Paula Deen fired and Alabama again lives down to stereotypes

[Bazile]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... t=1&ref=nf

My local NBC station just posted a link on Facebook that Paula Deen has been fired (and rightly so in my opinion) from the Food Network, but the real kicker for me is the comments are overwhelmingly upset about her being fired for PC reasons. I'm Southern (though from NC and not Alabama in spite of our current address) and I love the South, but it annoys me to no end when people insist on living down to stereotypes. Yes she's not the first person to make racist comments and she's not the only person to ever use the n word, but things we say have consequences. Is it really that hard for people to figure out she wasn't fired for apologizing, she was fired because she made the company look bad on a national level? That if they didn't do anything it's the same as them condoning racism, and that bringing up rappers or anyone else is completely irrelevant. :angry-banghead:

[Dysfundamental]

I'm so glad to hear she was fired. If the allegations are accurate, she has been an abusive employer as well as a racist jerk. Good for the Food Network for cutting her loose.

[GolightlyGrrl]

I'm so glad to hear she was fired. If the allegations are accurate, she has been an abusive employer as well as a racist jerk. Good for the Food Network for cutting her loose.

I knew Paula Deen was a racist jerk, but I had no idea she was an abusive employee. Well, I'm happy that she's been canned. Good riddance and don't let the door hit you on your butter-lovin' ass, Paula.

Now if only Dr. Laura's career would have been completely destroyed after she dropped the N-word while talking to an African-American caller (and was also condescending as hell, too!).

[lizziesmom]

Do you think she was fired before/after she failed to show up on the Today show as announced? That was what was all over the news early this morning. No show for an 'exclusive interview' to explain her racism. I guess her two boys can kiss their coattails tv careers goodbye.

Edited to add: I just read that officials at the channel elected not to renew her contract, which expires at the end of the month. So, I guess they just decided to wash their hands of her. She also was 'in pain and too sick' to make her Today show appearance according to her spokesperson.

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[OnceModestTwiceShy]

On the topic of her being an abusive employer, I have to find source, but yesterday I heard on a news show that former employees allege that she was making employees of color USE A SEPARATE ENTRANCE.

[docmom]

I'm pretty shocked by most of the comments. Basically most if them were saying "so she's racist so what. We all use those words".

[infooverload]

Okay I missed what she had done in regards to her racists comments so I'll have to go read the story. I just wanted to say not exactly sorry to see her go. I mean after all her lack of character and ethics was made apparent when she decide to be hawking unhealthy foods and hid the fact she was diabetic.

[RachelB]

I am not going to blame Alabama (not being from Alabama or the South). Nor butter. Paula Deen is a grown human who is fully responsible for what comes out of her mouth.

It makes me cranky when someone I liked turns out to be a bigot.

[laura oz]

I was a huge Paula Deen fan because I love butter too. This whole thing just stunned me; she reminded me so much of my late mother in her personality and her eyes. So bitterly disappointed to find out one of my heroes had feet of clay :cry: The woman had some good cake recipes, and I made her dressing at Thanksgiving for the last three years. I'm just so aghast.

ETA My mom's personality was just so fun and she was the life of any party that she was at. She wasn't a racist jerk off. Just wanted to clarify.

[Dysfundamental]

On the topic of her being an abusive employer, I have to find source, but yesterday I heard on a news show that former employees allege that she was making employees of color USE A SEPARATE ENTRANCE.

That's pretty abusive right there, yes? [link=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paula-deen-lawsuit-bubba-hiers-lisa-jackson-food-network-297254]This[/link] covers some of the other allegations made in the lawsuit that sparked all this.

[Lillybee]

I hope that the FN stops airing her shows completely. I also wonder about her sons and their shows.

[docmom]

Loved the plans for her brothers wedding with the pretend slaves. That's pretty hilarious and not at all racist, right? I'm really disturbed that so many people see nothing wrong with this!

[Bazile]

I am not going to blame Alabama (not being from Alabama or the South). Nor butter. Paula Deen is a grown human who is fully responsible for what comes out of her mouth.

It makes me cranky when someone I liked turns out to be a bigot.

I'm not blaming Alabama for Paula Deen since she's a Georgian and thus their problem, but I will blame Alabamans for stupid comments they make defending her on a Montgomery news station's Facebook page.

[roadnottaken]

I don't condone use of racial slurs but I think this is a ridiculous over reaction. I find it hard to believe that there is a single person in the world who hasn't used a slur or a derogatory word against any group (hispanic, female, male, gay, fundamentalist Christian, black, southern, northern, fat, skinny) in their entire lives.

[roadnottaken]

And I'm waiting for everyone to call me racist...but we all call people derogatory things on this very board. I've uttered the R word (redneck) and the Y word (yankee)...all technically slurs. Again I don't say the N word and I don't think ANYONE should...not the rappers who use it all the time...or anyone else, but I feel it's a little hypocritical and a lot of everyone jumping on the 'oh look at us, we're firing her because we're incredibly political correct' if we aren't going to be honest about it.

