Video apology from Savannah celebrity-chef too little, too late for network-execs
The Food Network announced Friday that it will not renew Paula Deen’s contract when it expires at the end of the month because of her admissions to using racial slurs in the past.
The announcement came shortly after Deen issued two videos apologizing for her past comments and asking for forgiveness.
SLIDESHOW: Paula Deen and family throughout the years.
The Food Network began airing “Paula’s Home Cooking” in 2002 and added “Paula’s Best Dishes” in 2008. It was part of her empire built on television shows, cookbooks and product endorsements.
“Food Network will not renew Paula Deen’s contract when it expires at the end of this month,” the statement said. Network representatives declined further comment.
A distraught Paula Deen earlier Friday afternoon issued a video statement begging for forgiveness from everybody for what she called “the wrong that I’ve done.”
“I want to learn and grow from this inappropriate, hurtful language — is totally, totally unacceptable,” Savannah’s celebrity chef said in a video posted on YouTube “I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way.”
“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.”
About an hour later, Deen posted a second video, again apologizing for her comments.
“I was wrong,” Deen said on the second video. “I worked hard and I made mistakes, but that is no excuse.”
She said she is not the kind of person portrayed in the press and that skin color, religious or sexual preference “does not matter to me.”
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She also apologized to Matt Lauer for failing to appear on Friday morning’s “Today Show,” explaining the entire matter has been very hurtful to a whole lot of people and overwhelming to her.
The videos came after three days of non-stop national and local news reports that Deen, the defendant in a civil case filed by a former employee, admitted using the “N” word although she insisted it occurred “a very long time ago.”
The admissions were contained in a deposition taken in May in the federal court case which surfaced on Wednesday.
Plaintiff Lisa Jackson, former general manger at Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House Inc. on Whitemarsh Island which is operated by Deen’s brother, Earl W. “Bubba” Hiers, contends she was the victim of sexual harassment and a persistent pattern of racial discrimination in the workplace during her five years there.
Various news reports have speculated on whether it might mean the end of — or at least damage — her multimillion-dollar business empire.