The firing, or better said refusal to extend the contract, of Paula Deen by the Food Network, after it was revealed via court testimony that the southern-fried cook admitted to using the N-word, has launched a virtual army of supporters. A Facebook page entitled “We Support Paula Deen” launched on June 21 (Friday) and it already has nearly 400,000 likes!
Deen’s story is omnipresent on the web right now and the she’s found herself at the center of a discussion over racism in American and how folks feel about social mores and the power of one word in our culture. The posts via the page often extend to way over 1,000 comments with most people feeling that the network, and since then sponsors, have unjustly overreacted.
Outspoken MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton said of Deen’s current situation:
“A lot of us have in the past said things we have regretted saying years ago. I think she has a lawsuit now about activities now whether it was discriminatory. And whether or not she’s engaged in things now. It’s not about her past. … She deserves what’s fair, but that’s based on what she’s engaged in now. You cannot deal with what is fair or not fair until we see an outcome of the present circumstances she is accused of, not something that happened 20 years ago.”
Lisa T. Jackson, a manager at Deen’s Savannah, Ga., restaurant, filed a lawsuit against Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, for sexual harassment and racial discrimination. In a deposition from May, Deen admitted to using the N-word in the past and to planning a “southern plantation-style wedding” with black servers.
Deen fumbled seriously afterwards, attempting 3 apology videos that came off as awkward to most and insincere to many. These came after she backed out of a scheduled appearance on Today citing physical exhaustion. She is now reset to speak with Matt Lauer tomorrow.
Here are some comments culled from a recent post (heck they’re all recent) on Paula’s support page:
HENRY: This is racisim at its highest. Paula is attacked and mistreated for something that is insignificant. Most people white AND BLACK have used that word. If it is such a crime, all rap music should be banned and most black comedians!
FERN: This thing is way out of control…what would happen if every one of us were judged on one thing we did or said in the past? This started out as this hateful woman trying to extort money from Paula…So glad to see the Deen boys speak up for their mom…its clear to me she raised them right..Paula, we love you and are praying for you…God bless you..
DOROTHY: Common Sense, it would be nice if you showed up now. Clearly the media liberals are jumping on this to once again destroy a hero of the South. Paula has her family, her fans and her God. She will get through this just fine and I am sure the truth WILL come out. You can bury the truth, but you can’t kill it. Sooner or later, it will be dug up and BOY is it going to stink! You rock Paula. Stand strong.
BRENDA: I want to know where the heck they get racist!?, they can call WHITE people cracker or anything else if we say anything we are wrong. What the heck is the difference?? I am so tried of this crap. We are getting the blame for things that happen 100 or more years ago. Well I haven’t seen where they have tried to do any better. It’s just easier for people to blame others, lets face it there are sorry lazy no good for anything but sitting on there behinds wanting a handout instead of working tying to be honest people. If you want RESPECT get of your butts and earn it. Besides does anyone no 1 of the meanings of the word ” a member of a socially disadvantaged class of persons.” So that could be any color. People want to blame whites for things but when a black women from NC blamed white students and ruined their lives for her LYING I haven’t heard the NAACP apologize for that but they sure stuck their mouth in it when they thought their was money in it. So people as the old saying goes. “Clean up your on back door then you can clean someone else’s.
EILEEN: Yet Kim Kardashian has her baby out of wedlock with one of the biggest racists in the world, and they stay on TV???????
Where do you stand on this issue? Do you support Paula, are you waiting for all the facts to come out from the trial before solidifying your opinion, do you think she’s a racist, would you rather everyone just stop writing and talking about it (including us)?
