Back in January, Paula Deen announced that she had been diagnosed with diabetes… three years beforehand. Paula wrapped her announcement in an advertisement for a new diabetes medication that she was now being paid to shill. It was all pretty rough, and I think the whole situation made Paula lose many, many fans (including me). That being said, I really felt like the outrage directed at Paula was often misdirected and overblown. She never promoted healthy eating – she never claimed to, either. She didn’t force sticks of butter down your throat.

One of Paula’s biggest critics was Anthony Bourdain, who I have always considered a massive tool and one of the nastiest bastards out there. Bourdain is incapable of simply doing his job and promoting his work without disparaging, criticizing and mocking half of the popular chefs in America. Last month, Anthony gave an interview about Paula that I found particularly patronizing and concern-trolly – you can read it here. Anyway, Bourdain was on GMA yesterday, and once again, he criticized Deen:

The feud between food stars Paula Deen and Anthony Bourdain rages on. Bourdain, 56, had no reservations speaking out against Paula Deen, 64, on Good Morning America Monday morning.

The Food Network and Travel Channel stars have been engaged in a war of words since Deen went public with her type 2 diabetes diagnoses on Jan. 17 after keeping it a secret three years. Bourdain took issue with Deen for for her lucrative endorsement deal Novo Nordisk, which treats the disease.

“Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later,” Anthony previously commented on Twitter.

Deen spoke out against Bourdain’s remarks calling them “very, very cruel” in Prevention magazine. Bourdain addressed the most recent “cruel” comments made by Deen on GMA saying, “This isn’t about diabetes. Diabetes is a terrible illness that is epidemic in this country,” Bourdain explained on GMA.

Bourdain admitted “there’s a lot to admire about Paula Deen and her life.” However, he called her “cynical” for having her brand be “excess without guilt” when she knew “in a very personal way what this could and might very well lead to.”

“And then turn around and roll out a five hundred dollar-a-month diabetes treatment — I find that in excruciatingly bad taste,” he added. “It’s unconscionable, cynical and greedy. Thirty million dollars a year. How much money do you need?”

Season eight of Bourdain’s No Reservations premieres Monday night on Travel Channel at 9 p.m. ET.

[From Us Weekly]

I disagree with Anthony’s premise – was Paula’s brand about “excess without guilt”? Really? Or was it just “If you choose to have excess, here’s all of the butter-soaked meals you could have!”? I also disagree with the premise/idea that Paula had a larger, public responsibility to become a diabetes advocate – she wasn’t running for public office, you know. She’s not the surgeon general. She’s a Southern cook, and people make the choice whether or not to cook her food. I think of Paula as a purveyor of aspirational eating, as in that’s what people would love to eat if they didn’t know or care about how bad it was for their health. And what’s the difference between Paula’s “irresponsibility” for pushing aspirational eating and, say, Anna Wintour’s “irresponsibility” for pushing aspirational fashion in this recession? Try personal responsibility. Stop looking for excuses to verbally abuse an elderly diabetic woman.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

CB covered all of the news about Paula Deen’s diabetes announcement and the subsequent stories about Paula being a “food pusher”. While my love affair with Butter Queen Deen has subsided a bit, I still don’t understand why people were and are so outraged with her and diabetes. Should she have announced it years ago, when she was diagnosed? Sure. Was it irresponsible to keep her diabetic condition a secret while shilling buttery, greasy, sugar-soaked food? Definitely. But! She wasn’t force-feeding America, you know. She didn’t come into your homes and inject diabetes into your eyeballs. She knows her food is crazy. She’s always said so. And now she’s the poster girl of “Why Your Shouldn’t Eat Deep-Fried Everything Everyday.” It’s a teachable moment. You’re welcome, America.

Anyway, Paula Deen has a nemesis, you know. Anthony Bourdain HATES her. Bourdain has publicly insulted Deen, Sandra Lee, Rachel Ray, Guy Fieri, Emeril Lagasse and many others. But he always saved some of his choicest, nastiest remarks for Paula. After Deen announced her diabetes diagnosis, Bourdain took to Twitter with some pointed comments as well. And now Bourdain has a new interview with Parade, and of course he gets questions about Deen. Instead of falling back into his default nastiness, Bourdain decided to concern-troll Paula’s condition.

