Publisher scraps Paula Deen's top-selling cookbook before release

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An upcoming book of recipes by disgraced celebrity chef Paula Deen that shot to the top of online bookseller Amazon's best-sellers list has been canceled, the publisher said on Friday, adding to the fallout from Deen's use of a racial slur.

"After careful consideration, Ballantine Books has made the difficult decision to cancel the publication, 'Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up,'" the publisher said in a statement.

Ballantine declined to elaborate on its decision to scrap the book by Deen, considered the queen of Southern cooking.

Orders of the book, which was scheduled for an October release, will not be fulfilled, the imprint of Bertelsmann SE's Random House said, adding that the cookbook of lighter Southern cuisine had not gone to press.

Deen, 66, who had a multimillion-dollar enterprise built on books, restaurants, television shows and housewares, has lost about a dozen business deals after a deposition surfaced last week in which the TV chef admitted to using the "N-word."

The controversy pushed pre-order sales of her forthcoming cookbook to the top of Amazon's best-sellers list and copies of 2011's "Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible," which was published by CBS Corp's Simon & Schuster Inc, is No. 2 on the list.

"Paula Deen's New Testament" was going to be the first book in a two-book deal with Ballantine.

Pharmacy chain Walgreens, department store JC Penney and Sears Holdings Corp, which owns department store Sears and discount retailer Kmart, all said on Friday they planned to discontinue Deen's product lines.

Scripps Networks Interactive Inc's cable TV channel the Food Network, which aired Deen's cooking shows, was the first to drop Deen last week.

A number of companies have severed ties with the chef, including Caesars Entertainment Corp, which operated Deen-branded restaurants; retailers Target Corp and Wal-Mart Stores Inc; and Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk A/S, which used Deen as a pitchwoman.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Mary Milliken and Eric Beech)

View the original article here

Celebrity chef Paula Deen loses more deals, but book sales soar

By Piya Sinha-Roy

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. celebrity chef Paula Deen saw more lucrative deals evaporate on Thursday despite her renewed apologies for using a racial slur, as retailer Target Corp and drug company Novo Nordisk A/S joined the list of sponsors distancing themselves from the doyenne of Southern cooking.

But in a sign that Deen could make a comeback, her upcoming cookbook "Paula Deen's New Testament," which features "lightened up" recipes, shot to the top of the Amazon books best-sellers list this week on pre-orders for the October 15 release. And her "Southern Cooking Bible" is No. 2 on the list.

Experts say not all may be lost for Deen despite the exodus of sponsors and they point to the comeback of another domestic maven, Martha Stewart, who was able to rebuild her career and image after serving jail time for insider trading.

Deen, 66, has been in damage control mode after a deposition surfaced last week in which she admitted to using the "N-word." She released online apology videos and made a tearful appearance on NBC's "Today" on Wednesday.

For Robert Passikoff, president and founder of Brand Keys Inc, a consumer and brand loyalty consulting firm, Deen's apology was "too little, too late."

"She came across as very defensive and when you are talking about contrition, the two words don't really go together," Passikoff said.

"While she had reasonable brand values that worked for her sponsors, she's not the only one available and these days sponsors don't need to take a chance on folks that self destruct," he added.

Forbes estimated Deen's earnings at $17 million in 2011, placing her fourth on its list of highest-earning chefs last year as her privately held company, Paula Deen Enterprises, expanded.

The contract with Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical company, came in 2012 after she revealed that she had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. As spokeswoman for the maker of diabetes care and equipment she would earn an estimated $6 million over three years, according to Forbes.

The company said in a statement that it had "mutually agreed" with Deen to suspend her partnership with the company "while she takes time to focus her attention where it is needed."

FANS RALLY IN SUPPORT

Deen's merchandising deals, which include cookware, homeware and books, have an estimated value of about $7 million, according to Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for market researcher The NPD Group.

Cohen also estimated Deen's food and restaurant branding deals added another $6 million to $7 million to her empire.

Retail giants Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Target and Home Depot Inc all cut ties with Deen within 24 hours of her "Today Show" appearance.

"We have made a decision to phase out the Paula Deen merchandise in our stores as well as on Target.com," Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said in a statement. "Once the merchandise is sold out, we will not be replenishing inventory."

Since last Friday, Deen has also been dropped by pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc and Food Network, owned by Scripps Network Interactive Inc, home of Deen's cooking shows.

Home-shopping network QVC, owned by Liberty Media Corp, has taken a wait-and-see approach with Deen, saying it was putting a "pause" on her involvement with the network.

Sears Holdings Corp, which stocks Deen's products, said on Thursday it was still deciding the future of the partnership.

"Now she's going to be given an opportunity down the road ... to rebuild and retool," NPD Group's Cohen said. "She may never get (her brand) back to the same level, but there's enough people who will sympathize with her."

QVC said in its statement that "People deserve second chances."

Some companies that have partnered with Deen have stood behind her, including Landies Candies and Sandridge Food Corp, which said it is "proud to provide unwavering support for Paula Deen."

Deen's comeback may come down to her loyal fans, many of whom have come out in force on social media to voice their support, some threatening in Facebook and Twitter posts to boycott the companies dropping the chef.

"The consumers have a very short memory ... in a few years from now, no one is going to remember what Paula Deen did," Cohen said. "American consumers are very forgiving and very forgetful."

