It seems that the public backlash against Paula Deen is not over yet.
The controversy surrounding the 66-year-old chef shows no signs of letting up. Her upcoming cookbook, Paula Deen’s New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up, currently the top seller on both Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, has been dropped by its publisher.
Ballantine Books spokesman Stuart Applebaum told Fox News that after “careful consideration,” it had decided to halt publication of Deen’s highly anticipated cookbook and would cancel the five-book deal announced early last year.
“When Walmart, Target, and J.C. Penney all announce they are discontinuing their Paula Deen business, including books, it is awfully tough,” a source close to the publishing house told TheHollywoodGossip.com “This was purely a business decision.
The book, available by pre-order, was set to hit stores in mid-October.
Deen has lost many of her business relationships in the last week following the revelation that she had used racial slurs in the past and had even planned a “slavery-themed” wedding.
Sears and Kmart announced on Friday that they’d no longer carry cookware or any of Deen’s other products. Target announced on Thursday that it would “phase out” its stock of Paula Deen merchandise while QVC announced that it was “taking a pause.”
These companies joined the Food Network (last Friday), Smithfield Foods (Monday), Walmart and Ceasars Entertainment (Wednesday) and diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk (Thursday) in the list of companies who have dropped Deen.
Image Courtesy of Amazon