What does he think of Paula Deen’s diabetes news?
“I feel bad for her. But I would have made different decisions.”

If Paula or Sandra Lee invited you to dinner, is that something he would do?
“Without telling anyone? If it’s not part of something cynical, then of course, come on. I’m friends with Ted Nugent for God’s sake. I’m all for someone who reaches out. I would be open. If someone invites you to sit down at their table in an honest, non-manipulative way, then sure, I’ve got a heart.”

What’s the biggest misconception about him?
”I really hate to see the word ‘macho’ in any proximity to me. All of my important business partners are women and I am the product of Vassar College. But I can’t complain about any misconceptions. I became famous for Kitchen Confidential, which was very deliberately written in this sort of over-testosteroned pace I generally spoke with during the work hours of the restaurant. But, like a lot of chefs, I like to think I am a little more reflective when not at work. I can’t complain about how people perceive me. I’ve been treated well.”

If the chef thing didn’t work out, guess what he’d be instead…
”Probably a failed, knucklehead criminal. The restaurant business taught me the really important lessons of my life, like showing up on time and respecting the people you work with.”

[From Parade]

“I feel bad for her. But I would have made different decisions.” That bugs me. Maybe I’m alone. It seems patronizing and passive-aggressive as hell. If someone was diagnosed with a different life-altering condition that was (at least partially) the result of their lifestyle, what would you think of someone saying, “I feel bad for her. But I would have made different decisions”? I guess we just be thankful that Anthony Bourdain hasn’t decided to verbally abuse an elderly diabetic. He’s just going to concern-troll her.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Paula Deen and her brother are being sued by the former general manager of a restuarant they owned in Savannah, Georgia for sexual harassment and hostile working conditions. The woman worked at “Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House” from 2005-2010, and claims in a lawsuit that during that time she was subjected to repeated sexual harassment from Deen’s brother, Bubba Hiers. She also details the work environment that she endured, including racist conditions that were demeaning and unfair to employees under her management. Lisa Jackson, who is white, claims that black workers were forced to use a separate bathroom in the back of the establishment, and that they were also forced to enter the restaurant from the back. It’s unclear how much involvement Paula Deen had with the restaurant’s day to day activities, or even whether she knew that black workers were being treated this way, but the lawsuit states that she was present at some management meetings. It also tells a disturbing story of Paula using the N word as a kind of lame joke.

In one example, Jackson states that she was appointed by Deen to handle the catering and staff for Bubba’s wedding in 2007, and she asked Deen what the servers should wear: “Well what I would really like is a bunch of little n***ers to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties, you know in the Shirley Temple days, they used to tap dance around,” Jackson alleges Deen told her. “Now, that would be a true Southern wedding wouldn’t it? But we can’t do that because the media would be on me about that.”

Another alleged racist incident listed in the lawsuit: “In the presence of Ms. Jackson and Uncle Bubba’s restaurant manager and a vendor, Bubba Hiers stated they should send President Obama to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico so he could n***er-rig it.”

---

At Uncle Bubba’s restaurant, African-American staff persons are required to use the back entrance for all purposes, including picking up their checks. They were prohibited from using the front entrace.

African-American staff persons at Uncle Bubba’s restaurant are required to use one restroom that is in the back of the restaurant and is not the customer restroom. White staff was allowed to use the customer bathroom.

African-American staff persons stationed at the back of Uncle Bubba’s restaurant are not allowed to go to the front of the restaurant.

[From Radar Online and PDF of lawsuit]

The lawsuit is available as a PDF through Radar Online. There’s also more information on their website about the lawsuit. It’s pretty damning, and makes Paula’s brother out to be a drunken ass who regularly distributed porn in the office, and was emotionally and physically abusive to women and minorities. What’s more is that women were allegedly paid less than men in lower positions than they were in the restaurant. The lawsuit might of course be exaggerated or embellished for effect, but it paints a very bleak picture of the working conditions there.