(Additional reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Mary Milliken)

View the original article here

Jimmy Carter: Forgive Paula Deen

In a CNN interview Friday, former President Jimmy Carter came to the defense of embattled chef Paula Deen, whose food empire has crumbled in the wake of a polarizing racism scandal.

Deen and Carter both grew up in rural towns in Georgia, about 40 miles apart. "Turns out, that they are actually good friends," said CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.

"She was maybe excessively honest in saying that she had in the past, 30 years ago, used this terrible word," Carter told CNN. "I think she has been punished, perhaps overly severely, for her honesty in admitting it and for the use of the word in the distant past. She's apologized profusely."

Carter said that he advised her to "let the dust settle and to make apologies." "My heart goes out her," he said, "but, of course, there's no condoning the use of a word that abuses other people."

Watch President Carter's interview above.

Also on HuffPost:

Get Alerts

View the original article here

Paula Deen to appear on TV's 'Today,' dropped by Smithfield

(Reuters) - American celebrity chef Paula Deen, who was dropped by TV's Food Network after she admitted in a lawsuit that she used a racial slur in the past, will appear on NBC-TV's "Today" show on Wednesday after canceling a scheduled interview last week.

The program's anchor, Matt Lauer, said on Monday's show that Deen "told us she will be here this time."

Deen, who withdrew from an interview on June 21, tweeted, "See you Wednesday, I am so glad Matt, Al and my friends at @TodayShow are bringing me back."

The program did not say if Deen would address the controversy.

Deen, 66, apologized in videos posted online for using a racial slur, but Food Network later said it would not renew the Southern chef's contract when it expired at the end of June.

Pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc on Monday also dropped Deen, who had a name-brand line of hams with the company, saying in a statement that it "condemns the use of offensive and discriminatory language and behavior of any kind."

The controversy surrounding Deen began last week when a deposition taken as part of a lawsuit was released in which Deen, who is white, was asked if she had used the "N-word," and responded, "Yes, of course.

Deen, who has built a business empire based on high-calorie and fried Southern food with cookbooks, restaurants and kitchen supplies, made the comments in a deposition related to a racial and sexual discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee.

The former employee of Paula Deen Enterprises, Lisa Jackson, is suing Deen and her brother, Earl "Bubba" Hiers, over allegations that while discussing plans for Hiers' 2007 wedding, Deen said she wanted a "true southern plantation-style wedding."

Jackson said that Deen used the slur in the discussion describing how she wanted an all-black wait staff for the party dressed in "long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties, you know in the Shirley Temple days, they used to tap dance around," she said, according to the lawsuit.

The Food Network is owned by Scripps Network Interactive Inc, while Chinese meat company Shuanghui International hopes to buy Smithfield, the world's largest pork producer and processor, for $4.7 billion in what would be the biggest takeover of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm.

That deal is expected to close in the second half of 2013.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Cynthia Osterman)

View the original article here

Celebrity chef Paula Deen denies she is a racist, dropped by Walmart

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. celebrity chef Paula Deen, under fire after she admitted using a racial slur, said in a tearful TV interview on Wednesday that she is not a racist, as retailer Walmart said it was cutting ties with the chef.

In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, the Southern food doyenne said she never intentionally hurt anyone and that it was important for her to tell "everyone out there what I believe and how I live my life."

When asked if she felt she had racist tendencies, she replied, "No."

It was her first TV interview since The Food Network said Friday it would drop her show after she was sued for discrimination and admitted in a legal deposition that she had used a racial slur in the past.

Deen, who has built a business empire that includes cookbooks, restaurants and kitchen supplies, was also dropped by pork giant Smithfield Foods Inc last week. On Wednesday, Walmart was the latest company to sever ties.

"We are ending our relationship with Paula Deen Enterprises," Walmart spokeswoman Danit Marquardt told Reuters.

Marquardt said Walmart, the biggest division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, will not place new orders beyond those already committed with Deen's company for branded products including groceries, cookware and candles.

The controversy surrounding Deen erupted last week when a deposition was released in transcript form in which Deen, who is white, was asked if she had used the "N-word," and responded, "Yes, of course."

The "N-word" is a euphemism for "nigger," an epithet for black people.

The deposition related to a racial and sexual discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee, Lisa Jackson, who worked for Paula Deen Enterprises.

The lawsuit alleges that when Deen discussed plans for her brother Earl "Bubba" Hiers' 2007 wedding with Jackson, Deen said she wanted a "true Southern plantation-style wedding."

"Well, what I would really like is a bunch of little niggers 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," Deen said, according to the lawsuit.

Asked about the epithet in the deposition on Wednesday, Deen said she had used the slur when describing, probably to her husband, how a black man robbed a bank where she was working in the 1980s. She said she had used the word since, "but it's been a very long time."

Deen recalled the bank robbery and said: "I had had a gun put to my head, a shakin' gun." She did not give a full description of that incident.

DEEN SAYS SHE IS "HEARTBROKEN"

On "Today," Deen said she was thankful for the support she has received, and also heartbroken because she has had to comfort friends distressed about things being said about her that she said were untrue.

"If there's anyone out there that has never said something that they wish they could take back, if you're out there, please pick up that stone and throw it so hard at my head that it kills me. Please, I want to meet you. I want to meet you," she said, sobbing.

The 66-year-old celebrity chef had called off a scheduled interview with NBC on Friday to discuss the situation and instead released a video defending herself.

The Food Network, which is owned by Scripps Network Interactive Inc, later said it would not renew her contract when it expires at the end of June.

