplace. (Here is where Food Network, its parent company and their advertisers become concerned). The consultant went to Paula's house on her way back out of town, handed her the report. Because their first suggestion was to remove Bubba, Paula refused to read the report, she claims. She says she didn't read the report she paid for. So, here is what we have so far. Paula is concerned and hires a consultant. So she knows there are problems. The consultant suggest removing Bubba, because he is taking money (and even her business manager told her he was taking money) AND because he is using racial slurs, physically assaulting workers, told the manager to only have white workers in the dining room, instituted separate bathrooms AND has physically assaulted the manager (he forcibly tried to kiss her and when she resisted he spat in her face) and is sexually harassing her on a daily basis. Paula paid for the professional consultant, was duly warned but did nothing to protect her workers.

Her family friend who was acting as her business manager, under Paula's instruction, was using money from Paula Deen Enterprises (the items and products she sells - the multimillion dollar venture) and The Lady & Sons Restaurant. So, monies were commingled between the businesses, and to make things worse, Paula has testified that the businesses were one family.

Now to the deposition, Bubba has already testified in deposition that YES, he did the things in the report. Employees have testified in deposition various violations of EEOC law. The plaintiff attorney asks Paula questions about her history, her use of slurs, but what will hurt most is that she testifies she paid for the report, she had no intention of removing her brother, she gave him a raise when she was told he was stealing because he wasn't getting enough money. He asks her how she felt about him watching porn for hours on end in the restaurant and she seems to think its okay because men do it. As far as slurs go, well she can tell if a person is going to be offended before she says something... He asks if she was aware her brother went to rehab and asks what he went for. Paula says he went for alcohol. The plaintiff informs her it was alcohol and cocaine. She wasn't aware of that.

I am not a lawyer, but this is a federal case she is likely to loose because of 5 consecutive years of racial abuse and sexual harassment and some physical assaults. Bubba has testified he did the things in the report. Paula testifies she did noting in the report to give the workers some relief.

In light of this scenario, can you see where Food Network, the Parent Company and the thousands of Advertisers can not be associated with this ????

The deposition is a perfect study tool for what not to do in the workplace for small businesses. "

http://www.scribd.com/doc/148813272/Transcript-of-the-Testimony-of-Paula-Deen-Date-May-17-2013

They have a show on Food Network called "Restaurant Stakeout," where this brash successful restauranteur - Willie Degel - is invited by a failing restaurant owner to come and find out why the place is failing. He wires it up, but good, with hidden cameras and mics all over the inside and even looking out at the parking lot, and watches a typical night. LOTS of shitty behavior goes on behind the scenes that can be directly blamed for the restaurant's failure. If Willie Degel did that in Paula Deen's restaurant and saw the appalling, loutish, disgraceful, unprofessional, ragingly sexist, ragingly racist, and utterly Neanderthal behavior that Paula Deen's thoughtless jerk of a brother was displaying, and what the rest of the staff had to put up with from him, he'd be thundering to fire Bubba's ass! And I seriously wonder if ANY of the so-called Christian, compassionate, forgiving, Bible-quoting, liberal-bashing people posting their wrath at the Food Network would want their daughters working at such a place! Bubba's behavior was abominable! And his sister, where the buck stops, was advised, warned, and given many many facts, and did NOTHING. Stood by him and made excuses for him. Sheesh!!! Her poor employees! Ol' Bubba raised "creating a hostile working environment" to a VERY high art.

That Neanderthal brother of hers is a freakin' LIABILITY!!! These are federal EEOC rules and laws that they repeatedly and flagrantly violated. OUCH!!! Ol' Paula Deen may be brought down by her own brother. There was nothing that the Food Network could do in response BUT to cut ties with her. I'm not surprised Smithfield Foods wants to do the same thing. I'd certainly want to get MY corporate brand as far away from that mess as I could!!! Oh, and btw, that racist "Southern wedding" theme about which she spoke so wistfully about wanting to do - was for her brother, Bubba's wedding. Well, whaddya know. Anyone surprised?

[Beacool]

124. Thanks, that was an eye opener.

I'm very disappointed in her behavior. Although I didn't consider myself to be one of her fans, I tended to like the woman. She seemed quite friendly and pleasant (although she spread the Southern thing a little too thick at times).

She's about to get the smack down of her life when this trial is over. She already lost two of her sponsors and QVC is reviewing her contract with them. Supposedly she's a Democrat. Maybe this will make her reevaluate her life and evolve.

[jakefrep]

130. How does any of that make Paula Deen a racist?

Sounds like it's her brother with the problem, not her.

