Suprised Paula Deen Has Been Dropped by So Many Sponsors

[erpowers]

Although I thought much hinged on whether or not Food Network kept is deal with her; I really did not think so many sponsors would drop her. As most know Deen has been dropped by the Food Network and Smithfield Foods. However, she has also been dropped by Wal-Mart, Ceasar's Palace, Home Depot, Target, and Novo Nordisk.

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/22704487/target-home-depot-and-novo-nordisk-bail-on-paula-deen

[PoliticAverse]

1. The more she keeps talking the more companies want to distance themselves from her.

She's done really poor damage control.

[Warpy]

4. The best thing she could have done is keep her mouth shut

after her apology. Appearing on chat shows was a big mistake.

I'm afraid there's nothing for her to do now but retire and spoil her grandchildren and struggle not to teach them the bigotry she was taught as a child.

Right now, she's radioactive and I think the company that makes "her" cookware is looking into ways to polish her name completely off the pots and pans.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. yep. she got bad pr advice

[PoliticAverse]

13. Speaking of damage control: Rev. Jesse Jackson: Paula Deen Can Be 'Redeemed'

CHICAGO -- Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson says he's agreed to help celebrity chef Paula Deen try
to make amends for her past use of a racial slur, saying she shouldn't become a "sacrificial lamb"
over the issue of racial intolerance.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/jesse-jackson-paula-deen_n_3506218.html

[HipChick]

52. Jesse Jackson does not speak for or represent all black people..

Many black people are offended by this

[Gin]

2. "I is what I is". Is she Popeye?

[Pisces]

10. Yes, how smart to use ebonics on national tv in your mea culpa. She has no clue what she did wrong.

[WinkyDink]

61. That isn't ebonics!

[tularetom]

3. She's a stupid old lady that got some godawful legal and PR advice

I'd almost feel sorry for her if she wasn't personally such a repulsive character.

SO, fuck her. I hope she just goes away but I don't think that's gonna happen.

[RebelOne]

14. Please do not refer to us female senior citizens over 65 as "old ladies" much less "stupid." n/t

[tularetom]

15. I was born before WWII started, my wife calls herself an "old lady"

Hell, my daughter will be 50 years old this November and she occasionally describes herself the same way.

I would not be unhappy if you called me an "old fart", that's what my kids call me.

But it isn't my intention to offend any ladies, old, young or indifferent so I apologize for my use of the term.

I do however reserve the right to call Paula Deen "stupid".

[Thor_MN]

38. Which word, in particular, are you objecting to?

She most certainly is a lady.
She can not be described as young or middle aged.
And there is no doubting that she is stupid.

She does not represent all "female senior citizens over 65", and the phrase "stupid old lady" was directed specifically at her.

You are requesting that no one "refer to us female senior citizens over 65 as 'old ladies' much less 'stupid.'"

No one did.

[durablend]

5. If she'd settled it'd have gone away

But noooooooooooooooooo she wanted to take matter into their own hands.

Now the racist teabaggers are pissed at the companies that dropped her (that same "free market" that they extolled before)

[BainsBane]

17. Good point

That's why companies settle lawsuits so as not to get bad publicity.

[Laurian]

6. I'm puzzled by the reactions to her, both good and bad.

With the range of hot button issues available to discuss and the repercussions of political actions regarding immigration, the economy (remember sequestration?), LGBT rights, voting rights, reproductive freedom, personal privacy concerns (NSA), etc., I frankly don't have the time or inclination to think much about Paula Deen.

[Le Taz Hot]

9. Gotta agree there.

That and Zimmerman. I must have 30 threads hidden on that subject.

[markiv]

11. massive immigration bill just quietly passed the Senate

with almost no discussion on DU

huge increase in H-1b guest workers

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. It's easy to understand

Here you got a tv personality saying things on TV...that people understand.

Other issues are not that easy to get.

[840high]

60. She is not important

in my life.

[Pisces]

8. The products that have dropped her have a huge African American clientele. She is toxic because she

truly does not understand that she did anything wrong. This is just the way she lives her life.

[elfin]

12. Ultimate Irony - she is now a "tar baby" and her statements stick to her businesses

And they are trying as fast as they can to unstick themselves.

I think they were comfortable with her "good ole girl" dog whistle racist persona UNTIL she got caught in the briar patch of reality, causing them to run away, run away.

[BainsBane]

16. Did you see her interview on GMA yesterday?

She made things way worse for herself.