We may soon see if these complaints are limited to just one disgruntled employee or if it’s true that it was really this bad. The lawyer for Lisa Jackson told Radar that they have an “enormous amount of evidence of misconduct.” He admitted that he doesn’t have “an army of witnesses,” but added that “they’re there and in due time… We do have employees who have left the Paula Deen family of business and will be testifying. But many out of fear will not come forward until we subpoena them to come forward.” As for how much Paula knows about her brother’s behavior, the lawyer claims that she’s aware of it and hasn’t put her foot down. He words the racist allegations vaguely, though. “Much of the conduct comes from Bubba, but Paula has knowledge of it and she knows the workplace is full of sexual harassment and she knows the racial discrimination that’s filed in the lawsuit. And by doing nothing about it, she enables him to continue the behavior.” He also adds that Paula’s company finally hired an HR person in 2011 for their organization, which has over 500 employees.

Paula has reportedly dropped two dress sizes since going on a healthier diet to control her diabetes. She came under fire last month for delaying the announcement of her diabetes for three years, during which time she continued to cook and endorse unhealthy food.

Paula is shown in the purple below in October, and in black in more recent photos from February 26. She appears to have something stuck on the side of her face. The man with her is her husband, Michael Groover. Also, bonus pic of chef Robert Irvine’s abs. Credit: WENN.com

This is a minor story compared to so many other things going on today but I personally find it very interesting and wanted to cover it. We all know how ridiculous it looked when butter and sugar pusher Paula Deen, 65, made the dual announcement that she had diabetes and was a new spokesperson for a diabetes drug. Paula’s longterm nemesis Anthony Bourdain may have summed it up best when he tweeted that he was “thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later.”

In her ensuing PR blitz, Paula barely acknowledged that her consumption of high fat calorific food, which she promotes on TV and through her magazine, contributed to her metabolic condition. Paula also barely acknowledged that the best treatment for diabetes is a healthy diet, not some pill, although she’s also launching a new show (tada!) in which she finally tries to cook healthy versions of her favorite food. Paula’s contract with drug giant Nova Nordisk is thought to be in the millions. Her long term publicist thought that was a very bad idea given Paula’s previous image as a down-home promoter of food that’s bad for us. Paula’s publicist quit and made that statement that she “could not agree with the new business strategy going forward.” That’s a very nice way of saying that Paula very transparently cashed in on her diabetes.

Paula Deen’s longtime powerhouse publicist, Nancy Assuncao, has quit after six years over the butter-loving chef’s plan to plug a diabetes drug.

Assuncao faithfully stuck with Deen through years of hearty drama, including her battle with rival chef Anthony Bourdain, who called her “the most dangerous woman in America.” But she quit as Deen’s spokeswoman and chief marketer last month as Deen negotiated her deal to hawk the drug Victoza.

Deen, now under siege by diabetics, nutritionists and fellow chefs for keeping her own Type 2 diabetes secret for three years, even as she pushed recipes full of sugar and fat, probably could use Assuncao’s help now. Deen only revealed her diagnosis last week.

A source said Assuncao “strongly disagreed with Deen’s dramatic turnabout, after years of promoting fatty foods, to announcing she has a deal with a diabetes drug company [Novo Nordisk] and will be promoting lighter food and ‘diabetes in a new light.’

“While Paula did tell some people at her live appearances about her diabetes, she certainly didn’t talk about it on her show. Nancy disagreed with Paula’s plan to be a drug-company spokesman and challenged her decision. But this wasn’t a battle Nancy felt she was going to win. She couldn’t be part of it.”

Assuncao, whose past clients have included Ian Schrager, told us last night, “I’m very grateful for the six years that I worked with Paula in helping her build the Deen brand.

“Although we had a great deal of fun along the way, I could not agree with the new business strategy going forward. Nonetheless, I wish them continued success.”

