If You Feel Bad For Paula Deen, Stop It Right Now
The once beloved queen of Southern cooking has morphed into a PR nightmare – capable of having a sobbing breakdown without shedding a tear. Oh, she’s also a bigot. I thought I would do a quick recap of all of the companies who have run screaming from her this week – and how fast they’ve done it. Considering all of the sources that agree she’s a horrible person, if you don’t you’re probably wrong.
The news of her use of racial slurs and the general horrific atmosphere she fostered for black employees at her restaurant in Georgia broke on June 20th. On June 21st, she was dropped by the Food Network. That action alone was an indicator that a shit-storm was coming.
After that, the sponsors started dropping like flies. On June 23rd QVC was next when it announced it had “no immediate plans” to feature her on the network. The following day Smithfield Foods followed suit, claiming “it is important that our values and those of our spokespeople are properly aligned.”
On June 26, she shows up for the Today show, cries some fake tears, and loses Walmart and Caesars Entertainment corporation – which has Deen-themed restaurants in four casinos. Friday June 27, she loses Target and Novo Nordisk – the deal that caused a stir when she became the poster woman for a diabetes drug they produce.
Meanwhile her cookbook climbed to number one on the Amazon best seller list, days after the scandal broke and months before it’s release date. Her fans took to Amazon to show support for the celebrity chef that they love. Sorry fans. You won’t be getting that book. On Friday of this week, she was dropped by that publisher, too. The New York Times reports:
The book deal was one of the last remaining lucrative business relationships for the embattled celebrity chef. Its cancellation came on a day when Sears, Kmart and J. C. Penney announced that they would stop selling products, including cookbooks, branded with her name.
I like a syrupy-sweet woman who has a penchant for feeding people just as much as the next person – but she’s awful. When I think about the environment she allegedly created for her black employees it makes my blood boil. I can’t feel sorry for Paula Deen and I’ll never agree with all of the excuses for her behavior. Yes, I understand that she is an old woman who was raised in the South. She’s also wealthy, well travelled and I’m damn sure she knows the difference between right and wrong. She just didn’t care about it until she was exposed.
(photo: Twitter)
