In the wake of celebrity chef Paula Deen’s firing from the Food Network following a racial slur scandal, fans of Deen and her Southern cooking express their reactions to her admission and the end of her eleven-year run on television.
As previously reported by The Celebrity Cafe, Deen admitted in a deposition to using the “n-word” and dressing black wait staff as slaves for a wedding. Deen’s confession sparked outrage across the country, with many labeling the chef a racist. In response to the controversy, and Deen’s failure to show up to an interview with Matt Lauer, Food Network announced Deen’s contract would not be renewed.
Despite the controversy, fans of Deen’s food line up outside her restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, and expressed their anger to The New York Times that Deen’s show had been cancelled.
“I get it, believe me,” Nicole Green, first in line to enter the restaurant, said in the chef’s defense. “But what’s hard for people to understand is that she didn’t mean it as racist. It sounds bad, but that’s not what’s in her heart. She’s just from another time.”
Others do not view the issue as black and white. Tyrone A. Forman, the director of the James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference at Emory University, explained that in today’s world, the same word can have many connotations.
“We have a black president so we’re postracial, right? Someone uses the N-word? That’s racist,” Forman said. “But the reality is there is a lot of gray.”
"I have had the pleasure of being allowed into so many homes across the country and meeting people who have shared with me the most touching and personal stories," Deen said in a statement released to People. "This would not have been possible without the Food Network. Thank you again. Love and best dishes to all of ya'll."
Her statement follows an apology issued yesterday in which the celebrity chef, 66, said, "Inappropriate, hurtful language is totally, totally unacceptable. I've made plenty of mistakes along the way, but I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners – I beg for your forgiveness. Please forgive me for the mistakes that I've made."
Image: NBC