Deen's fans have voiced their support for the chef online, expressing anger on the Facebook pages for the Food Network and Walmart, with many saying they'll boycott both companies for severing ties with Deen. The story was corrected to add dropped words in 11th paragraph

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney and Jessica Wohl; Editing by David Storey, Piya Sinha-Roy and Stacey Joyce)

View the original article here

Diabetes Drug Company Suspends Partnership With Paula Deen

In a stunning reversal, pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk announced today that it will "suspend" its partnership with Paula Deen.

Novo Nordisk manufactures the diabetes drug Victoza, which Deen has controversially promoted since announcing in 2012 that she suffered from Type II diabetes. Deen, known for her butter-laden recipes, was roundly labeled as a hypocrite for cashing in on her illness while also promoting unhealthy recipes.

Eater has a full statement from Novo Nordisk, seen below:

Novo Nordisk and Paula Deen have mutually agreed to suspend our patient education activities for now, while she takes time to focus her attention where it is needed.

Novo Nordisk would like to acknowledge Paula's involvement in our Diabetes in a New Light™ campaign, where she has helped make many people aware of type 2 diabetes and the lifestyle changes needed to control this serious disease.

The company had originally stated that it had no plans to drop Deen. That may be still be case, but it's unclear what "suspend" means -- a timeline was not provided. When asked if Novo Nordisk might reinstate its relationship with Deen, a representative told Eater that its current agreement "gives us that option, yes, but it's too early to say."

Despite the announcement, Novo Nordisk's web sites are still all decked out in Deen:

More on this story as it develops.

Also on HuffPost:

Get Alerts

View the original article here

Food Network to drop Paula Deen amid racial slur controversy

(Warning: contains graphic language.)

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Food Network said on Friday it would drop celebrity chef Paula Deen after the Southern food doyenne was sued for racial discrimination and admitted in a legal deposition to using a racial slur in the past.

The impending loss of Deen's broadcast deal represents a potentially huge setback for a television personality who has built an empire on high calorie food, with cookbooks and restaurants in her native Georgia and other states.

The Food Network said in a statement it "will not renew Paula Deen's contract when it expires at the end of this month."

A spokeswoman declined further comment but the network, which is owned by Scripps Network Interactive Inc, said on Thursday it "does not tolerate any form of discrimination and is a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion."

The network's decision to drop Deen was announced hours after she failed to make a scheduled appearance on the NBC television morning show "Today" to discuss the controversy. She later apologized on video that was posted online.

"I want to apologize to everybody for the wrong that I've done. I want to learn and grow from this," Deen said in one video posted on YouTube and other websites.

The controversy surrounding Deen erupted earlier this week when a deposition was released in transcript form in which Deen, who is white, was asked if she had used the "N-word," and responded, "Yes, of course." The "N-word" is a euphemism for "nigger," an epithet for black people.

Asked about the epithet in the deposition, Deen said she had used the slur when describing, probably to her husband, how a black man robbed a bank where she was working in the 1980s. She said she had used the word since, "but it's been a very long time."

A former employee of Paula Deen Enterprises, Lisa Jackson, is suing Deen and her brother, Earl "Bubba" Hiers, in federal court alleging racial and sexual discrimination in the workplace. The deposition was related to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that, while discussing with Jackson plans for Hiers' 2007 wedding, Deen said she wanted a "true southern plantation-style wedding."

"Well, what I would really like is a bunch of little niggers 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," Deen said, according to the lawsuit.

'PLENTY OF MISTAKES'

In one video message posted on Friday to YouTube, Deen apologized to "Today" host Matt Lauer for failing to show up for her interview, as she tried to reach out directly to the public.

"I want people to understand that my family and I are not the kind of people that the press is wanting to say we are," Deen said in that message.

In another video statement posted on YouTube and other websites, Deen said she had made "plenty of mistakes along the way."

"But I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners, I beg for your forgiveness," she said.

Deen did not directly mention the lawsuit or her deposition in either of the two widely shared video statements.

A spokeswoman for Deen did not return calls or an e-mail seeking comment.

Howard Bragman, vice chairman of the reputation management service Reputation.com, told Reuters the chef "needs to be honest, emotional and convincing."

"She's never going to come back whole, she's never going to come back to where she once was," Bragman said in a phone interview. "Do I think she can salvage some measure of a career? Yes I do, there's a lot of people who still like her - the butter manufacturers of America. But she's never going to come back whole."

Long before becoming a celebrity chef, in 1989 Deen started out of her home a catering service called The Bag Lady. It later became the critically acclaimed restaurant The Lady and Sons in Savannah, Georgia.

Her show "Paula's Home Cooking" debuted on The Food Network in 2002 and her program "Paula's Best Dishes" premiered in 2008. She had a longstanding love for butter as an ingredient, but after revealing last year that she had Type 2 diabetes, she became a paid spokeswoman for drug maker Novo Nordisk and introduced light recipes.

(Additional reporting by Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem and David Beasley in Atlanta; Editing by Jim Loney, David Storey, Toni Reinhold)

View the original article here

Paula Deen's Cruises SURGE In Popularity After Racism Scandal

Not everyone is turned off by chef Paula Deen's recently publicized admission that she has used racial slurs.

Despite a backlash that involved her being fired from the Food Network, getting ditched by Smithfield Foods Inc. and potentially blacklisted by other one-time sponsors, interest in Deen's annual Paula Deen Cruise has been so great that its organizer has added an extra departure for 2014.