Deen’s new rep could not be reached last night, with a staffer at her office telling us, “She is on the Paula Deen cruise.” The chef’s Web site said Celebrity Cruises’ Eclipse would be a “tasty journey” in the Caribbean with a group buffet dinner, a cooking demo and a personal photo with Deen (one per family).

[From The NY Post]

At least people see this woman for what she is now. As I’ve mentioned I’ve barely thought of Paula Deen up until this point, but it’s incredibly obvious that she’ll stop at nothing to make a buck. How can you manage the image of a woman who is so money grubbing that she’ll continue to promote unhealthy food for years until she has a drug endorsement deal lined up? You don’t, you step down and say “screw it, the money’s not worth it.” Unless you’re Paula Deen, then it’s all about the money.

Update: After I wrote this, I saw this story on Entertainment Tonight (about 3/4 into the full episode available on their website) about the controversy over overweight celebrity chefs who cook unhealthy food. They said “Paula’s shocking announcement… may change attitudes says ‘The Doctor’s’ Travis Stork.

Dr. Stork said that “I would like to think that this is a wake up call. I don’t think chefs realize their influence on America. I think they realize now that their actions can influence America by giving alternatives and healthy recipes.”

They mention that Mario Batali has lost 35 pounds (I hope he didn’t go on Goopy’s expensive pill diet) and that Oprah’s personal chef Art Smith has lost 120 pounds. Smith mentioned that he had a show in the works, and that he lost it “because they didn’t like me ‘skinny chef.’ Lose the fat, lose the funny.” Smith is cooking more healthy now and is opening a new restaurant, JoAnne, in New York, along with Lady Gaga’s parents. That’s an odd pairing.

It’s nice to hear about a different celebrity chef getting healthy the right way, and it’s also reassuring to know that people in Paula Deen’s inner circle are calling her on her complete and utter bullsh*t.

Also, I need to use these photos of Paula Deen vs. the Fairy from Shrek again. (I put them together, and credit to Bodhi for coming up with it!)

Header image is from 12-15-11, credit: PacificCoastNews.com

Just yesterday I was at a farm supply store and was confronted with a Paula Deen Magazine in which she was grinning maniacally and clutching a huge slice of cake, daring us to eat it. (It was the first magazine cover below, the one with her husband.) I looked up her other magazine covers and that’s pretty much how she always poses, like the food pusher that she is.

Ever since this woman came out with the news that she’s had type 2 diabetes for years I’ve seen her in “a different light.” She’s conniving and very much in control of her image and empire. After her diagnosis three years ago Deen continued promoting incredibly unhealthy food through her various media outlets, and then she waited until she had a huge drug endorsement deal lined up before she made the announcement that she has diabetes. As many of you have pointed out, the best treatment for diabetes is a revamped diet, and although Deen has paid lip service to the fact that her diet contributed to her disorder she’s downplayed it. Deen’s recipes will get some reworking to be more healthy, but it’s too little too late and instead of promoting a healthy lifestyle she’s hawking an expensive drug treatment.

In an appearance on the talkshow “The Chew” earlier this week, Deen promised to donate “a certain percentage” to the American Diabetes Association out of the millions she’s making by promoting a pharmaceutical product.

Paula Deen may be the new face of the diabetes drug company Nova Nordisk, but she’s defending that decision by saying a portion of the profits will be donated to the American Diabetes Association.

After announcing she has Type 2 Diabetes this week, Paula appeared on ABC’s The Chew on Wednesday and discussed her diagnosis.

The Food Network star said she was diagnosed three years ago, but didn’t want to share that because she felt she didn’t have “anything to bring to the table.”

After learning about diabetes and coping with her diagnosis, Paula feels she can talk openly about it.

“I’ve always said moderation. I don’t eat every day like you see me cook on that show,” Paula said, defended her recipes. “It’s 30 days of my life, and it’s for your entertainment.”

“I don’t blame myself for my Type 2 Diabetes,” she said.