[bunnies]

18. ugh. It was awful. Probably the worst performance Ive ever seen.

And I think most of these drops have come since then. She didnt really give them a choice. "Somebody wants what I have"... blah blah blah. Talk about NOT getting it.

[erpowers]

21. Yes

I really do think that made things worse. However, I still did not think so many sponsors would drop her.

[arely staircase]

19. overtly racist crap has become, thankfully, a real social (business) no-no in America

We still have racism, even institutional racism (voter ID laws, etc.) But making racist jokes or saying n***** will pretty much get you deep shit. Even if it isn't for pure motives (just don't want to lose money or answer to stockholders) it is still the kiss of death.

[loyalsister]

30. Speaking of death

What kind of fool would insult someone who has a gun to their head? Between her self serving non-apology apology and that foolish "gun to my head" defense, she really has proven herself to be incompetent as the celebrity rep for her own brand.

[KentuckyWoman]

31. Not exactly

Dog the Bounty hunter is back on TV.

Paula Dean will be eventually too.

Unfortunately.

[arely staircase]

35. yeah, kiss of death maybe too strong. it can be and is a body blow.

yeah I forgot Dog the Idiot Bounty Hunter. Actually I didn't know he was still on. I am glad Deen is taking the hits and losing the sponsors and contracts she is. I have no sympathy for her. I even agree she can be redeemed (like Jesse Jackson said.) But she isn't even being genuine in her contrition. It is more like a pity party for herself. She hasn't learned a thing. And for someone to redeem themselves, actually learning what it was they did wrong, genuinely regretting it and then changing your ways are essential.

[RILib]

20. I just love seeing someone who has accomplished a lot

built her own business, raised kids, paid her employees more than competitors do, turned into a non-person and ripped into shreds by a mob because she was brought up non-pc and never learned any better.

I guess everyone posting on this thread is perfect.

[REP]

24. Been on this earth 66 years and "never learned any better"

At what point do stupidity and bigotry become a disability rather than character flaws?

[Arugula Latte]

26. Yeah -- and she routinely discriminated against dark-skinned employees. Gee, what a heroine!

[uponit7771]

27. +1

[Beacool]

39. Welcome to our hypocritical society.

The trial hasn't even begun and she's already convicted and executed. The sponsors that dropped her did so because they worried about their bottom line, not because they cared about their employees. Since when do Wal-Mart and Smithfield care about the well being of the people who work for them?

A guy who frequented prostitutes and wore diapers is still a US Senator. Another guy who tweeted pics of his dick to many women is running for mayor and doing quite well in the polls. A woman under oath admits to having used the "N" word sometime in her past and she's treated as if she were a mass killer. Heck, OJ brutally killed two people and he was treated better (although his own greed and stupidity finally got him sent to jail).

[HangOnKids]

45. Paula Deen Was Convicted And Executed?

What executed her? The "HAYEM" or the deep fried butter? So sorry, I missed the trial, conviction, and execution. I will have to make a Strange Fruit Salad and I Shall Over Crumb Cake in her honor this weekend.

[Beacool]

56. Yes, in the court of public opinion she was.

[BlueJazz]

58. I think she's getting a lousy deal. When I lived in California, I worked on some shows (doing sound)

...and anybody who thinks celebrities never make racist remarks must live in a shell.

I've heard EVERYTHING from N***** to "You dumb white M** F**** to whatever.


If everybody in the "Big Show" was treated like Paula, there wouldn't be anything to watch.

PS..for the record, I never paid any attention to her "Kill me quick Food"

[Beacool]

59. I used to act, so I'm used to hearing similar remarks and worse.

That and the people who would disappear for half an hour or more to do drugs. I think that in Deen's case it was all P.C. B.S. because the word she admitted to using was said in her private life, not on TV or any of her appearances. I don't approve of having the P.C. police in people's private lives. I'm not a big fan of hers and her high caloric cooking, but I see a lot of hypocrisy in all the finger pointing. I wonder what is being said in some of these people's homes. They have never made a racist, sexist or ethnic comment or joke? Yeah, everybody is a saint now. Please..........

What concerns me more are the other allegations in the lawsuit, but how about having the trial and listening to all sides before making a final judgment?

[OldHippieChick]

40. If she'd never left the South, I might

have a little more empathy. But this woman has made millions and has travelled all over the world. If she were paying attention, she would know better. She knows better. She just didn't care.