A representative for the cruise organizer, Alice Travel, backed Deen in an interview with the FOX411 blog. "It’s always an amazing time with Paula, her family and fans. If she goes ?- we go," said the rep.

The Huffington Post reached out to Alice Travel representative Julie Goodman Cook, who revealed that about 500 people attend each cruise. "We are expecting that number to increase," she said. (Deen's first cruise with Alice Travel set sail in 2010. Prior to this, she used different agencies.)

Next year's cruises with Deen include an eight-day voyage beginning Jan. 18 on Celebrity Reflection, Celebrity Cruises' newest ship. A summertime cruise -- recently added by Alice Travel to accomodate increased demand -- will take place on a Royal Caribbean vessel, either Oasis or Allure of the Seas.

Deen is not associated with any cruise line, Goodman Cook noted. Alice Travel books rooms in a section of the ship, and Deen's events are inaccessible to other cruise patrons.

Goodman Cook said previous Deen cruises have attracted a diverse bunch. "We have a group of gay people who go," she said. "There are people in their 90s that go. ... Black, white. I mean everything. Everyone enjoys it." A number of families have already signed up for the summer cruise, Goodman Cook said. In 2010, Paula Deen Cruises hosted a boy through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Past onboard activities include cooking demos led by Deen and her family, photo sessions, pajama parties, cocktail parties and barbecues. Deen also participates in a summer camp-style event aptly called the "Deen family Olympics," which involves G-rated activities like balloon-popping and stringing yarn through teammates' shirts.

Last year, the cruise price started at $1,440 per person for an inside cabin, based on double occupancy.

Goodman Cook said that she had not spoken to Deen since the scandal, but had been in contact with Deen's bodyguard and assistant. They relayed that Deen hopes her Wednesday appearance on the "Today" show will help assuage some of the damage to her reputation.

"Everyone is just keeping a positive outlook on the future," said Goodman Cook. "There will be better understanding about how things were taken out of context."

The Paula Deen Cruise, though, doesn't have a perfect track record itself. In January, Deen's assistant, Brandon Branch, posted questionable Tweets about a trip that set sail Jan. 27. "This is a floating nursing home!!!!" Branch wrote.

Also on HuffPost:

View the original article here

Celebrity chef Paula Deen denies she is a racist, dropped by Walmart

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. celebrity chef Paula Deen, under fire after she admitted using a racial slur, said in a tearful TV interview on Wednesday that she is not a racist, as retailer Walmart said it was cutting ties with the chef.

In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, the Southern food doyenne said she never intentionally hurt anyone and that it was important for her to tell "everyone out there what I believe and how I live my life."

When asked if she felt she had racist tendencies, she replied, "No."

It was her first TV interview since The Food Network said Friday it would drop her show after she was sued for discrimination and admitted in a legal deposition that she had used a racial slur in the past.

Deen, who has built a business empire that includes cookbooks, restaurants and kitchen supplies, was also dropped by pork giant Smithfield Foods Inc last week. On Wednesday, Walmart was the latest company to sever ties.

"We are ending our relationship with Paula Deen Enterprises," Walmart spokeswoman Danit Marquardt told Reuters.

Marquardt said Walmart, the biggest division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, will not place new orders beyond those already committed with Deen's company for branded products including groceries, cookware and candles.

The controversy surrounding Deen erupted last week when a deposition was released in transcript form in which Deen, who is white, was asked if she had used the "N-word," and responded, "Yes, of course."

The "N-word" is a euphemism for "nigger," an epithet for black people.

The deposition related to a racial and sexual discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee, Lisa Jackson, who worked for Paula Deen Enterprises.

The lawsuit alleges that when Deen discussed plans for her brother Earl "Bubba" Hiers' 2007 wedding with Jackson, Deen said she wanted a "true Southern plantation-style wedding."

"Well, what I would really like is a bunch of little niggers 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," Deen said, according to the lawsuit.

Asked about the epithet in the deposition on Wednesday, Deen said she had used the slur when describing, probably to her husband, how a black man robbed a bank where she was working in the 1980s. She said she had used the word since, "but it's been a very long time."

Deen recalled the bank robbery and said: "I had had a gun put to my head, a shakin' gun." She did not give a full description of that incident.

DEEN SAYS SHE IS "HEARTBROKEN"

On "Today," Deen said she was thankful for the support she has received, and also heartbroken because she has had to comfort friends distressed about things being said about her that she said were untrue.

"If there's anyone out there that has never said something that they wish they could take back, if you're out there, please pick up that stone and throw it so hard at my head that it kills me. Please, I want to meet you. I want to meet you," she said, sobbing.

The 66-year-old celebrity chef had called off a scheduled interview with NBC on Friday to discuss the situation and instead released a video defending herself.

The Food Network, which is owned by Scripps Network Interactive Inc, later said it would not renew her contract when it expires at the end of June.

Deen's fans have voiced their support for the chef online, expressing anger on the Facebook pages for the Food Network and Walmart, with many saying they'll boycott both companies for severing ties with Deen. The story was corrected to add dropped words in 11th paragraph

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney and Jessica Wohl; Editing by David Storey, Piya Sinha-Roy and Stacey Joyce)

View the original article here

Paula Deen to appear on TV's 'Today,' dropped by Smithfield

(Reuters) - American celebrity chef Paula Deen, who was dropped by TV's Food Network after she admitted in a lawsuit that she used a racial slur in the past, will appear on NBC-TV's "Today" show on Wednesday after canceling a scheduled interview last week.

