Caesars Entertainment, which partnered with Paula Deen for four restaurants, has said that it will not renew its contract with the embattled celebrity chef just minutes after her tearful interview on the Today Show.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the restaurant at Harrah's Joliet in Las Vegas will be temporarily named ‘The Restaurant at Harrah's,’ while the company looks for other licensing opportunities for it and the other locations. The other three restaurants are at Horseshoe South Indiana, Mississippi’s Horseshoe Tunica and North Carolina’s Horseshoe Cherokee.
“While we appreciate Paula's sincere apologies for statements she made in her past that she recently disclosed during a deposition given in response to a lawsuit, after thoughtful consideration of their impact, we have mutually decided that it is in the best interests of both parties to part ways at this time,” Jan Jones Blackhurst, executive vice president of communications and government affairs for Caesars Entertainment, said in a statement, reports E! News.
Deen said on Today that she is not a racist and that she only used the n-word once, even though in the deposition for a lawsuit, she claimed she had used the racial slur more than once. The Food Network has already said that it will not renew its contract with her and QVC has yet to make a decision.
image: NBC