Image via Complex Original
Rappers might get a free pass when it comes to throwing the term around, but when it comes to Paula Deen, using the N-word is a dead zone. As if the Martha Stewart scandal wasn't enough, this past summer the Queen of the Food Network showed the world that she has more than one racist bone lingering in her body.
While Deen has since apologized for the incident, we're not ready to forget her litany of sins. With Deen's E! true Hollywood story having aired last week, we decided to revist the many controversies Deen has found herself embroiled in. Here are 20 Upsetting Facts About Paula Deen that will make you leave any sympathy you had for Deen at the door.
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20. Paula Deen incited a more positive reaction than Martin Luther King Jr.
When Paula attended her first public event since all of the controversy over the summer, a survey of Georgia Republicans was taken before the event took place. After the survey was scored it showed that, "Deen – with 73% support – was more popular than Martin Luther King Jr, who only received 59% positive reaction".
[via The Guardian]
19. According to Barbara Walters, Paula Deen makes kids fat.
Back in 2009, when Paula Deen appeared on the view to debut her "Cookbook for the Lunchbox Set," Barbara Walters told Deen how she really felt. Walters asserted that Deen's cookbook was condoning junk food for children. Walters said, "You tell kids to have cheesecake for breakfast. You tell them to have chocolate cake and meatloaf for lunch. And french fries. Doesn't it bother you that you're adding to [childhood obesity]?"
[via Parent Dish]
18. Paula Deen is certain she will make a comeback.
Despite the controversy this past summer, Paula Deen believes she will make a comeback like never before. She recently told TMZ she "never went anywhere."
[via TMZ]
17. Paula Deen says she prefers "white and light-skinned" blacks.
An attorney from the Civil Rights group Rainbow/PUSH had the opportunity to speak with some of Paula Deen's current and former employees and was told by an employee that Deen, "preferred white and light-skinned blacks to work with customers" and that darker-skinned blacks were relegated to "back-of-the-house operations."
[via Huffington Post]
16. Paula Deen insists that using a racial slur does not make her racist.
Deen believes that she is not a racist because the scenario in which she used the slur was stressful. When she was asked how she could use a term that "clearly offends" African Americans she replied, "The day I used that word, it was a world ago. It was 30 years ago," she said, referring to a robbery. "I had had a gun put to my head."
[via MSNBC]
15. Paula Deen admits to telling both racial and ethnic jokes.
African Americans were not the only ones Deen offended. She also insulted jews, all of the people from the South, and her fans with her tasteless choice of words.
[via TIME]
14. Paula Deen's apology was likely insincere.
According to Wendy Williams, Deen's body language suggests her apology was insincere. In one of the videos filmed of Deen's apology, not only does she shake her head from side to side when she says she is sorry, but her hands are folded the whole time, which suggests she's not being open or frank.
[via YouTube]
13. Paula Deen promoted a diabetes drug which cost $500 a month.
Deen controversially backed Novo Nordisk's Victoza, a diabetes drug. The move registered as wildy hypocritcal, considering Deen's recipes are infamously unhealthy. After the racism scandal, her endorsement deal was promptly dropped.
[via OK Magazine]
12. Anthony Bourdain considers Paula Deen the "worst, most dangerous person in America."
In 2011, during an interview with TV Guide network, Anthony Bourdain referred to Paula Deen as "the worst, most dangerous person in America." He also went on to say that, "she revels in unholy connections with evil corporations" and she is "proud of the fact her food is fucking bad for you."
[via E Online]
11. Paula Deen wanted to throw a wedding with a Civil War-era Southern plantation theme.
Deen described a controversial wedding she wanted to throw: “What I would really like is a bunch of little n****rs 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.”
The only reason she didn't have this atrocious celebration? Her exact words were, "We can't do that because the media would be on me about that."
[via Bloomberg]
10. Paula Deen segregated her black employees.
Deen was accused of only allowing her black staff use of one bathroom and one entrance to enter and leave the restaurant. They also weren't allowed to work the front of the restaurant.
[via Black Legal Issues]
9. Post racism scanda, Paula Deen called Rev. Jesse Jackson for help.
Deen reached out to Jackson, a vociferous advocate for the rights of African Americans, when she came under fire. Jackson said he believed that Paula shouldn't be judged for something that was said in her past. He agreed to help her restore her image after the racism scandal.
[via The Root]
8. Paula Deen has been dropped by several sponsors due to her racist remarks.
They say every action has a consequence. Because of Deen's controversial behavior, she was dropped by Walmart, Home Depot, Caesar's Casino, The Food Network, Sears and K-Mart, just to name a few. Maybe she'll think before she speaks next time.
[via Daily Mail]
7. Paula Deen lied to Matt Lauer on the Today Show.
After failing to show up to her scheduled appearance on the Today Show, a sympathy-seeking Deen finally showed her face. When asked about the controversy by Matt Lauer, she admitted to only using the n-word once. But, when under oath, she claimed she had used it on numerous occasions.
[via Youtube]
6. Paula Deen believes it's OK to use the n-word in a joking matter.
Deen said that her children were taught by her husband to not use the word in a derogatory way, but aside from that, thought there was no harm in using the word.
[via Eater]
5. Paula Deen has no problem with her brother watching adult films on the job.
When Deen was asked about how she felt about her brother watching adult films at work, she seemed perfectly fine with it. "Just because he's got a sense of humor does not make him a bad person or incapable of running a business," said Deen.
[via The Daily Beast]
4. Paula Deen created this monstrosity.
Need we say more?
3. Paula Deen was sued by a former employee.
While working at one of Paula's restaurants in Georgia, a former employee filed a lawsuit against Deen for subjecting her to racist and sexist comments.
[via Daily Mail]
2. Paula Deen forced employees to work her private parties without pay.
Deen forced employees to work parties at her Savannah mansion and only paid them in booze. Former employee Sheldon J. Ervin claims he worked many parties without pay, saying “I didn’t want to, but they threatened our jobs and put it on the line.”
[via Radar]
1. Paula Deen had the gall to fry butter and call it food.
She called it Paula's fried butter balls. We call it the surest route to Type 2 Diabetes.