The program's anchor, Matt Lauer, said on Monday's show that Deen "told us she will be here this time."

Deen, who withdrew from an interview on June 21, tweeted, "See you Wednesday, I am so glad Matt, Al and my friends at @TodayShow are bringing me back."

The program did not say if Deen would address the controversy.

Deen, 66, apologized in videos posted online for using a racial slur, but Food Network later said it would not renew the Southern chef's contract when it expired at the end of June.

Pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc on Monday also dropped Deen, who had a name-brand line of hams with the company, saying in a statement that it "condemns the use of offensive and discriminatory language and behavior of any kind."

The controversy surrounding Deen began last week when a deposition taken as part of a lawsuit was released in which Deen, who is white, was asked if she had used the "N-word," and responded, "Yes, of course.

Deen, who has built a business empire based on high-calorie and fried Southern food with cookbooks, restaurants and kitchen supplies, made the comments in a deposition related to a racial and sexual discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee.

The former employee of Paula Deen Enterprises, Lisa Jackson, is suing Deen and her brother, Earl "Bubba" Hiers, over allegations that while discussing plans for Hiers' 2007 wedding, Deen said she wanted a "true southern plantation-style wedding."

Jackson said that Deen used the slur in the discussion describing how she wanted an all-black wait staff for the party dressed in "long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties, you know in the Shirley Temple days, they used to tap dance around," she said, according to the lawsuit.

The Food Network is owned by Scripps Network Interactive Inc, while Chinese meat company Shuanghui International hopes to buy Smithfield, the world's largest pork producer and processor, for $4.7 billion in what would be the biggest takeover of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm.

That deal is expected to close in the second half of 2013.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Cynthia Osterman)

View the original article here

Paula Deen Coming To D.C. (Yes, Still!)

WASHINGTON -- Embattled celebrity cook Paula Deen may be losing sponsors and TV shows, but she still has at least one major backer: The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show.

In a statement on its website, MetroCooking said Deen, who admitted in a recent court deposition that she had used the N-word, is still scheduled to attend its upcoming shows in Washington, Houston and Dallas:

Paula Deen has been a friend of The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show for many years. She has apologized and we are taking her apology at her word and moving forward accordingly. The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show does not condone or believe in the use of derogatory slurs by anyone. This is a nation of forgiveness and second chances. In that spirit we intend to go forward with the MetroCooking Shows in Houston, Dallas and Washington, DC as planned with Paula as a presenter. At this time we have no plans to do otherwise.

A spokesperson for the Annandale-based MetroCooking told The Huffington Post that the show "has received scores of positive emails, Facebook posts and calls regarding the decision to keep Paula in the show line-ups. Paula has legions of fans."

Of the 25,000 tickets typically sold for each of the Dallas, Houston and D.C. shows, three people have asked for their money back since Friday, the rep told HuffPost.

Deen will appear at MetroCooking D.C. on Saturday, November 2, as a "Celebrity Theater Presenter"; meet-and-greet options include a Paula Photo Op & Brunch and a Paula VIP Platinum ticket, which comes with an autographed copy of Deen's upcoming cookbook, New Testament.

The soon-to-be-former Food Network star also attended at MetroCooking D.C. in 2011.

Don't be surprised if Deen's sessions sell out. Many Food Network fans are sticking by the Southern star:

A day after announcing that it's dropping Deen from its roster of celebrity cooks, the cable network was served heaping portions of Southern fried outrage by her fans.

Angry messages piled up Saturday on the network's Facebook page, with many Deen fans threatening to change the channel for good. "So good-bye Food Network," one viewer wrote. "I hope you fold like an accordion!!!"

Loading Slideshow

On the heels of Paula Deen's finishing butters announcement, the National Enquirer claims that it has obtained video of Paula Deen making racist statements.

And confirms remarks.

Mixing recipes with racism.

And releases a statement.

Is her career doomed?

Type II racism, y'all.

The program was supposed to have the exclusive.

Nor was Al Roker.

Things got a little messy, and sad.

Her contract was set to expire.

They are not happy.

It's not over yet.

Other companies still mulling their future with Deen.

View the original article here

Don McNay: Why Did Paula Deen's Legal Team Let Her Testify?

"Everybody's got a secret sonny
Yeah, something that they just can't face
Some folks spend their whole lives trying to keep it
They carry it with them every step that they take"

-Bruce Springsteen

I can't imagine that Paula Deen and her legal team were blindsided by the line of questioning from Lisa Jackson's lawyer.

Jackson is suing Deen and her brother Bubba for creating a hostile work environment. In her amended complaint to file the lawsuit, Jackson said that she had suffered from "violent, sexist and racist behavior." It alleged that "racially discriminatory attitudes" were present. Although the allegations were primarily aimed at Bubba, it noted that "Paula Deen holds such racist views herself."

Paula's legal team flunked Risk Management 101. When they allowed Paula to give her deposition, they had to realize that the testimony would not be limited to her recipe for peanut butter pie.

The deposition process allowed the ugliest allegations to get on the record and in the public domain. They destroyed Paula's multimillion dollar business empire.

All from a lawsuit that should have been settled.

As a settlement planner and licensed claims adjuster, I've been involved in thousands of legal negotiations.

From a risk management standpoint, the Deen lawsuit was a no brainer. The worst Paula and her insurance carrier could lose was $1.2 million. Paula has that in her hip pocket.