[Raine]

46. Change is a fact of life, you either adapt or you become extinct. nt

[REP]

23. When even animal abusers don't want to be associated with you ...

[Lugal Zaggesi]

25. Apparently, words can be VERY offensive to some people

as I just proved right here on Democratic Underground (post #48):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=521986

Americans really don't like those bad, bad words, and they won't overlook them.
Sorry, Paula - that's just how it is.

[Ian David]

29. That's not what it's about.

Paula Deen's racism goes far deeper than using the N word...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023065925

[Lugal Zaggesi]

33. True

But to make a point,
I had used crude sexist language to argue that poor Paula couldn't really "offend" anyone with just her words.

Six DU jury members were awfully offended by my words,
and I received my first "One of your posts has been hidden by a DU Jury" automated messages.
Unanimous decision.

Irony must be an acquired taste.

[Ian David]

34. Maybe you were being a douchenozzle.

Now, I'm not saying you *are* a douchenozzle.

Just suggesting that maybe, at the time, you were acting like one.

It seems to take a lot for DU juries to bring the hammer down on "offensive words."

[Lugal Zaggesi]

42. Well, it was my first one. Ironic

that my attempt to show that people really are offended by words (a la Paula Deen)
gets censored for containing offensive words.

Speaking of humorous ironies:

Wouldn't it be ironic to die in the living room?

Spelling is my fortay.

I think it's wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly.

FOX NEWS: A Missouri man reportedly shot himself in the head accidentally while teaching his girlfriend about gun safety...
Who said the Americans didn't do irony!?

[Ian David]

47. It was a 6-0 jury decision. That rarely happens.

We get jurors who refuse to hide spam posts, because they say, "How can it be spam when this person only has one post?"

You had a previous post where the jury was 3-3, which is the usual way of things.

[Lugal Zaggesi]

48. Hmmm

Second hide ? Not that I'm aware of - or that "My Inbox" or "My Posts" ever showed.
Of course, you seem much more familiar with DU than I, so I'll look into it.

I guess I should read "Terms of Service" closely.

I'll go annoy folks at The Washington Post for a few weeks...

[Ian David]

28. I bet Cracker Barrel needs a spokesperson. n/t

[adigal]

32. But Limbaugh and Sean Hannity still have sponsors

I just don't get.

[Ian David]

36. The Food Network is supposed to appeal to a diverse audience.

Racist douchebags are Limbuagh and Hannity's key demographic.

[alarimer]

37. They're just covering their asses until it's safe to sponsor her again.

When the image rehabilitation tour starts again. Americans have a short attention span and in a few months or years, you would think this never happened.

[Ligyron]

50. Yup, that's what I think will happen.

Meanwhile, maybe Faux News will pick her up or she can go on The Blaze.

BTW, I wonder how many African Americans watched her show anyway?

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

41. QVC hasn't dropped her yet?

[Raine]

44. Yes they have, so has Sears. nt

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

49. Good. Now I'm satisfied. She can't go around bragging that QVC still supports her AND...

...I can continue to shop with them.

[nyquil_man]

43. She was a sinking ship even before this happened.

Those sponsors are just jumping off before she submerges.

[HipChick]

51. She is toxic..she needs to take a seat and go retire herself

[tridim]

53. I see it as culture finally rejecting the tolerance of racism. That is a very good thing.

I hope more racists are exposed and shamed.

[kestrel91316]

54. Racism + actively promoting lethal nutritional habits = simply TOO MUCH.

[HiddenAgenda63]

55. I'm not surprised at all.

Racism, in this day and age, is a pretty despicable act.

Haven't heard much from Michael Richards or Mel Gibson lately, either...and I consider myself much better off for the lack.

[Arugula Latte]

57. I'm glad she's had to suffer the consequences (especially of her employment discrimination)

but someone made a good point today. Why was the sponsor reaction to Paula Deen so swift, yet companies have stuck by Limbaugh for decades (until recently, and there are still some major holdouts)?

On edit, I guess this has been addressed upthread. Racist creeps have been Limbaugh's prime demo since the beginning. But, still, it's an interesting contrast.

[Apophis]

62. I'm not surprised companies wouldn't want to be associated with a high profile racist.

[justiceischeap]

63. I'm not surprised. Think of the two (white) comedians in recent years

who went on racist diatribes. And Mel Gibson, with his anti-Jew diatribe. Work certainly slowed up for all of them. They are persona non grata now. You can't be famous and say stuff like that anymore and hope to get away with it once it comes out.