Though the Food Network, Smithfield Foods, and Caesars Entertainment have all chosen to end their business relationships with Paula Deen, nine other companies have expressed their support for the TV host in light of her recent N-word controversy.
These companies include Tasty Blends Foods, Landies Candies, Springer Mountain Farms, Sandridge Food Co., 450ID, Harvest NA, IQ Craft, Epicurean Butter, and Club Marketing Services, according to USA Today.
Many of the companies acknowledged that though Deen had made a mistake in the past, she has apologized for it and allegedly changed her ways.
Deen made a tearful appearance on the Today Show with Matt Lauer on Wednesday, after ditching a scheduled interview on Friday.
The Southern chef insisted that she is the victim of a smear campaign, and only used the racial slur once thirty years ago, reports the Los Angeles Times. She attempted to push some of the blame or fault onto others, suggesting that if anyone uses the word too much, it is the “young people” who work in her kitchens.
Deen also emphasized that nobody is perfect, saying, “If you've never committed a sin, please pick up that rock, pick up that boulder, and hit me as hard as you can.”
Her super-defensiveness may have come off the wrong way. Crisis-management consultant Mike Paul believes the interview did nothing to help Deen’s situation.
“She is extremely defensive, she still doesn't get it, she still doesn't understand,” Paul said.
He later added: “She should have never done this interview.”
Image: Paula Deen's Twitter