Paula's team should have made the lawsuit go away quietly.

If I had been on Paula's risk management team, I would have asked Paula to have a settlement conference with Jackson. I also would have told Paula to:

1. Bring her checkbook.

2. Apologize sincerely and profusely.

3. Make sure that the settlement agreement has a strong confidentiality clause so the settlement or anything said does not make it into the public domain.

Settling claims is about risk management. Risk management is a lot like my late father's career as a bookie and professional gambler.

The key to bookmaking is not to hit a big jackpot. It is to minimize your losses.

Settling insurance claims works the same way. You have to look at what an ugly lawsuit will do to your overall reputation and business and weigh that against the amount of money a settlement might cost.

Obviously no one on Paula's legal team saw the big picture.

Risk management means that when your opponents have a nuclear bomb in their arsenal, you do everything and anything to defuse it.

Long before the decision was made to allow Ms. Dean to take part in a deposition, someone on her legal and claims consulting team should have assessed the risk of that happening.

Looking at the case strictly from a dollar standpoint, it would have saved Deen millions to get the case settled.

Since Ms. Jackson is asking for $1.2 million, I suspect she would have taken a somewhat smaller amount, like a million dollars. Writing that check would have saved Paula from a million problems.

I'm not passing judgment on what she did or did not do. That is not my universe. The job of a risk manager is to see whether duking it out in court or quietly settling an allegation is the best business strategy.

Even if Deen goes on to win the lawsuit and pay nothing, she has already paid with everything.

The irony is that I missed most of the back and forth on the Deen lawsuit while I was at the annual convention for the Kentucky Bar Association. I attended a fascinating session on the use of mediation.

Mediation is a concept that barely existed 20 years ago and now is universally used in every type of litigation. It has been the ultimate game changer in the legal profession. Cases rarely go to trial unless all attempts at settlement are exhausted.

The panel contained stars in injury litigation like former Kentucky Chief Justice Joseph Lambert and Louisville lawyer Vanessa Cantley, but also tax and business attorneys.

I've been involved in the mediation process for 25 years, but it was an eye opener to see how it is used for every type of dispute, including settlement with the Internal Revenue Service.

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu said, "he who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious."

Paula Deen's risk management crew would have been smart to take advice from a wise Chinese general from the fifth century.

They lost a battle they should have never fought.

Don McNay, CLU, ChFC, MSFS, CSSC is a settlement planner, licensed claims adjuster and licensed insurance consultant with over 30 years experience in working with complex torts, harassment and discrimination claims. He is also a syndicated columnist and author of six best-selling books. You can find more about him at www.mcnay.com or www.donmcnay.com

Follow Don McNay on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Donmcnay

Get Alerts

View the original article here

Lea Lane: Another Southern Lady's Take on Paula Deen

Get Entertainment Alerts: Sign Up

The Paula Deen situation has resulted in commenters in blogs, posts, and tweets clashing into two camps: those who want her folksy presence off the air quicker than you can say "another stick of butter," and loyalists who are indignant that the Food Network fired her, and who insist that a lady of a certain age who grew up in the pre-civil-rights South should be given some slack even though she admits to using the N-word and to professing an interest in black, slave-like servers at weddings.

As in so many cases nowadays, the social media reaction is a story in itself. And a harsh and unforgiving look, once again, at our deeply divided culture.

Apologists insist that despite the toxic revelations (and her other secondary problems including an admitted tolerance of porn), they really truly know that Paula is a warm person who had it tough for many years and really did apologize sincerely, and who deserves repentance.

"First-amendment rights" are mentioned, reflecting once again the lack of understanding of what those rights are. Yes Deen admirers, blue-eyed Paula can say what she wants in her syrupy southern accent. But y'all, a company does not have to keep her employed if they don't like bigotry seeping into their brand like caramelized sugar on a pecan donut.

And Paula Deen, a woman who did not inform viewers of her diabetes while she prepared and extolled fatty, carbohydrate-laden foods -- and then came clean in order to take money for promoting diabetes medication -- has already been tainted by many as a greedy hypocrite who can't cook her way past a lard can. For many years, Deen and her sons and brother and husband have made a bundle by adding caloric recipes into the country's consciousness, to the detriment of many viewers.

Look, some may be piling on, as they probably resent that this friendly woman of dubious intellect and over-the-top cooking skills has conned her way into fame and fortune. But those who defend her racial slurs because "everyone does it" are dead wrong.

I am about her age. I grew up in the deep-south of "colored" water fountains and back-of-the-bus racism. And I and members of my family and my friends did not use racial slurs. Never. Many of us drank from those "colored" fountains and sat in the back of the bus in defiance, and worked for civil rights. I lived in Atlanta during the time of hatchet-wielding Governor Lestor Maddox, and restaurants that featured shuffling black waiters who poured sweet tea for some southern ladies.

But I worked to desegregate neighborhoods. And so did my friends.

To assume that Paula Deen's age and her southern roots are excuses for her bigoted choice of words and racist attitude is missing the point. She is an adult who has seen the results of discrimination played out for many years. And because she has been lucky in life, it would be nice to think that she could grow and learn and turn her back on even the slightest whiff of bigotry.

I applaud the Food Network for their swift action. And I hope that Paula Deen now spends some of her time and fortune helping those less fortunate. That would be a sweeter legacy than any of her recipes.