[laura oz]

I don't condone use of racial slurs but I think this is a ridiculous over reaction. I find it hard to believe that there is a single person in the world who hasn't used a slur or a derogatory word against any group (hispanic, female, male, gay, fundamentalist Christian, black, southern, northern, fat, skinny) in their entire lives.

For me it's not the slurs entirely. She is of the generation in the South that used that language freely, so while I wouldn't give her a pass I would give her a severe hand slap for that bs. What put it over the top was the idea of using black people in the role of slaves at Bubbas' reception. That was in the past five years. She knew damn well that that would be offensive and insulting. Nobody can be that clueless.

[Dysfundamental]

I don't condone use of racial slurs but I think this is a ridiculous over reaction.

Why would the Food Network want to continue to employ someone who, when giving a formal legal deposition in a lawsuit about abusive employer practices, thought it would be appropriate to use racial slurs?

It's not like someone overheard her using racial slurs in her garage; this came out in an inquiry into her practices as an employer. The issue isn't that she used a racial slur, it's that it's part of a pattern of discrimination at the businesses she owns.

I think the Food Network is making a good business decision about discontinuing a business relationship with someone who's been alleged to have engaged in unfair labor practices and confirmed (by her own deposition) to have used racial slurs in a professional setting.

[roadnottaken]

For me it's not the slurs entirely. She is of the generation in the South that used that language freely, so while I wouldn't give her a pass I would give her a severe hand slap for that bs. What put it over the top was the idea of using black people in the role of slaves at Bubbas' reception. That was in the past five years. She knew damn well that that would be offensive and insulting. Nobody can be that clueless.

Laura-That part I hadn't heard...that is just crazy! I don't give her a pass because she's southern even, so am I, it just seems as though we deal with these things differently depending on which group is offended. I don't give her a pass at all and if she had a slave idea ...well, that is something over the top that makes her being let go make more sense. I wasn't aware that she had said she used the word in a business setting...I thought the person filing the lawsuit was white.

[meep]

I'm not blaming Alabama for Paula Deen since she's a Georgian and thus their problem, but I will blame Alabamans for stupid comments they make defending her on a Montgomery news station's Facebook page.

Agreed. Paula Deen using the slur - which is horrible and I'm glad she's fired - doesn't perpetuate the stereotype. It's the people who come to her defense in the comments section of sites that give the south a bad name. She is one stupid idiot but defending her is doing the real damage.

Also, Paula Deen Enterprises released a statement that was BS: "[Paula] was born 60 years ago when America's South had schools that were segregated, different bathrooms, different restaurants and Americans rode in different parts of the bus. This is not today."

[Dysfundamental]

The person who filed the lawsuit is white. Deen used the slurs about black employees, which Deen acknowledged having done in the deposition.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

For me it's not the slurs entirely. She is of the generation in the South that used that language freely, so while I wouldn't give her a pass I would give her a severe hand slap for that bs. What put it over the top was the idea of using black people in the role of slaves at Bubbas' reception. That was in the past five years. She knew damn well that that would be offensive and insulting. Nobody can be that clueless.

Exactly. This isn't about her use of inappropriate language. It's about her thinking that it's ok to glorify the slave-owning past of the South. That makes her a racist, hands down. She's free to be a racist, but Food Network and the public at large are also free to decide that they don't want to support someone who is racist.

And I don't give a fuck how long ago she was born. Should I laugh and shrug when a 60-y/o from the South calls me a k*ke (Anti-Semitic slur) and asks where my tail and horns are? Not gonna happen.

[debrand]

And I'm waiting for everyone to call me racist...but we all call people derogatory things on this very board. I've uttered the R word (redneck) and the Y word (yankee)...all technically slurs. Again I don't say the N word and I don't think ANYONE should...not the rappers who use it all the time...or anyone else, but I feel it's a little hypocritical and a lot of everyone jumping on the 'oh look at us, we're firing her because we're incredibly political correct' if we aren't going to be honest about it.

Yankees and Rednecks have not been slaves so I don't view those names as equivalent at all to the N word.

I know a lot of people who call themselves Redneck because they are from the country. They are certainly not calling themselves racists or ignorant so the term isn't always negative.

All Americans are Yankees so I am confused why that would be a bad term either.

[TressieThales]

Here's a link to the complaint filed against Paula Deen, her various companies, and her brother. The allegations are truly horrifying. http://www.scribd.com/doc/148781831/Jac ... -Complaint

[debrand]

Sixty is not old. She is from the generation that fought for Civil Rights so I am pretty certain that she knows not to use the N word.

I've just started reading the link. Bubba sexually harassed and verbally abused his workers. Whoa When the employee who brought the suit asked if she was qualified for a position, Paula agreed that she was. However, she said that her sons and brother would never take orders from a woman. :o

Racism, sexism, sexual harassment, threats of violence and I'm not that far into the report.

[GeoBQn]

Sixty is not old. She is from the generation that fought for Civil Rights so I am pretty certain that she knows not to use the N word.

I've just started reading the link. Bubba sexually harassed and verbally abused his workers. Whoa

When I asked my Food Network-loving mom what she thought, her response was, "I don't know. She's from a different time."

I wanted to say to her, "Mom, she is from the same time as you and you don't use language like that."