[fishwax]

101. I think probably so

If a male chef were involved in a sexual harassment lawsuit that looked very bad for him and admitted that in a deposition, I think it would be likely that Food Network would decide not to renew his contract. If it got any kind of media attention at all, anyway. It's not an organization that really courts controversy. Other networks might be more tolerant of it, though.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

118. Can't use that as an excuse. And the larger issue is that she discriminated against her employees,

not to mention the deplorable working conditions that she placed her employees under. It's not just about using the N-word, which is in itself despicable, this is about discrimination. You shouldn't excuse these things, Bea.

[Beacool]

123. I've been hearing about the other allegations since I wrote that post.

I just thought that they were clobbering her for some words she may have used in the past, but apparently there's a lot more to the story. I'm disappointed that she didn't protect her employees from her brother's loutish behavior.

[SpankMe]

21. I'd like someone to ask Mitch McConnell under oath...

...if he's ever used the N-word. I wonder if he'd be drummed out of the senate as quickly as Paula Deen was put out of the Food Network?

[Myrina]

30. If only they'd get rid of

Guy Fieri ... for being basically talentless ( & I've heard he's quite the phobe).

Also disturbed to know Alton Brown is a libertarian gun-humper because I enjoyed how he could explain food & cooking/
mixing etc in scientific terms. Made alot more sense to me than "because the recipe says so" ...

[RebelOne]

46. Yes, yes, yes, get rid of Guy.

There seems to be nothing on Food Network other than his Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I am starting to think that he has a huge cash investment in Food Network.

[demgrrrll]

55. When I saw Guy in an episode with his pal Dennis Miller..... That was an eye opener.

[dlwickham]

56. Guy Fieri's sister was gay

she's dead

the homophobic rumors came from an ex-employee of his so I'm taking them with a big grain of salt

[karmalk]

32. I hope this racist goes into a hopeless downward spiral

serves her right

[DeSwiss]

34. I'd prefer that.....

...she ended up like C.P. Ellis.

[karmalk]

38. that's better than Fred Phelps

who was a civil rights lawyer, who became the head of westboro baptist church in topeka

[DeSwiss]

44. Yes, but Fred was abused.

- Doesn't excuse what he's done, but there it is.

[calimary]

73. Welcome to DU, karmalk!

Thanks for joining us! It does look as though she's got an extremely loyal following, judging from the posts. But seldom does management ever relent on ending its relations with on-air talent. Even if there's a large public objection. I've certainly seen it happen to others (and myself too, for that matter!) when I was still working.

[spinbaby]

35. Check out the Food Network Facebook page

The Food Network Facebook page is awash with people—presumably white people—threatening to boycott them.

https://www.facebook.com/FoodNetwork?directed_target_id=0

[Manifestor_of_Light]

39. I'm glad they dropped her.

She should know better. Most of the comments on her FB page are supporting her and forgiving her in the name of Jeebus, blah de blah.

I think her sweetie pie act is disgusting. And I probably would not eat her cooking. My grandmother boiled greens to death when I was a kid. I refused to eat it and got scolded and shamed for that. She was from Mississippi and was better than a lot of white racists, but still had some.
She used the word "nigra".

There are lots of white people who see nothing wrong with racism all the time. They are annoyed when called on it.

[Sunlei]

41. should have done same to the politicans- starting with the ones who sent the race hate emails.

Their aids,employees and offended citizens should sue them

[Cleita]

49. Ding dong, another racist gone.

Enjoy your early retirement, Ms. Deen.

[grasswire]

58. wow, the comments on Food Network FB page. They burn! nt

[6000eliot]

77. Some of the same comments can be found here on DU!

It's helping me to figure out who to put on ignore, though, so there's that.

[El Shaman]

61. Gee!

From Food Network to food stamps!!

[RebelOne]

66. I doubt that. She is worth millions. n/t

[calimary]

74. The only reason I'd ever spend more than a few seconds on her show

Last edited Sat Jun 22, 2013, 02:07 AM - Edit history (1)

was when they'd cut to her hands busily doing some cooking procedure, and drool at the diamond rings on those fingers.

YEEEOOOOOOWWW! If she's never back on TV, believe me, she won't starve. She's very well-situated by now. Probably will see an uptick in cookbook sales and such.

Btw - found another one from Food Network's FB page, amidst all the boycott threats and gnashing of teeth:

"Maybe her fans will eat better and lose weight now that she's off the air..."

