Paula Deen has a brother.
Does not seem as if that should be so very newsworthy, but it turns out it is. Paula Deen Inc owns 49% of of Uncle Bubba's Oyster House there in Savannah, with the brother - the eponymous Bubba - owning 51%. Now it turns our that Bubba can be a bit of a dick.
He is being sued right now by a woman for creating a " violent , racist and sexist work place" , who knows if he did or if she is just out for a buck... I have not really gone into the case all that much, I'm just not that interested. But, for what ever reason, PAULA DEEN INC , her peeps ,her handlers , lawyers, PR people , that whole mess of folks down there in Savannah decided instead of writing this woman a large check ( while putting some checks on old Bubba ) they would allow Miss Paula to go on record ......
" Have you ever in your entire 66 years on the planet used the N word ? "
And it broke the internet.
The story I guess broke on Thursday, with Paula scheduled for a TODAY show appearance on Friday morning to clear the air - and blew them off, mistake #1. Then she comes out with some wack a doodle you tube thing , all a hot mess - apologizing and crying AND then pulls that after like half an hour, it was of course copied all over the place BUT she then released a second one - more composed. I am not going to link to any of these but they are easy to find.....
She says at some point in her life she has used a word - and The Food Network lets her go. She was not fired, but as much as I can tell, they are just choosing not to re-up her show... for saying at some point in her life she has said it.
Wrap your head around that one.
I could not have a show on FD, I have said the word - Neil and I spent a lot of time talking about it last night. When I was growing up Brazil Nuts were not called Brazil nuts, even if my small child brain never really connected the two. Enie Menie Miny Mo was not catching tigers at Winder Barrow Elementary School , and there was a certain baseball play that was either in or out... that would keep a lot of little Barrow County boys off of the television.
The story I guess broke on Thursday, with Paula scheduled for a TODAY show appearance on Friday morning to clear the air - and blew them off, mistake #1. Then she comes out with some wack a doodle you tube thing , all a hot mess - apologizing and crying AND then pulls that after like half an hour, it was of course copied all over the place BUT she then released a second one - more composed. I am not going to link to any of these but they are easy to find.....
She says at some point in her life she has used a word - and The Food Network lets her go. She was not fired, but as much as I can tell, they are just choosing not to re-up her show... for saying at some point in her life she has said it.
Wrap your head around that one.
I could not have a show on FD, I have said the word - Neil and I spent a lot of time talking about it last night. When I was growing up Brazil Nuts were not called Brazil nuts, even if my small child brain never really connected the two. Enie Menie Miny Mo was not catching tigers at Winder Barrow Elementary School , and there was a certain baseball play that was either in or out... that would keep a lot of little Barrow County boys off of the television.
Have I ever said it in anger , ever... I really and truly do not think I have... but yes, I , the most racked with Southern guilt hard core old school liberal have in my 50 years said it... and so what?
You live your life and you learn. I'm pretty sure Paula Deen does not let it pass in everyday conversation - NO ONE in polite society does, even down in good old squared Savannah. Nor in Atlanta , or Charleston , or New Orleans or even Rochester , New York. Do you think Food Network will ask every single on air personality if they have EVER said a racially despairing remark ever ?
It is very surprising how BIG this story became, how very third rail this word is. There are about 17,000 !!! comments on the HUFFPO story on FD dropping her . On my go to LGBT news blog, JOEMYGOD, he posted about it and it got triple the usual amount of comments that his stuff usually does, with people saying HORRIBLE things about a woman that they do not in any way know.
Yes, this is misogynist and age-ist, and it is also a HUGE chunk of a prevailing anti Southernish that is out there... YOU know everyone that sounds like Paula Deen is a horrible racist.... except for the fact that I sound a little bit like Paula Deen and Jimmy Carter sounds a .. well a whole lot like Paula Deen. Bill Clinton ? put him on the list.....
You can drawl your vowels, and talk really fast running all your words together, fixin too and yall come go with us, with out being someone that would use that word. Hard for a lot of people to wrap their heads around.
The sexism and ageism part of it.... look to another very different TV maven , Martha Stewart and look at the rapturous joy folks took in her going to prison for something that a shit load of men did and walked clean away.....
Who knows what will be the outcome of this.... there is a HUGE backlash around - with people just scratching their heads over the amount of anger . Did Paul Deen break a hugely unwritten rule in the 21 century south that you do not shine a spot light too brightly on the way we/they live -" Yeah, don't really talk about how you want an old time Southern wedding etc " Folks not from Savannah won't understand. The flip side being don't have an old time Southern wedding....but who am I to say what you can do...
Look at this photo :
This is LAST WEEK, the Alabama GOP welcoming state party leaders from around the country to a meeting [ planning the future of the GOP, I kid you not ] with these two HOOP SKIRT ladies out front.... No outrage... An post middle age, Southern woman , rich , maybe powerful - woman says something , which I think is much less outrageous and the tar and feathers are broken out.....
A lot of forces driving this story... stay tuned....
You live your life and you learn. I'm pretty sure Paula Deen does not let it pass in everyday conversation - NO ONE in polite society does, even down in good old squared Savannah. Nor in Atlanta , or Charleston , or New Orleans or even Rochester , New York. Do you think Food Network will ask every single on air personality if they have EVER said a racially despairing remark ever ?
It is very surprising how BIG this story became, how very third rail this word is. There are about 17,000 !!! comments on the HUFFPO story on FD dropping her . On my go to LGBT news blog, JOEMYGOD, he posted about it and it got triple the usual amount of comments that his stuff usually does, with people saying HORRIBLE things about a woman that they do not in any way know.
Yes, this is misogynist and age-ist, and it is also a HUGE chunk of a prevailing anti Southernish that is out there... YOU know everyone that sounds like Paula Deen is a horrible racist.... except for the fact that I sound a little bit like Paula Deen and Jimmy Carter sounds a .. well a whole lot like Paula Deen. Bill Clinton ? put him on the list.....
You can drawl your vowels, and talk really fast running all your words together, fixin too and yall come go with us, with out being someone that would use that word. Hard for a lot of people to wrap their heads around.
The sexism and ageism part of it.... look to another very different TV maven , Martha Stewart and look at the rapturous joy folks took in her going to prison for something that a shit load of men did and walked clean away.....
Who knows what will be the outcome of this.... there is a HUGE backlash around - with people just scratching their heads over the amount of anger . Did Paul Deen break a hugely unwritten rule in the 21 century south that you do not shine a spot light too brightly on the way we/they live -" Yeah, don't really talk about how you want an old time Southern wedding etc " Folks not from Savannah won't understand. The flip side being don't have an old time Southern wedding....but who am I to say what you can do...
Look at this photo :
A lot of forces driving this story... stay tuned....
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