One would think that Paula Deen would have learned her lesson. The former Food Network star and disgraced queen of southern cooking is caught up in another racial controversy, Us Weekly reports. Deen posted and quickly deleted a photo on social media of her son in "brownface."
The photo was posted to Deen's Twitter and Facebook pages as part of the hashtag #TransformationTuesday. The pic was taken during a 2011 Halloween special of her former Food Network show, "Paula Deen's Best Dishes," according to Mashable. In the special, Deen and her son were in costume as characters from "I Love Lucy." Deen was dressed as the iconic Lucille Ball in a blue and white polka dot dress and donned a fiery red curly wig. It's her son Bobby Deen's portrayal of Ricky Ricardo (played by Ball's husband Desi Arnaz) that caused the controversy.
Bobby wore make up that darkened his skin to a "brown" complexion, typical to people of Latino/Hispanic descent. Fans fired off on Twitter and called out Bobby's make up as "brownface," comparing it to "blackface," a makeup technique used in the early 19th century that is universally accepted as racist.
Two years ago, Deen was the center of a racial controversy that led to her downfall as the reigning queen of southern cooking, according to the Hollywood Reporter. A former chef at Deen's Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah, Ga. sued Deen for racial discrimination, and the leaked deposition confirmed that Deen admitted to using the N-word in the past. When the deposition went public in 2013, Deen lost her Food Network contract and endorsements.
See the screenshot of Deen's controversial tweet and photo below.