[Jefferson23]

67. I thought FN would wait to see the results of the lawsuit, glad they did not...good bye racist hack.

[displacedtexan]

81. Guess who does the cooking in her Savannah restaurant

I had a chance to look into the kitchen when I had lunch at Paula's restaurant, and all of the cooking was being done by three grandmotherly black women. Having grown up eating the food Paula was serving, I was not surprised. Paula Deen has never convinced me that she really was a master of the frying pan. The real talent behind the operation is those cooks, not Paula. I bet they provided the recipes, too.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

82. Good. She has a long history as a reprehensible human being.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/11/28/415371/-Hey-Y-all-Boycott-Paula-Deen-and-Smithfield-Ham

Wed Nov 28, 2007 at 10:53 AM PST
Hey Y'all, Boycott Paula Deen and Smithfield Ham

Although I only caught the last few minutes, what I heard was Diane questioning Paula about conditions at the Smithfield Packing factory in Tarheel, North Carolina. Paula Deen is a paid spokesperson for Smithfield, promoting their product at every appearance she makes. Meanwhile, Smithfield has become notorious for its dangerous and otherwise inhuman working conditions, as well as it's relentless anti-union activity. As Chicago Sun Times columnist Teresa Puente stated in a recent article, "The conditions at the company have been documented by Human Rights Watch, the National Labor Relations Board and OSHA. They are so notorious that last year the Chicago City Council passed a resolution critical of Smithfield."http://www.suntimes.com/...

So, what was the beloved Food Network chef's response to Diane's questions, as well as those of the obviously many people who took the time to call in and to write e-mails to Diane Reems, so that she could ask Paula about Smithfield, and her involvement with them?

"I have no particular expertise in these labor matters. I only have expertise in how ham tastes, and how it is processed." Essentially the Joe Klein defense we all have become accustomed to. If Paula were to use her head for more than just eating, she might realize that what she is saying is that she has relinquished her role as a human being, and is shutting her eyes to human suffering, because someone is paying her to do it.

" I have met with workers at the plant, and they have never expressed to me any unhappiness." Yes, Paula has apparently sat down and met with the largely black and Latino factory workers of Smithfield and they have expressed nothing but happiness to her. They have never indicated that they did not love their jobs, nor that they wanted a union.

[heaven05]

84. she's

of the southern culture, she's 60ish, been using 'the word' many, many years. She's just the high profiler that got caught. She'll be using it more now and cursing the slavers that brought brown people to this country, I bet.

[csziggy]

85. She comes by it naturally

Paula Deen, Who Do You Think You Are?
Posted by Solitary Muser on May 19, 2012

This is the final episode of Who Do You Think You Are. Paula Deen is the perfect celebrity end the series because she more than anyone else encapsulates the essence of the show. Who Do You Think You Are is often a deeply cynical show that masks that cynicism with melodrama, emotion, and a veneer of Americanism. My distaste for the show goes well beyond the “mistake” from last week’s show. In this third season, even the most genuine stories seemed a little more fake, a little more over-the-top, and a lot more manipulative in a way that the UK progenitor is not. Worse, I often felt like I was watching an extended infomercial for Ancestry.com rather than a quality television program.

<SNIP>

The show began in Savannah, Georgia where Paula Deen is introduced (naturally) cooking for her family because we need reminding that she is a chef. And also she loves her family. Deen lost her parents in her late teens/early twenties, so she never knew much about her family. Her mother, Corrie Paul Deen (Paula’s name derives from her mother’s maiden name), came from Albany, Georgia, where Deen was also from. One of Corrie’s sisters still lives there. That is where Paula began her journey–a visit to her aunt Peggy Ort. Aunt Peggy told Paula the name of her father (John Larkin Paul) and his father (John Little Paul), and lo and behold she had a photocopy of the latter’s death certificate. Throughout the season, the opening family scenes have felt staged, but this one is perhaps the most disingenuous. We all begin our searches by talking to our relatives, but it is beyond belief that Deen’s aunt just happened to have a copy of the death certificate lying around. She might as well have just said, “Here’s your first clue; enjoy the scavenger hunt.”

More: http://tracingthetree.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/paula-deen-who-do-you-think-you-are/

This reviewer somehow took to the very last show to realize that "Who Do You Think You Are" was an infomercial for Ancestry.com? How did it take them so long? IT has been blatantly obvious since the first show! (The show has now been picked up by TLC: http://www.democraticunderground.com/11561059)

[Thor_MN]

86. Meh, give it a few months. They shitcanned Robert Irvine for puffing up his resume,

only to hire him back. They will hire her back after this dies down. I can't stand either of them.

[MissDeeds]

87. I agree that Paula Deen was wrong

and should be held accountable. This kind of language is unacceptable and no amount of "it's the culture in which I grew up" will absolve her guilt. That said, I fully believe that the ""N" word should be off limits to everyone - Black rappers and Black comedians included. It cannot be a "wrong for one group, but okay for another" mentality. Wrong is wrong. Period - across the board zero tolerance.

