After admitting to the use of the n-word during her May 17 deposition and making several offensive racist remarks - including a comment that she would like to have black waiters play slaves at a plantation wedding - celebrity chef Paula Deen is losing backers and sponsors fast as her empire continues to crumble. Just how much money has she lost so far, and who has dropped her?
The Food Network effectively fired Deen not long after she posted a number of video apologies begging for forgiveness, the network deciding not to renew her television show contract. Deen admitted to using the racial slur and making offensive jokes and remarks at the deposition for her $1.2 million lawsuit over her alleged use of offensive racial language at her Georgia restaurant, Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House.
After the Food Network dropped Deen, a number of big businesses followed suit, and with each passing day, it seems that more and more continue to follow.
So just how much has the celebrity chef lost so far in earnings? The New York Daily News estimates that the chef has lost about $12.5 million so far, and that's not even accounting for her loss in potential book sales. Deen's publisher recently canceled the pre-order of her upcoming cookbook, "Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up," Ballantine Books announced in a statement. It was the best-selling cookbook on Amazon.com before disappearing completely off of the online store.
So far, Sears, K-mart, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Target, QVC, J.C. Penney, Home Depot, Caesars Entertainment, Smithfield Foods, Novo Nordisk and Ballantine Books have all dropped Paula Deen, making for a total of 12 huge backers dropping the chef in total so far.
Though many people have applauded these companies for refusing to support the chef amid her racism allegations, others are not so happy about their decisions. Many fans came to Deen's aid online and by coming to eat at her Savannah, Ga. restaurant, The Lady and Sons, in hordes to show their support.
"The day I used [the n-word] it was a world ago. It was 30 years ago. I had had a gun put to my head, a shaking gun," Deen said on the "Today" show, and claimed she never used the word any other time during her life. When asked if she thought using the n-word in a joke was hurtful, Deen said at her deposition, "I have asked myself that so many times because it's very distressing for me to go into my kitchens and I hear what these young people are calling each other. It's very, very distressing...[the n-word] makes my skin crawl."
Although many have dropped Deen, several are still sticking with her, as far as we know. Kohl's, Alice Travel, Springer Mountain Farms, Landies Candies, Epicurean Butter, and Tasty Blend Foods have not dropped the chef...at least not yet.
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