It's So Sad About Paula Deen

[ACSAPA]

I always liked Paula Deen and thought her food looked rich and decadent and awesome.
I'm disappointed by the things she said and her weak defense for using the N word.
My daughter says "Well, she's an older Southern woman, so maybe she was raised in an environment where people talked like that."

Have you been following this news story and do you think she made a mistake or do you think she deserves to lose everything?

 

[Babble64]

I'm going to give an answer without giving an answer! Okay, I guess that's not true. No, I don't think she deserves to lose everything.

I didn't know about this situation until you posted and did a minimal amount of research at that time. Evidently these comments weren't made recently. "Twenty years ago" might seem like a long time ago, but even 20 years ago there was awareness of racial equality; it wasn't the 1960's or 70's, it was 1993. If those comments were made at that time it was still highly inappropriate! I really believe she knew better even having grown up in the south! Morals aside, as a business woman she had a responsibility to be professional in her approach and conduct herself accordingly, no matter what she may or may not believe. She was unwise not to guard her mouth because of that and she's dealing with the consequences of that now. It's never easy to watch a person's life work being challenged in such a grand way. I do hope she uses this to rise above and move forward. I think she can do that if she wants to.

Beyond that the support being pulled from her is, realistically, as much a matter of overall public trust as morals. I pray that the groups pulling their endorsements have people's esteem and equality at heart, but it's also a good business move to react as they have.

How you got me, of all people, to respond to a charged post is a mystery!

 

[ACSAPA]

I'm going to give an answer without giving an answer! Okay, I guess that's not true. No, I don't think she deserves to lose everything.

I didn't know about this situation until you posted and did a minimal amount of research at that time. Evidently these comments weren't made recently. "Twenty years ago" might seem like a long time ago, but even 20 years ago there was awareness of racial equality; it wasn't the 1960's or 70's, it was 1993. If those comments were made at that time it was still highly inappropriate! I really believe she knew better even having grown up in the south! Morals aside, as a business woman she had a responsibility to be professional in her approach and conduct herself accordingly, no matter what she may or may not believe. She was unwise not to guard her mouth because of that and she's dealing with the consequences of that now. It's never easy to watch a person's life work being challenged in such a grand way. I do hope she uses this to rise above and move forward. I think she can do that if she wants to.

Beyond that the support being pulled from her is, realistically, as much a matter of overall public trust as morals. I pray that the groups pulling their endorsements have people's esteem and equality at heart, but it's also a good business move to react as they have.

How you got me, of all people, to respond to a charged post is a mystery!

I'm not trying to be controversial at all. This is just a major news story in the food world. That's all.
I don't think she deserves to lose everything either, but she made some questionable choices.

 

[Soliloquy]

My grandmother was Southern also, and definitely raised in the sort of environment where she grew up racist. She made a conscious decision not to pass her attitudes on to her kids though, and a conscious effort not to treat anyone differently because of it, which is the sort of decision someone in the media should have made and kept to. It's my understanding that all this came to light not necessarily because she slipped up and used the N word, but that she discriminated against one of her employees, which is arguably worse.

There was also a story in her biography in which she was hitting the child of one of her black nannies with a baseball bat, the nanny slapped her, she told her parents and the nanny was arrested. While I don't think one should be held responsible for what they do when they're a stupid child, it does serve to illustrate the sort of power imbalances she's accustomed to.

 

[Babble64]

I'm not trying to be controversial at all. This is just a major news story in the food world. That's all.
I don't think she deserves to lose everything either, but she made some questionable choices.

Oh, I didn't mean to say that you're being controversial! I simply struggle with getting involved in ANYTHING that is of a controversial nature. I'm a chicken when it come to sharing my point of view.

 

[Happyflowerlady]

I really don't know a whole lot about her history, but it appears she did not use the words publicly and it was many years ago. I do not think this is a justification for losing her cooking career, and from what I have seen, she has a lot of support, from people of all races.
Back at the time she used the words, it was pretty accepted that there were slang terms for people of all races. No one really liked the names, but it was a part of life, not used in polite society, just more like street slang.
Now, because of all the race issues, most of that is stopped as it pertains to black people, as it should be for people of any race.

 

[ACSAPA]

I just saw them discussing Paula Deen on The Chew. The general consensus among the chefs seems to be that she is a loving person who made a stupid mistake.
Even chef Carla Hall, who is black, has defended Paula Deen.

Do you guys think that Paula Deen will recover the way Martha Stewart did after she went to jail?