She now takes Victoza and is working with the drug company for a New Light campaign.

Paula said she and her two sons, Bobby and Jamie, are working with them “because we, like everybody else, have to work.”

However, she said they are “in a position” to “set aside a certain percentage and we’re donating that back to the ADA.”

[From OK! Magazine]

Of course Deen won’t say what “percentage” she’s donating, because if her donation is made public we’ll do the math and figure out just how rich she got by knee-capping people and then selling them crutches. (I agree that people have will and self control and can choose not to eat her food. She’s a food pusher though, pure and simple, and she has no shame.) Deen can give a relative pittance and make it seem like she didn’t really get rich by frying stuff in butter and wrapping it in sugar and then selling people a pill to treat their adult onset diabetes.

Also, I’m really reporting this because I wanted to give a shout out to Bodhi who noted that Deen is just like the Fairy Godmother in Shrek. “All sweet & nice on the outside, but cunning & manipulative on the inside” They look a lot alike too.

Paula Deen was all over the place yesterday making the announcement that she has type 2 diabetes and is the new spokeswoman for a diabetes treatment from Novo Nordisk. On the Today Show, Paula admitted that she was diagnosed with the metabolic disorder three years ago, and defended her decision to delay the announcement. Al Roker asked her why she took so long to tell everyone about her diagnosis and she said that she waited because she had “nothing to give to my friends out there.” She meant that she had nothing to market to her audience. As for whether the incredibly unhealthy food she cooks has anything to do with her disorder, she was cagey and said “certainly Al, that is part of the puzzle, but there’s many other things that can lead to diabetes. Certainly genetics, certainly your life style, certainly what you eat, certainly stress. And last but not least is age.” Then she went on to talk about baby boomers and launch yet another pitch for her diabetes program.

One of Paula’s biggest detractors, fellow celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, has weighed in on this story. He initially gave a kind of measured response in an interview with Eater.com, wondering aloud how long she’s known about it. He was wrong that she wasn’t going to own up to knowing about it for three years though:

What’s your take on Paula Deen supposedly announcing that she has Diabetes and that she landed a multimillion-dollar deal to be the spokeswoman for a pharmaceutical company to endorse a drug she’s taking?
I feel bad. But this entire weekend people have been calling looking for quotes. I guess it’s a moderate interest. I mean, how long has she known?

It’s odd because she was on Dr. Oz last month, and she never mentioned diabetes. Instead she just owned up to smoking cigarettes for 50 years.
We can look forward to People or Us magazine running the cover story, “I’m back” usual rehab story private hell. Clearly this has been coming for a while. She’s been looking for ways to position herself. Is she really going to be selling the cure now? Or will she back off for a decent interval? I take no pleasure in it. There ain’t nothing funny about Diabetes.

So if true, would you agree that it’s hypocritical?
When your signature dish is hamburger in between a doughnut, and you’ve been cheerfully selling this stuff knowing all along that you’ve got Type 2 Diabetes… It’s in bad taste if nothing else. How long has she known? I suspect a very long time. On Tuesday when she announces it, it’ll be to say I just got diagnosed… Al Roker won’t be asking her how long she’s known. I don’t think people will press that issue.

[From Eater.com]

Then on Twitter, Bourdain wrote “Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later.” He later clarified that he “Never called anybody a ‘diabetic scam artist’. TMZ’s words. Not mine.”

My previous opinion of Paula up to this point was neutral to positive. She sells this down home sweet image while making food that’s tasty but outrageously bad for you. Maybe it’s a gimmick, maybe she doesn’t really eat much of it herself as she claims. She seems to have eaten enough of it to have seriously affected her health. She’s obviously a smart businesswoman, and a crafty one too. The lady knows how to shill products and market herself, and she kept up the same unhealthy schtick until she had enough endorsements and deals lined up to make the transition into the next one.

