Paula Deen was once the toast of Food Network, the Georgia grandmother’s butter-drenched home cooking and salty-sweet disposition a winning combination.
Until, that is, her own words came back to bite her.
Following the June 2013 release of a deposition in which Deen admitted to past use of a racial slur, she became persona non grata over the course of a week.
Deen made two emotional apology videos, but Food Network cut ties. Stores, including Walmart and Target, dropped her merchandise. Her publisher canceled the release of her latest book.
And, needless to say, Twitter (now X) feasted on the controversy.
But while some people never had a taste for what she was serving even before the scandal, and others simply lost their appetite, plenty of fans remained hungry for more and rallied to her defense.
Canceled: The Paula Deen Story, a new documentary premiering Sept. 6 at the Toronto International Film Festival, delves into Deen’s rise to fame, rapid downfall and eventual comeback, albeit with a smaller slice of the influence pie.
Deen, 78, said on an Aug. 20 Fox & Friends segment that she and sons Jamie Deen, 58, and Bobby Deen, 55, were admittedly “a little leery at first” about the idea of a documentary revisiting the scandal, but ultimately agreed to participate.
Back in 2013, “I thought I was going to die of a broken heart,” Deen said. “But I had, like, 5 and a half, 6 million people come in on my Facebook and put their arms around me. And without y’all, I would not have survived.”
Here’s what to know about the controversy chronicled in Canceled: The Paula Deen Story:
Why was Paula Deen being deposed?
In 2012, Deen and her brother Bubba Hiers were sued for sexual harassment and racial discrimination by Lisa Jackson, a former manager at their restaurant Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House.
Jackson, who is white, also alleged in her complaint that Deen and Hiers made racist comments about the restaurant’s Black employees.
On May 17, 2013, Deen sat for a video deposition in the civil case.
What did Paula Deen say that caused backlash?
Deen was asked during the deposition, made public on June 19, 2013, if she had ever used a racial epithet.
“Yes, of course,” Deen said in her testimony, which was filed in federal court. But, she added, “It’s been a very long time.”
She continued, per the transcript obtained by NBC News, “But that’s just not a word that we use as time has gone on. Things have changed since the ’60s in the South. And my children and my brother object to that word being used in any cruel or mean behavior. As well as I do.”
Jackson alleged in her complaint that Deen had requested Hiers’ wedding be “a true Southern plantation-style wedding” and used a slur in reference to what she wished the wait staff could dress like, a throwback to the days when “they used to tap dance around” in movies.
In her deposition, Deen said she remembered describing a Tennessee restaurant where the “whole entire wait staff was middle-aged Black men, and they had on beautiful white jackets with a black bow tie.”
Deen maintained, per the transcript, she “did not mean anything derogatory by saying that I loved their look.” In the deposition she also denied using a slur to describe the waiters, “because that’s not what these men were.”
In her testimony, Deen also said she didn’t interfere when she heard racist jokes at the restaurant, saying she didn’t know what some groups might find offensive.
What did Paula Deen say after admitting to past racist language?
On June 21, Deen released the first of two video apologies, saying, “I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way. But I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners, I beg for your forgiveness. Please forgive me for the mistakes that I’ve made.”
The same day, however, Food Network announced it would not be renewing Deen’s contract after a decade-long relationship with the host.
Over the course of a week, QVC followed suit in saying it had “no immediate plans” for Deen to return to the network, while Walmart, Target, J.C. Penny, Sears and others announced they would no longer be selling her cookware and other merchandise.
In a June 26 interview on Today, Deen said she was in “a state of shock” in the wake of the backlash.
“I am here today,” she said, “because I want people to know who I am, and people that have worked beside me, have walked beside, know what kind of person I am.”
Speaking directly to the camera, she said, “If there’s anyone out there that has never said something that they wish they could take back, then please pick up that stone and throw it at my head so hard it kills me…Hit me as hard as you can.”
Who came to Paula Deen’s defense at the time of the scandal?
In addition to the 500,000-plus fans who endorsed the “We Support Paula Deen” Facebook page, Deen’s sons—shared with her late ex-husband Jimmy Deen—decried how she was being treated, Bobby calling his mother “one of the most compassionate, good-hearted, empathetic people that you’d ever meet.”
“I’m disgusted by the entire thing,” he said in a CNN interview, “because it began as extortion and it has become character assassination.”
Black culinary historian Michael Twitty didn’t defend Deen, per se, but wrote in a post on his Afroculinaria blog that, while her admission revealed a sad truth about white Southern culture, “Systemic racism in the world of Southern food and public discourse not your past epithets are what really piss me off.”
In Canceled: The Paula Deen Story, Twitty says in interview footage, “It’s my belief that white people canceled Paula Deen. It wasn’t us.”
What happened to the lawsuit Lisa Jackson filed against Paula Deen?