Follow Lea Lane on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lealane

Get Alerts

View the original article here

Food Network to drop Paula Deen amid racial slur controversy

(Warning: contains graphic language.)

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Food Network said on Friday it would drop celebrity chef Paula Deen after the Southern food doyenne was sued for racial discrimination and admitted in a legal deposition to using a racial slur in the past.

The impending loss of Deen's broadcast deal represents a potentially huge setback for a television personality who has built an empire on high calorie food, with cookbooks and restaurants in her native Georgia and other states.

The Food Network said in a statement it "will not renew Paula Deen's contract when it expires at the end of this month."

A spokeswoman declined further comment but the network, which is owned by Scripps Network Interactive Inc, said on Thursday it "does not tolerate any form of discrimination and is a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion."

The network's decision to drop Deen was announced hours after she failed to make a scheduled appearance on the NBC television morning show "Today" to discuss the controversy. She later apologized on video that was posted online.

"I want to apologize to everybody for the wrong that I've done. I want to learn and grow from this," Deen said in one video posted on YouTube and other websites.

The controversy surrounding Deen erupted earlier this week when a deposition was released in transcript form in which Deen, who is white, was asked if she had used the "N-word," and responded, "Yes, of course." The "N-word" is a euphemism for "nigger," an epithet for black people.

Asked about the epithet in the deposition, Deen said she had used the slur when describing, probably to her husband, how a black man robbed a bank where she was working in the 1980s. She said she had used the word since, "but it's been a very long time."

A former employee of Paula Deen Enterprises, Lisa Jackson, is suing Deen and her brother, Earl "Bubba" Hiers, in federal court alleging racial and sexual discrimination in the workplace. The deposition was related to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that, while discussing with Jackson plans for Hiers' 2007 wedding, Deen said she wanted a "true southern plantation-style wedding."

"Well, what I would really like is a bunch of little niggers 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," Deen said, according to the lawsuit.

'PLENTY OF MISTAKES'

In one video message posted on Friday to YouTube, Deen apologized to "Today" host Matt Lauer for failing to show up for her interview, as she tried to reach out directly to the public.

"I want people to understand that my family and I are not the kind of people that the press is wanting to say we are," Deen said in that message.

In another video statement posted on YouTube and other websites, Deen said she had made "plenty of mistakes along the way."

"But I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners, I beg for your forgiveness," she said.

Deen did not directly mention the lawsuit or her deposition in either of the two widely shared video statements.

A spokeswoman for Deen did not return calls or an e-mail seeking comment.

Howard Bragman, vice chairman of the reputation management service Reputation.com, told Reuters the chef "needs to be honest, emotional and convincing."

"She's never going to come back whole, she's never going to come back to where she once was," Bragman said in a phone interview. "Do I think she can salvage some measure of a career? Yes I do, there's a lot of people who still like her - the butter manufacturers of America. But she's never going to come back whole."

Long before becoming a celebrity chef, in 1989 Deen started out of her home a catering service called The Bag Lady. It later became the critically acclaimed restaurant The Lady and Sons in Savannah, Georgia.

Her show "Paula's Home Cooking" debuted on The Food Network in 2002 and her program "Paula's Best Dishes" premiered in 2008. She had a longstanding love for butter as an ingredient, but after revealing last year that she had Type 2 diabetes, she became a paid spokeswoman for drug maker Novo Nordisk and introduced light recipes.

(Additional reporting by Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem and David Beasley in Atlanta; Editing by Jim Loney, David Storey, Toni Reinhold)

View the original article here

Paula Deen Fans Are Not Happy

SAVANNAH, Ga. ? Watching Paula Deen's cooking show was a weekend ritual for Marilynne Wilson, who says she's furious at the Food Network for dumping the comfort-food queen after she acknowledged using racial slurs in the past.

"I was shocked. I thought she'd get a fair trial," Wilson, a nurse from Jacksonville, Fla., said Saturday after stopping to buy souvenirs at the gift shop Deen owns next to her Savannah restaurant. "I think the Food Network jumped the gun."

A day after announcing that it's dropping Deen from its roster of celebrity cooks, the cable network was served heaping portions of Southern fried outrage by her fans.

Angry messages piled up Saturday on the network's Facebook page, with many Deen fans threating to change the channel for good. "So good-bye Food Network," one viewer wrote. "I hope you fold like an accordion!!!"

The decision to drop Deen, whose daytime shows have been a Food Network fixture since 2002, came two days after disclosure of a recent court deposition in which Deen was asked under oath if she had ever used the N-word. "Yes, of course," 66-year-old Deen said, though she added, "It's been a very long time."

Deen and her brother are being sued by a former manager of their restaurant who says she was harassed and worked in an environment rife with innuendo and racial slurs.

Wilson's friend Debbie Brown said the Food Network is "basically convicting" Deen. "They should have waited until it goes to court," she said.

Deen issued a videotaped apology Friday in asking fans and critics alike for forgiveness. It had been posted online for about an hour when the Food Network released a terse statement that it "will not renew Paula Deen's contract when it expires at the end of this month." The network refused to comment further.

A representative for Deen did not immediately return a phone call and email message Saturday.

Meanwhile, Deen's critics were making themselves heard online. On Friday night, (hash)PaulaDeenTVShows became a top trending topic on Twitter, with postings that satirized familiar titles. Earlier in the week, they tweeted satirical names for recipes using (hash)PaulasBestDishes.