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Photo credit: WENN.com

In May of last year*, the National Enquirer reported that down home celebrity chef Paula Deen had Type 2 diabetes for “years” and that she’d kept it a secret. Paula is renowned for cooking outrageously unhealthy food seeped in butter, fat and grease. Some of her recipes are worse than the fattiest burger you can get at a fast food restaurant and include a bacon, egg and glazed donut burger (with an actual burger patty in there), deep fried butter balls and bacon-wrapped fried macaroni and cheese, the recipe for which calls for a pound of bacon and five eggs. Type 2 diabetes is of course adult onset diabetes, one of the risk factors for which is excess weight. So Paula has been cooking and sampling food that is incredibly unhealthy and has been contributing to, and probably caused, her disorder. She may have known about it for years, if the Enquirer is to be believed, and has just been popularizing food which is just as bad for the rest of the world as it has been for her. A lot of you will point out that Paula reminds her audience that her food is a treat that’s not to be eaten everyday at least. Anyway here’s her announcement:

Even as she reveals that she is living with Type 2 Diabetes, [Paula Deen] says it won’t stop her from eating the way she wants.

“I was determined to share my positive approach and not let diabetes stand in the way of enjoying my life,” Deen said Tuesday in a release announcing her launch of Diabetes in a New Light™, geared toward finding “simple ways” to manage challenges of the disease.

“I’m excited to team up with Novo Nordisk on this initiative to show others that managing diabetes does not have to stop you from enjoying the things you love.”

The National Enquirer first reported Deen’s diabetes in April 2010*, but she never confirmed or denied the diagnosis until now. She turns 65 Thursday.

The Food Network chef with the folksy Southern drawl – and a tendency to address her fans as “Hey, y’all” – has been famously criticized for her cooking techniques. Just last summer, fellow celeb chef Anthony Bourdain called her the “most dangerous person to America” who’s “proud of the fact that her food is f—— bad for you.”

And as news leaked she was making the announcement regarding her health, Bourdain was inundated with people “looking for quotes.” And he says he “takes no pleasure” in her news, telling Eater.com, he suspects she’s known for a long time and been looking for a way “to position herself.”

“When your signature dish is hamburger in between a doughnut, and you’ve been cheerfully selling this stuff knowing all along that you’ve got Type 2 Diabetes … It’s in bad taste if nothing else,” he said. “How long has she known? I suspect a very long time.”

Deen, it was also revealed in the release, takes Victoza – a once-daily, non-insulin injection – and continues to “make lifestyle adjustments, including lightened-up versions of her favorite recipes.”

[From People.com]

I watch the Food Network often as they have shows my seven year-old and I can see together, and we mostly watch the food competition shows like Chopped and Cupcake Wars. I’ve been seeing commercials for a new show with Paula’s son, Bobby, called “Not My Mama’s Meals” in which he creates healthier versions of her southern style comfort food. (That show is on the Cooking Channel, though, and I don’t get that channel on my cable.) I have mixed feelings about this. At least Paula is coming clean, and at least she’s making healthier food. It seems like a very calculated business decision to make this announcement through a new show, a book and a publicity tour. She didn’t become the queen of “southern” cooking by not promoting herself, though. Plus she sounds like she’s been in denial for a long time. She just put out The Southern Cooking Bible in October, and that included decadent recipes she’s famous for like peanut butter and chocolate balls. Maybe she was contractually obligated to finish that book and promote it before she announced that she has diabetes. Plus she surely had a lot of endorsement and book deals to line up first.

Update: I forgot to check her new website where she’s shilling for products that manage diabetes, which are put out by the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. The Enquirer says Deen’s endorsement deal is in the millions.

*Note: People Magazine claims that The Enquirer announced Paula’s diabetes in April of 2010. I don’t think that’s accurate. I went through my Enquirer archives (don’t judge, it’s my job) and couldn’t find anything on Paula in that time frame except for a March, 2010 article that focused on her husband’s memoir – and mentioned nothing about her having diabetes. I’m pretty sure they made that announcement in May, 2011 when we reported on it.

Update: The Enquirer is claiming they reported it two years ago too, but in another article they state they first reported it in May, 2011.

