Paula Deen insisted that she was not and never had been a racist, in a tearful interview on the “Today” show Wednesday morning.
Usually bubbly, Ms. Deen, a celebrity chef and frequent guest on the show, appeared tired and subdued as she faced both fans and critics, who have responded passionately since last week, when her deposition in a workplace-discrimination lawsuit came to widespread attention. In it, she admitted to using racist language, and tolerating racist jokes in one of her restaurants.
For the first time, she publicly referred to the plaintiff in the case, Lisa T. Jackson, the former manager at Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House in Savannah, Ga. “There’s someone evil out there who saw what I had, and wanted it,” Ms. Deen said.
The show’s host, Matt Lauer, whom she stood up for a scheduled interview last Friday, tried to focus on the threat to her multimillion-dollar business empire of restaurants, products and endorsements, asking, “Are you here to stop the financial bleeding?” Ms. Deen said she disagreed with the recent decisions of the Food Network and Smithfield Foods to end their relationships with her and noted that QVC had not done so.
On Wednesday, Caesars Entertainment announced that it had severed ties with Ms. Deen by “mutual agreement.” There are Paula Deen-themed restaurants at Caesars properties in Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina and Illinois. “Caesars intends to rebrand the restaurants in the coming months,” the company said.
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