[2Design]

88. when exactly did she say these things - 30 or 40 years ago?

this is trial by Social media and MEDIA about words from a long time ago

She is not racist

[yardwork]

97. 2007. She said them in 2007.

[LanternWaste]

125. as

"this is trial by Social media and MEDIA about words from a long time ago..."
More accurately, this is the marketplace determining where and how she should be employed as consequences of her actions and inactions.

"She is not racist.."
She only says racist things.

[hoodunit]

90. Well thank GOD we've moved past Voltiaire's nonsensical observation of

"I disagree with what you said but I will defend to the death your right to say it." That was so 16th Century.

[bullwinkle428]

127. Did Voltaire say anything about rewarding someone with whom you disagree

a multi-million dollar contract?

[lib87]

91. Good Riddance

I will never understand white people fighting hard to have the right to say such a loaded hateful word and not to expect repercussions. Marginalized groups in this country call each other names that are off limits to other groups all the time yet not being able to use the N word freely is so hard for some people to understand? Please.

Maybe she'll spend some of her down time reading up on American history and learn why deciding to plan that plantation style wedding doesn't fly with most Americans.

[hoodunit]

92. Robert (cough) Byrd

has been forgiven by virtually all Democrats...but I guess that's 'different'.

[salin]

95. he renounced those ties nearly 50 years ago.

he wasn't accused of forcing employees in the 2000s to use the white vs. the 'coloreds' bathrooms.

Unless you have contemporary evidence of Byrd's long since renounced membership (again nearly half a century ago) - your point is rather strawman-ish.

Of course redemption is possible. Byrd has decades worth of later actions that demonstrate atonement before his passing.

If your point is that no actions can point to atonement - than condemn both Dean and Byrd. If your point is to argue for forgiveness for Dean - than Byrd is a poor example - per the recentness of the alleged transgressions (50 yrs ago.... vs. a few yrs ago.)

Poor comparison. Nice attempt at a gratuitous swipe at democrats.

[lib87]

99. Your Post...

Doesn't have anything my post. Nice attempt to derail hoodunit.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

136. Enjoy your tombstone, ahole

[salin]

93. Respectfully, Ms. Dean, it isn't just the language...

it is the dehumanizing "others" to a lower status. It is a lack of recognition of how dehumanizing Jim Crow laws were. For now we know the language accusation is true - and it is bad enough. However, another accusation is that in one of the restaurants there was a Jim Crow era rule about bathroom use. A white bathroom and an "other" bathroom. If true, you have a lot more to learn than about using offensive language. There is a lesson in humanity that you have missed.

[catbyte]

104. Why all the pearl clutching about the n word when everybody blithely bandies

Redskin around? It is an utter disgrace. A racial slur is a racial slur-- the NFL football team in our nation's capitol is named one. Sorry but selective outrage pisses me off. Look up the history of the word redskin then tell me how it is such an "honor" to us.

[AnnieBW]

109. Chocolate Pie

I understand that Paula got several chocolate pies sent to her. I'll bet that they had Minnie's "Special Ingredient" mixed in - and it wasn't butter!

[Javaman]

112. She always reminded me of "mom" from Futurama. nt

[desertduck]

114. it is not hard. when you say racist things, that makes you racist.

You can put all the lipstick you want on that pig, but it is still a pig.

I think all these people so "vehemently" defending paula are in some way trying to absolve their own actions and guilt. Or their own upbringing.

There are many people who are racist, deep down know they are racist, but will hide behind all kinds of cheap veneers like humor or denial.

Anyone of color or ethnicity living outside a highly progressive area sees this all the time. From overt racism to barely noticable omission of or inconsistent treatment. Nothing new because if it is not the color of our skin it will be something else.

I am glad FN is getting rid of this horrible woman. There are plenty of beautiful Southern women out there that are NOT racist or harboring racist tendencies that are far more deserving of a cooking show.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

117. People need to be clear that this isn't just about calling us the N-Word.

The larger issue is about her discriminatory actions.

[wordpix]

128. another thing I dislike are her butter sandwiches

A friend's husband just died in his 50's. He weighed 300 lbs at the start of his illness. He had cancer, heart disease, kidney disease and ended up in bed not able to move, developing gangrenous bed sores. People who get paid like Deen did to promote heart and artery clogging foods should be fired on that score, too.

[durablend]

134. Hey lookie!

Glenn Beck is coming to her defense (going as far as invoking MLK into it)

Guess we know where this is going (in case we didn't already know). I'm assuming no comments from Rush, Hannity or O'Reilly yet?