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Paula Deen supporters sign on for cruise with disgraced star

Thu, 27 Jun 2013 20:44:00 +0000

Though most of her empire is collapsing and businesses are distancing themselves from her, Paula Deen fans are coming out to show their support, according to Alice Travel, an agency in New Jersey. Vice President Phyllis Loverdi told The Hollywood Reporter that she's seen an increase in bookings for "The Paula Deen Cruise" since the Paula Deen controversy began.

From THR:

The "Paula Deen Cruise" is held on Royal Caribbean ships, and Deen remains aboard during each excursion, spending much time with guests, says Loverdi. The last cruise set sail in January with about 500 fans along for the ride. Loverdi said she expects about 1,000 in total for next year. Deen launched her cruise line in

Earlier this week, a rep for Royal Caribbean told THR that the company "has never had a partnership or any formal association with Paula Deen. She has sailed with our brands a couple of times, but as host of group cruises, and each time, the groups were booked through a specific travel agency, not through Royal Caribbean."

Deen was recently dropped from Wal-Mart, The Food Nework, Smithfield Foods, and other major partnerships after receiving negative publicity for using racial slurs and other offensive practices.

Paula Deen’s sons cry “extortion”

Tue, 25 Jun 2013 15:00:00 +0000

After the ex-Food Network personality and celebrity chef Paula Deen fell from Southern grace over allegations of racism last week, Deen's sons, Bobby and Jamie, have spoken out in defense of their mother.

In an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo, Bobby Deen said, ""Our mother is one of the most compassionate, good-hearted, empathetic people that you'd ever meet."

Deen's admission of having used the n-word went at a deposition for a lawsuit filed last year went viral last week, but Bobby Deen dismissed the case as "extortion." "I'm disgusted by the entire thing, he said, "because it began as extortion and it has become character assassination."

It's "ridiculous, completely absurd to think there is an environment of racism in our business, and it's really disrespectful to the people that we work with. We have strong, educated men and women of character that have been with us for five, 10, 15, 20 years. To think they would allow themselves to be in this position is simply baloney. It's ridiculous," said Jamie Deen.

#PaulaDeenTVShows explodes on Twitter

Fri, 21 Jun 2013 23:30:00 +0000

Despite her apology, the Food Network is ridding itself of Paula Deen by the end of the month. Come July, the celebrity chef is going to have a lot of time on her hands -- perhaps she will reflect on this fiasco by making some Sambo Burgers and reminiscing about her childhood. But with her entire cooking empire at stake, what will Deen do next?

One option for celebrities who have fallen so far from grace, of course, is reality TV. But what show would be a fit for her? A few ideas -- TV producers take note:

The Amazing White Race

So You Think You Can Discriminate?

America's Next Top Racist

White American Idol

Trading Races

Why hasn’t Paula Deen apologized?

Fri, 21 Jun 2013 15:25:00 +0000

Since the long-simmering revelations about Paula Deen's history of casual, clueless racism broke earlier this week -- her admission that "Yes, of course" she'd used racial epithets and cast African-American wait staff to represent "a certain era in America" for a wedding -- the public response has ranged from outrage to mockery to disgusted lack of surprise to inevitable, trollish justifications. Everyone, it seems, has a strong opinion about Paula Deen's past behavior. Everyone but Deen, that is. The cholesterol-loving chef and Food Network star has been remarkably circumspect in the past few days – at precisely the moment the Georgia native should have been speaking out. And it's her rigid retreat that's added an extra and entirely unnecessary layer of ugliness to the debacle.

On Friday morning, Deen was scheduled to appear on the "Today" show, but at the last minute, Matt Lauer announced, "We just found out she's a no-show." He added that everything had seemed a go for an "an open and candid discussion, no holds barred" interview when he'd spoken to her Thursday, but now her representative had simply said she was "exhausted."