A judge dismissed Jackson’s claims of racial discrimination, after which she and Deen reached a confidential settlement that August “without any award of costs or fees to any party,” per a court document obtained by the Associated Press.
Jackson said in a statement at the time, “I assumed that all of my complaints about the workplace environment were getting to Paula Deen, but I learned during this matter that this was not the case. The Paula Deen I have known for more than eight years, is a woman of compassion and kindness and will never tolerate discrimination or racism of any kind toward anyone.”
Where is Paula Deen now?
Deen inched back into the spotlight, launching her own digital network and competing on Dancing With the Stars in 2015. She returned to TV with her 2016 syndicated show Positively Paula. She has since appeared on MasterChef and published multiple cookbooks (most recently 2023’s Love and Best Dishes), plus her lifestyle magazine Cooking With Paula Deen remains in circulation.
The grandmother of 11, who’s been married to second husband Michael Groover since 2004, also still owns restaurants with Jamie and Bobby. She announced Aug. 1 that they had shuttered their two Savannah, Ga., eateries—The Lady & Sons and The Chicken Box—but four locations of Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen remain open.
Canceled director Billy Corben told Peopleahead of the film’s premiere that, after encountering people who think Deen is a “deranged racist,” he looked forward to audiences getting a more nuanced picture of the chef.
“I think people really have that vision in their head when they think about her,” he said. “But I would like them to have an informed opinion, which I don’t think a lot of people had in 2013.”
(E!, Today and NBC News are all part of the NBCUniversal family.)
See more TV shows canceled over the years after controversy involving their stars:
Roseanne
Roseanne is just the latest show to be yanked off the air following the actions of its star. Roseanne Barr sent a tweet comparing Valerie Jarrett to an ape, then apologized for it and claimed it was a joke. The damage was done and ABC canceled the series after just one (revived) season on the air.
All My Babies’ Mamas
Oxygen pulled the plug on this reality show starring Shawty Lo and his 11 children with 10 different women before it even made the air after public outcry.
Kid Nation
Survivor, but with kids. Sounds like winning TV? Sure, until CBS was accused of exploiting the participants’ welfare. The reality show was canceled.
Buckwild
MTV shut down the reality show Buckwild following Shain Gandee‘s death from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
Flip It Forward
Brothers Jason and David Benham were poised to be HGTV’s next big twin stars…until their show was canceled when the network learned of the brothers’ anti-gay activist past.
The Good Life
Remember CeeLo Green’s reality show? No? Probably because it was canceled after just six episodes in 2014. The cancellation followed controversial remarks by the singer about rape on Twitter. He was also facing legal trouble.
Luck
Dustin Hoffman! HBO! Drama! All the recipes for success. However, the series was canceled in 2012 following the death of three horses during production on the series.
Paula Deen’s Food Network Empire
The Food Network dropped Paula Deen in 2013 following the TV personality’s admission regarding her use of the n-word.
“I have had the pleasure of being allowed into so many homes across the country and meeting people who have shared with me the most touching and personal stories. This would not have been possible without The Food Network. Thank you again. Love and best dishes to all of ya’ll,” Deen said in a statement.
The Cosby Show
While not canceled during its original run, The Cosby Show reruns were pulled by virtually every network starting in 2014 (aside from BounceTV, that came later in 2018) when rape allegations against Bill Cosby made headlines.
7th Heaven
Another show not canceled during its original run, 7th Heaven reruns were pulled after series star Stephen Collins allegedly confessed to molesting young girls. UP TV brought episodes back several months later, but then pulled them yet again.
19 Kids and Counting
In 2015, TLC pulled the plug on 19 Kids and Counting, the reality series that followed the Duggar family, after allegations of sexual abuse by Josh Duggar surfaced.
In a lengthy statement, the network said the “recent attention around the Duggars has sparked a critical and important conversation about child protection.” TLC said it began working with victims’ rights and advocacy organizations to discuss how to use the moment to address child sexual abuse. The network worked with groups such as RAINN and Darkness to Light—and the Duggar family—for a one-hour documentary.
However, the Duggars weren’t off TLC for long. A new series, Counting On, followed the siblings—minus Josh—from 2015 to 2021.
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
A spinoff of TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo followed Alana Thompson and her family, including Mama June Shannon, dad Mike “Sugar Bear” Thompson, and her three sisters. The series was a ratings hit for the network, but everything changed when reports surfaced that Mama June was dating a convicted child molester. TLC canceled the show in 2014.
“TLC has cancelled the series Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and ended all activities around the series, effective immediately,” the network said in a statement. “Supporting the health and welfare of these remarkable children is our only priority. TLC is faithfully committed to the children’s ongoing comfort and well-being.”
Mama June went on to appear on Marriage Boot Camp before landing her own TV show about her weight-loss journey and her family, Mama June: From Not to Hot, in 2017.
