Things we love Paula Deen for: her Southern charm, her penchant for all things deep-fried, and her liberal use of butter. We’ve been able to turn a blind eye to the comical amounts of fat, salt, and sugar in her recipes, but when everyone’s favorite Southern home cooking TV personality faced allegations of bigotry, it became an issue no one could ignore.
The controversy first began when a former employee of Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House, owned by Paula and her brother, filed a discrimination lawsuit last year, claiming that the restaurant environment with rife with sexual innuendo and racial slurs. Though Paula has been working hard to restore her image, tarnished since she confessed under oath last month that she had, in fact, used racial slurs in the past, her efforts were not enough. Barely an hour after the famed Savannah chef posted the first of two videos online asking for forgiveness from fans and critics, Food Network dropped the bomb.
The statement, released by the network on Friday afternoon, stated, “Food Network will not renew Paula Deen’s contract when it expires at the end of this month.” Representatives from the network declined further comment.
Paula canceled a scheduled interview on the Today show Friday morning, claiming exhaustion, and opted instead to directly appeal to viewers online. In the videos, Paula insists that she and her brother have no tolerance for bigotry. “Bubba and I, neither one of us, care what the color of your skin is or what gender a person is,” she says. “It’s what’s in your heart that matters to us.”
Whether true or not, all we know is that Paula’s days of deep-frying butter on the Food Network are done.