Paula Deen is shown with her husband on 10-24-11. She’s also shown on 10-25-11. Credit: Barbara Henderson / PR Photos, WENN.com

I watch too much television programming that revolves around food. Thus, I know and have opinions on everyone mentioned in this Page Six piece. For the record, I absolutely love Paula Deen, who I view as America’s Butter Queen, and I dislike Rachael Ray. I also feel kind of “meh” about Guy Fieri – I like “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” but Guy’s cooking show is kind of boring. As for Anthony Bourdain… I just loathe the man. Out of all of these people, I know Bourdain is probably the most knowledgeable about food and different cultural cuisine and all of that. He may be a brilliant guy. But he’s also as ass, and he has a history of picking fights with chefs and cooks who are basically harmless. Anyway, Bourdain gave a recent interview where he mocked and slammed the Butter Queen, Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri. So Paula Deen slathered him in butter and ATE HIS FACE.

The knives are out for Anthony Bourdain after he blasted fellow TV chef Paula Deen, calling her the “most dangerous person in America.”

Deen, searing back after “No Reservations” star Bourdain gave her and fellow Food Network chefs Rachael Ray, Guy Fieri and Sandra Lee a roasting, exclusively told Page Six:

“Anthony Bourdain needs to get a life. You don’t have to like my food, or Rachael’s, Sandra’s and Guy’s. But it’s another thing to attack our character. I wake up every morning happy for where I am in life. It’s not all about the cooking, but the fact that I can contribute by using my influence to help people all over the country. In the last two years, my partners and I have fed more than 10 million hungry people by bringing meat to food banks.”

Basting Bourdain for his apparent lack of charity and his attitude, she said, “My good friends Rachael, Guy and Sandra are the most generous charitable folks I know. They give so much of their time and money to help the food-deprived, sick children and abandoned animals. I have no idea what Anthony has done to contribute besides being irritable.”

Deen continued, “You know, not everybody can afford to pay $58 for prime rib or $650 for a bottle of wine. My friends and I cook for regular families who worry about feeding their kids and paying the bills . . . It wasn’t that long ago that I was struggling to feed my family, too.”

The TV foodies were shredded by the macho, gonzo chef in TV Guide magazine. He said, “The worst, most dangerous person to America is clearly Paula Deen. She revels in unholy connections with evil corporations and she’s proud of the fact that her food is [bleep]ing bad for you . . . plus, her food sucks.” About Ray: “Does she even cook anymore? . . . To her credit, she never said she was good at it.” On Lee: “I hate her works on this planet, but she is not someone to be dismissed, clearly.” And Fieri: “I look at Guy and I just think, ‘Jesus, I’m glad that’s not me.’ ”

[From Page Six]

If you want to take Ray or Sandra Lee to task, sure. Neither one of them are “chefs” and they’ll say as much. Their whole deal is that they’re trying to teach people (parents, specifically) that it can fun, easy, affordable and fast to cook food at home. Neither Lee nor Ray is really known for their way with fine dining, although I should point out that when Ray was on Iron Chef, bitch held her own and then some, and she impressed the judges. Guy Fieri, I think, is very knowledgeable about food, and you can tell that he has a professional background working in restaurants, but I feel like Guy’s goal is the same as Ray’s and Deen’s – to encourage people to make affordable food at home, and to celebrate inexpensive, less glamorous food throughout America’s rich food-loving diners, drive-ins and dives.

As for Paula – well, the Butter Queen is fabulous. And she knows what she’s doing too. The Lady & Sons, her restaurant, is a Savannah institution, and she is constantly recognized as one of the best Southern cooks in America. She knows her food isn’t healthy, and she says as much. Besides that, she’s a hoot and she has a wonderful attitude and everyone adores her. I want Paula to deep fry Bourdain and serve him with grits.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

The National Enquirer has an exclusive this week that cooking queen Paula Deen has had type 2 diabetes, also known as adult onset diabetes, for “several years” and that she’s kept it secret. Paula of course loves to cook with butter, fat and sugar, a diet high in which is known to increase the risk of contracting diabetes. Even after her diagnosis, Paula hasn’t changed her recipes from what I can tell and has churned out insanely unhealthy recipes like a “Brunch Burger” with two different meats and a fried egg served on a Krispy Kreme donut, deep fried lasagna, and deep fried stuffing on a stick.

