HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point-based home furnishings company that markets Paula Deen's furniture line is sticking with the embattled celebrity chef.
Universal Furniture International, which has a showroom in High Point, will continue to market the Paula Deen Home Collection, The High Point Enterprise (http://bit.ly/1c5x4fY ) reported.
Deen has been under fire since the revelation earlier this year of a legal deposition in which Deen admitted under oath to having used the N-word.
Many companies have dropped Deen since the deposition became public.
Deen attended the spring High Point Market in April, before the reports about her use of derogatory racial remarks in the past, came to light.
"We feel terrible for Paula. The Paula we know - and the one I believe you have gotten to know - is not the same person as the one being portrayed in the media," Jeff Scheffer, the top executive at Universal, wrote in a letter to its retailers released Wednesday afternoon.
"We have observed her as being kind and one who treats those around her with respect. Yes, she has acknowledged saying some hurtful things but she has also apologized, and we accept that," he wrote.
Scheffer said he understands those who disagree.
"We also feel equally dismayed for those hurt by Paula's remarks, which for certain do not represent our own diverse culture and beliefs at Universal," he said in the letter.
Scheffer said part of the reason for the decision was feedback from the retail businesses that market its furnishings.