Deen's legal deposition was conducted last month as part of the 2012 lawsuit filed by Lisa Jackson, who worked at Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House. The lawsuit drew scant attention from news outlets until Deen was questioned under oath and her remarks became available to the public in a transcript.

On Saturday, the controversy didn't keep customers from The Lady & Sons, the restaurant owned by Deen and her sons in Savannah's downtown historic district.

"If you look at her restaurant here, I don't think it's going to hurt her too much," said Felipe Alexander, an Atlanta trucking company owner, as he waited on the sidewalk for his lunchtime reservation. He also said he didn't blame the Food Network for cutting Deen loose.

"If the network didn't want to be associated with somebody who used that word, it has the right to do that," Alexander said.

The fallout may not end with Food Network. At least two other companies that do business with Deen say they're keeping a close eye on the controversy. Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment Corporation, which has Deen's restaurants in some of its casinos, said Friday that it "will continue to monitor the situation." Publisher Ballantine, which has a new Deen book scheduled to roll out this fall, used similar words.

The heat over Deen's remarks hasn't been quite as intense in Savannah, where her success over the past decade has helped raise the coastal Georgia city's profile as a tourist magnet.

The head of Visit Savannah, the city's tourism bureau, weighed in on Deen's plight Saturday on Twitter.

"OK, I'll do it: what (at)Paula-Deen did was wrong," Joe Marinelli, Visit Savannah's president, tweeted. "But she's part of our (at)Savannah family and I'm here to support her."

View the original article here

TV network wary after past racial slur by celebrity chef Paula Deen

By David Beasley

ATLANTA (Reuters) - One of U.S. celebrity chef Paula Deen's employers said on Thursday it was monitoring the controversy over her admission that she has used a racial slur in the past, while Deen's own company said the cooking star does not condone racism.

In a May 17 court deposition that surfaced on Wednesday, Deen, who is white, was asked if she had used the so-called N-word, a racial epithet directed against African-Americans, to which she responded: "Yes, of course."

The Food Network, which broadcasts two popular shows featuring Deen and her Southern cooking, said it was keeping an eye on the flap resulting from her statements that have been widely criticized on social media.

"Food Network does not tolerate any form of discrimination and is a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion," the network said.

The videotaped deposition was taken as part of a lawsuit by a former employee of Paula Deen Enterprises, Lisa Jackson, who is suing Deen and her brother Earl "Bubba" Hiers in their home state of Georgia for racial and sexual discrimination in the workplace.

Deen said she had used the racial epithet when describing, probably to her husband, how a black man robbed a bank where she was working. She said she had used the word since, "but it's been a very long time."

The lawsuit alleges that, while discussing with Jackson plans for Hiers' 2007 wedding, Deen said she wanted a "true southern plantation-style wedding" and used the slur to describe the black men she would want serving at the wedding dressed in white shirts, black shorts and bow ties. In the deposition, Deen said she referred to the race of the servers as black.

Jackson's lawyer, S. Wesley Woolf of Savannah, did not return calls seeking comment. An attorney for Deen said the author of more than a dozen cookbooks was looking forward to her day in court and did not condone any use of racial epithets.

In a statement on Thursday about the deposition, Deen's company, Paula Deen Enterprises, said she "recounted having used a racial epithet in the past, speaking largely about a time in American history which was quite different than today.

"She was born 60 years ago when America's South had schools that were segregated, different bathrooms, different restaurants and Americans rode in different parts of the bus. This is not today," the statement added.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Andre Grenon)

View the original article here

TV network wary after past racial slur by celebrity chef Paula Deen

By David Beasley

ATLANTA (Reuters) - One of U.S. celebrity chef Paula Deen's employers said on Thursday it was monitoring the controversy over her admission that she has used a racial slur in the past, while Deen's own company said the cooking star does not condone racism.

In a May 17 court deposition that surfaced on Wednesday, Deen, who is white, was asked if she had used the so-called N-word, a racial epithet directed against African-Americans, to which she responded: "Yes, of course."

The Food Network, which broadcasts two popular shows featuring Deen and her Southern cooking, said it was keeping an eye on the flap resulting from her statements that have been widely criticized on social media.

"Food Network does not tolerate any form of discrimination and is a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion," the network said.

The videotaped deposition was taken as part of a lawsuit by a former employee of Paula Deen Enterprises, Lisa Jackson, who is suing Deen and her brother Earl "Bubba" Hiers in their home state of Georgia for racial and sexual discrimination in the workplace.

Deen said she had used the racial epithet when describing, probably to her husband, how a black man robbed a bank where she was working. She said she had used the word since, "but it's been a very long time."

The lawsuit alleges that, while discussing with Jackson plans for Hiers' 2007 wedding, Deen said she wanted a "true southern plantation-style wedding" and used the slur to describe the black men she would want serving at the wedding dressed in white shirts, black shorts and bow ties. In the deposition, Deen said she referred to the race of the servers as black.

Jackson's lawyer, S. Wesley Woolf of Savannah, did not return calls seeking comment. An attorney for Deen said the author of more than a dozen cookbooks was looking forward to her day in court and did not condone any use of racial epithets.

In a statement on Thursday about the deposition, Deen's company, Paula Deen Enterprises, said she "recounted having used a racial epithet in the past, speaking largely about a time in American history which was quite different than today.

"She was born 60 years ago when America's South had schools that were segregated, different bathrooms, different restaurants and Americans rode in different parts of the bus. This is not today," the statement added.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Andre Grenon)

View the original article here