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Ah, the old "if I'm a racist and use the N word in the privacy of my own home it's okay" defense. And it is ok, sorta, in theory. So long as Paula & the family can take the heat of their behavior. She's a public figure and pretty much everything she says & does is on view. She should understand that by now.
That said, it's a free country. She can do whatever she wants. She can make table cloths out of "Southern Heritage" (:roll eyes flags and sell 'em with her "I'm the Real Aunt Jemima" cookbooks. Or at least she can try.
Problem for Paula is she keeps letting things slip OUTSIDE the house. And those darn ex-employees keep popping up. And those interviews (wow, those interviews!).
Paula don't mean no harm, ya'll. It's just her raisen' … you know her family owned some folks back in the day and Paula's just got that ownership mentality pretty deeply ingrained. She's having trouble keeping real Paula from talking and messing up "TV Paula's" life. I hate that!
It's not that defense at all.
I looked at the picture of Bobby Deen, and I've looked at pictures of Desi Arnaz. Mr Arnaz could be very tan at times. Bobby Deen was trying to look like a man who has a darker complexion than Bobby has. For Halloween. And the picture was taken years before the brouhaha about Paula's racism. She didn't post this picture. She fired the employee who did post it.
I know lots of women who use bronzing make-up in the summer to look more tanned, especially in the summer. Is the use of bronzer racism?
I looked at the picture of Bobby Deen, and I've looked at pictures of Desi Arnaz. Mr Arnaz could be very tan at times. Bobby Deen was trying to look like a man who has a darker complexion than Bobby has. For Halloween. And the picture was taken years before the brouhaha about Paula's racism. She didn't post this picture. She fired the employee who did post it.
I know lots of women who use bronzing make-up in the summer to look more tanned, especially in the summer. Is the use of bronzer racism?
Was the picture taken at Halloween? Do you know that to be true? And, honestly, even if it was Halloween I still find it offensive personally.
But as I said, it's a free country you and Paula Deen and others who feel the same way can dress up (in brown face & black face), use the N word and talk about the good old days when your families owned slaves.
Like everything in life the choices will have consequences.
Why is this insulting to some people. Who cares?? it was not a racial statement but a play upon a TV show from the 50s. Why on earth do so many people look for reasons to be insulted?? Why have these lefty loones taken such pleasure from attacking this poor woman?? When will America be America again?? how can we get rid of this culture of PC??? I am so sick of it. Not one person should find this offensive, unless of course you dislike the I Love Lucy show from the 1950s. I see absolutely NO racial statement at all.
No kidding. If it was anyone else it would not be news. I think it is because now when people think Paula Deen they think racist, which may or may not be true. But this photo was just a play on I Love Lucy. They are all dressed like the show. Sheesh.
Yay we are national news again in Savannah! Hah. Hopefully next time it will be a good news story.
Was the picture taken at Halloween? Do you know that to be true? And, honestly, even if it was Halloween I still find it offensive personally.
But as I said, it's a free country you and Paula Deen and others who feel the same way can dress up (in brown face & black face), use the N word and talk about the good old days when your families owned slaves.
Like everything in life the choices will have consequences.
Per TIME Magazine, the picture was taken for a 2011 Halloween episode of her show.
And if you find Bobby Deen's use of darker makeup offensive, do you find it offensive when women use darker make-up in the summer to feign a tan?
Bottom line, blackface is offensive because it's intended to depict an entire race of people in a stereotypical and mostly derogatory way. But using make-up to make yourself look more like a specific person, with no intent to diminish or insult that person, isn't racism.
Was the picture taken at Halloween? Do you know that to be true? And, honestly, even if it was Halloween I still find it offensive personally.
But as I said, it's a free country you and Paula Deen and others who feel the same way can dress up (in brown face & black face), use the N word and talk about the good old days when your families owned slaves.
Like everything in life the choices will have consequences.
Please explain why you find this offensive personally?
Was the picture taken at Halloween? Do you know that to be true? And, honestly, even if it was Halloween I still find it offensive personally.
But as I said, it's a free country you and Paula Deen and others who feel the same way can dress up (in brown face & black face), use the N word and talk about the good old days when your families owned slaves.
Like everything in life the choices will have consequences.
I guess we should not dress up at all at Halloween or anytime. Don't want to offend people like you who can get "offended" about something so trivial. I get it, you think Paula Deen is a racist. I don't think she cares.
Paula Deen is a great cook. She is also apparently not all that bright in other areas. And she's probably a racist.
She is NOT a spokesperson for southerners in general - not even when it comes to food (my family is deeply southern and no one uses as much butter as she does in ANYTHING! LOL). She's a flawed, silly woman in my opinion, who knows how to cook. I don't expect much from her, and therefore I'm never disappointed.
I can agree with the sentiment. I was never into Paula Deen. I know she cooks. I've seen her on front page magazines. I never really cared. I was always more into Emeril, Rachael Ray, Giada DeLaurentis , Anthony Bourdain(ironic consider the first three persons), Andrew Zimmern,etc.
When the whole scandal broke out in 2013, I was like "whatever". What did make me squeamish were those who wanted to defend her. And this was around the same time the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman controversy was in play. I didn't expect much from her, so it didn't bother me as much.
Paula Deen is a spokesperson for her own stuff, nothing else.
I was expecting something much different than I actually saw at that link. And I think this was before all her other controversies came up? This is a non-issue IMO. I'll pass on my blue paint this year at Halloween, don't want to offend the smurfs or the Na'vi of Pandora.
What it comes down to is this: Paula Deen is terrible at brand management. I don't think the photo was particularly racist (though ironically Desi Arnaz was a WHITE Hispanic), just a stupid move. It's all about the appearance of impropriety and the possibility of reminding her base of her past mistakes.
I realize that she ostensibly did not repost it herself, but that indicates that she's really bad at hiring people. Her management of the whole racism crisis was disastrous and she clearly had not availed herself of image consultants - or at least hadn't followed their advice.
The current minor kerfuffle wouldn't even have come up if she'd been savvy when dealing with her previous scandal. With regard to the past N-word usage, for example, she merely had to say that she was a product of her time and place and she was embarrassed that she had ever thought that was acceptable. Instead she was on TV crying and acting like a victim rather than owning her actions and demonstrating that she has moved on from the person that she was then.
I wouldn't blame the network if it canceled her show that was in the works. Not because the reposted photo was racist, but because she hasn't learned a darn thing about image and brand management despite her history, despite the millions of dollars that hang in the balance. She may sell a lot of cookbooks, but she's a bad investment for a TV show, especially one that's unscripted.
But don't forget, it wasn't just the racism question that tanked her. She also hid her diabetes while working out a marketing deal with a pharmaceutical company and pushing her unhealthy recipes. That was another ding against her that TV networks need to consider.
Do I think Paula Deen is a racist? Probably. But probably no more than the average white Southern woman from her background and age group. It is what it is. I was never a fan, but mainly because I just thought her stuff was over-the-top unhealthy (and say that as someone who eats a lot of fast food) and her persona was phony. If she had maintained her professionalism and managed her brand proactively, she'd still be riding high. I don't feel sorry for her - she ain't exactly in the poorhouse, ya know? She had a pretty good run for someone who has no clue how to manage a multi-million-dollar brand.
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flags and sell 'em with her "I'm the Real Aunt Jemima" cookbooks. Or at least she can try. 