Paula Deen… has been diagnosed with diabetes, the Enquirer has learned exclusively.

Despite her condition, Paula continues to tout butter-rich recipes with high fat ingredients that experts say can lead to diabetes – even though sources say she’s under doctors’ orders to steer clear of those foods.

“Diabetes can be deadly because it increases her risk of heart disease, kidney failure and stroke,” Dr. Daniel Lorder, a leading endocrinologist from Flushing, NY, told the Enquirer.

“And type 2 diabetes can be directly related to obesity, which is reaching epidemic proportions in this country.”

Paula, 64, was diagnosed with diabetes several years ago, says a family friend, but she continues to plug artery-clogging dishes….

“When Paula was diagnosed with diabetes, I think she worried that if the secret got out it would make her look like a hypocrite,” a family friend told the Enquirer.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, May 9, 2011]

The Enquirer usually gets it right when it comes to minor celebrities and I would bet this story is true. If it’s true, what is Paula going to do to explain this? Like if she came clean on her own and admitted that she’s had diabetes and is going to make healthier recipes it would be one thing and people would laud her for being honest. Instead she’s been cooking the same and now the Enquirer is outing her. The Enquirer reports that Paula herself has been “cutting the large portions of high-fat, high-calorie foods from her diet” and has “even dropped quite a bit of weight.” I don’t follow her show and it’s possible Paula has subtly changed the way she cooks without making an announcement, but this makes it sound as if she’s cooking differently for herself, but not for the public. As Kaiser told me about Paula, “She’s a lovely woman and she loves her butter,” so maybe she’s just stuck cooking the way she knows and has personally paid the price for it. I’d love to see her switch gears though and tout recipes that are better for you.

Paula Deen is shown on 5/16/10 (blue shirt) and 11/16/10 (black shirt with blue ruffle scarf). Credit: WENN.com

God, I love Paula Deen. I love her and I love her butter. This is a CNN video of Paula Deen donating a truck full of Smithfield hams to a homeless food bank in Georgia, I think. While she and some people are unloading the hams, they start playing around and Paula throws the first ham. I’m not quite sure what happened next in the mind of this douchey guy, but he chucks the ham right back to Paula when she wasn’t paying attention. And she ended up catching the ham. If by “catching” you mean “a rogue ham smashed her pretty face”.

My favorite part of this video and post-ham analysis? Paula’s quote: “It just got hit with a hog, so what can I expect? Ran head-on to a hog.” I love her! Anyway, her face is fine… she’s icing it and her rep released a statement saying she’s fine:

Celeb chef Paula Deen got quite a scare Monday morning when she was smacked in the face with a piece of ham at a charity event in Atlanta.

Deen, 62, was helping unload a truck load of hams at Hosea Feed the Hungry & Homeless to make a Thanksgiving donation on behalf of Smithfield Foods when someone playfully threw a ham.

It missed the storage bucket and ended up hitting the Food Network star on the head and nose, her rep tells Usmagazine.com.

Deen was “startled at first, but quickly regained focus and kept her humor,” says her rep.

Adds the rep, “She’s okay now and is icing her face.”

Deen later laughed off the mishap, telling local station WXIA-TV that the ham “hit me full long in the face and ’bout knocked me cuckoo, but I’m fine.”

[From Us Weekly]

The only thing that would make this video and interview any better is if Paula mentioned anything about “oil”. I love the way she pronounces “oil”. She says it like it’s one syllable – ol’. As in “You’re going to need a pan of ol’ to fry that chicken.” I’m Southern and I don’t even do that! That’s a big-time Southern accent.

But I am glad she’s okay. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Paula!

Paula Deen in New York on April 15, 2008. Credit: WENN.