Paula Deen is in the news again and, no, its not because people discovered that frying food in massive amounts of butter is not healthy. This time she was fired, or the pleasant way of saying it is that her contract was not renewed, by Food Network because she did not perjure herself.
Ok, so it wasn’t exactly for not perjuring herself but that may as well be the reason. She admitted under oath in a deposition that she has used the N word in her lifetime. The tabloids picked it up, which of course was inevitable, which then leads to the forced public apology.
In the worst PR move ever her handlers or her attorneys or I can’t really figure out who, put out her apology which was heavily edited and bizarre. It was so strange that it was then taken down and replaced with another apology video, which many thought was not sincere or heartfelt or maybe they just couldn’t get past the first strange one. Anyway, that was that.
Buh bye Paula Deen.
I don’t watch her show and I’ve never bought her products but in my limited knowledge I remember her getting slammed for not going public with her Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis until an endorsement deal was in place. It damaged her brand and was really the beginning of the end for her.
Still, I think she got the rawest of deals. Accepting her explanation that it was acceptable for a woman growing up in the South in the 60’s to use that word is not the same as condoning it or even liking it. It is understanding a larger history in our country and the small part that Paula Deen plays in it.
She was not the cause of segregation nor was she the beginning or end of racism. She was a by-product of her culture and upbringing. She admitted using the ugly word, offered an explanation, apologized, even if it was strange. Why can’t we just move on? Why can’t we accept that people can evolve?
The N word is a word I heard growing up and I didn’t grow up in the South in the 60’s but it is still something that seemed to be acceptable to say. I always hated the word and I remember my mother hating the word and cringing when it was said in what should have been polite company.
Recently someone I went to high school with posted a status on social media using the N word in the most vile way possible. I guess he still thinks it’s acceptable.
I have seen an evolution though and while I do hear it on occasion, it is very rare. I suppose the fact that I have seen an evolution in the frequency and usage of the word makes me understand Paula Deen’s position a little more. And again, understanding or accepting her explanation is not the same as condoning her use of the word. It is looking at the larger picture and acknowledging that race has been an issue in our country for a long time and that it’s not always as black and white as we’d like to make it.
Sometimes as much as we don’t like it, we have to accept that there are generational and cultural beliefs that are harder to purge.
I don’t know that Paula Deen is not a racist but in this tabloid society that we live in I lean towards believing word would have seeped out long before her deposition went public. Celebrities can’t go food shopping on a bad hair day without a picture popping up somewhere. I have trouble believing that Deen was making her African American employees use separate entrances and that nobody ever called a lawyer and then TMZ.
When do we move past the sensationalism and look at the reality? Paula Deen wasn’t trying to be our moral compass. She wasn’t telling us how to raise our kids or even making important decisions involving anyone’s future. She had a cooking show.
I do wonder why we take such pleasure when people fall in this country. When do we remember that despite their fame they are still humans just like the rest of us? No angry mob needed. We have social media for that now. Kill a career. No proof needed. Move on to the next scandal.
You don’t have to feel sorry for Paula Deen. She’s made millions showing us how to cook. Ask yourself a question though. Was she fired because she’s a racist or was she fired because her apology was a public relations disaster? And then ask yourself if it was really fair.