Martha Stewart's comeback was spectacular and hardly anyone even talks about the time she went to jail.

 

[winnifred]

We all make mistakes in life and say things that we later regret. I do think she is being excessively punished. I think what she said is being used as an excuse to fire her. Walmart just let her go. In this world, you go from hero to zero!

 

[ACSAPA]

I saw on the news that since Walmart decided to stop carrying Paula Deen cookware, people have been posting on Walmart's Facebook page "You drop Paula and I drop Walmart." Sales of her new book are going up and the Paula Deen cruise was so popular that they had to add an extra departure.
So she's still getting some support. Maybe she'll be okay.

 

[Babble64]

I just saw them discussing Paula Deen on The Chew. The general consensus among the chefs seems to be that she is a loving person who made a stupid mistake.
Even chef Carla Hall, who is black, has defended Paula Deen.

Do you guys think that Paula Deen will recover the way Martha Stewart did after she went to jail?

Martha Stewart's comeback was spectacular and hardly anyone even talks about the time she went to jail.

You know I had this thought as well. Martha Stewart managed to come back after what she went through. I think Paula Dean will, too. She has talent, and obviously some other qualities that have allowed her to use her cooking skills to be very successful. I think we'll be seeing her for a long time.

 

[ACSAPA]

I just saw on the news that Home Depot and Target are dropping her product lines from their stores and some of her restaurant employees are suing her for promoting white employees ahead of qualified black employees. Things are getting worse for her because more people are coming forward.

 

[Soliloquy]

That's not good. I consider employment discrimination worse then using the N word. I'd say she needs to make some significant changes in her organizations before anyone can take her apologies seriously.

 

[winnifred]

I just heard that Paula Deen received another offer from Dancing with The Stars. So maybe she should take up this offer and go a different route with her career. This may allow her to get a fresh start and still work hard in a different category.

 

[ACSAPA]

I just heard that Paula Deen received another offer from Dancing with The Stars. So maybe she should take up this offer and go a different route with her career. This may allow her to get a fresh start and still work hard in a different category.

I would actually like to see her on Celebrity Apprentice because there are celebrities that I had a somewhat negative opinion of, and seeing them on Celebrity Apprentice changed my opinion for the better because of how they worked with others and did ethical things on the show.

 

[Soliloquy]

She could go into the weight loss business, although I think she'd have a hard time with her obvious love and attachment to unhealthy food.

 

[Happyflowerlady]

I was reading that her book,that is supposed to come out this fall, is already number one on Amazon, and the book that is already out, is at number two; so she doesn't seem to have lost everything.
They are talking on the news now about Alec Baldwin making the Twitter remarks and threats, and no one seems to care that he did it, and he really isn't apologizing; but Paula has been all over the TV crying, and they are still dropping her.
It really doesn't make any sense to me, unless there is more going on than they are saying.

 

[ACSAPA]

I was reading that her book,that is supposed to come out this fall, is already number one on Amazon, and the book that is already out, is at number two; so she doesn't seem to have lost everything.
They are talking on the news now about Alec Baldwin making the Twitter remarks and threats, and no one seems to care that he did it, and he really isn't apologizing; but Paula has been all over the TV crying, and they are still dropping her.
It really doesn't make any sense to me, unless there is more going on than they are saying.

Alec Baldwin made a homophobic comment, Paula Deen made a racist comment. People are more likely to overlook a gay comment because unfortunately there are still a lot of people in the US who discriminate against gays.

 

[winnifred]

Well maybe Paula Deen will find her second wind in some type of reality show or something. A weight loss program or Celebrity Apprentice may be a good idea. I think Martha Stewart made a good comeback. Oh well, where is Oprah and her couch when you need them!

 

[ACSAPA]

Well maybe Paula Deen will find her second wind in some type of reality show or something. A weight loss program or Celebrity Apprentice may be a good idea. I think Martha Stewart made a good comeback. Oh well, where is Oprah and her couch when you need them!

I know ,right? The only thing missing from the Paula Deen circus is Oprah or Barbara Walters doing the super serious tearjerker interview.

 

[ACSAPA]

I read today that a pornography company offered Paula Deen a large sum of money to do porn. Why does the porn industry always go after vulnerable celebrities?
She's not going to salvage her image by doing porn. I hope she told them to take a hike. She still has successful restaurants and cookbooks.
She can quietly retire and live off her investments and this will all blow over eventually.