Paula Deen, the queen of southern cooking was dropped from Food Network on Friday June 21st and now Smithfield a pork producing company has also dropped her.
Deen has been the source of much controversy. “Court records show Deen sat down for a deposition May 17 in a discrimination lawsuit filed last year by a former employee who managed Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House, a Savannah restaurant owned by Deen and her brother”.
Court manuscripts from this deposition revealed that when Deen was asked under oath if she had used to N-Word. Her response was “yes, of course”. She also stated, “It’s been a very long time”.
Since the incident, Deen has received an overwhelming amount of criticism. While the Food Network didn’t give a detailed statement, Smithfield Pork Company did.
“Smithfield condemns the use of offensive and discriminatory language and behavior of any kind,” company vice president Keira Lombardo said in a statement. She later went on to say: “Smithfield is determined to be an ethical food industry leader and it is important that our values and those of our spokespeople are properly aligned.
Nevertheless, Deen posted a videotaped apology begging for forgiveness. She states, “I want people to understand that my family and I — we’re not the kind of people that the press is wanting to say we are”.
FULL ARTICLES
http://www.today.com/food/paula-deen-dumped-smithfield-foods-6C10423983
