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Is Paula Deen Racist? Racism Remarks and Husband Michael Groover Net Worth – One of U.S. celebrity chef Paula Deen’s employers said on Thursday it was monitoring the controversy over her admission that she has used a racial slur in the past, while Deen’s own company said the cooking star does not condone racism.
In a May 17 court deposition that surfaced on Wednesday, Deen, who is white, was asked if she had used the so-called N-word, a racial epithet directed against African-Americans, to which she responded: “Yes, of course.”
The Food Network, which broadcasts two popular shows featuring Deen and her Southern cooking, said it was keeping an eye on the flap resulting from her statements that have been widely criticized on social media.
“Food Network does not tolerate any form of discrimination and is a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion,” the network said.
The videotaped deposition was taken as part of a lawsuit by a former employee of Paula Deen Enterprises, Lisa Jackson, who is suing Deen and her brother Earl “Bubba” Hiers in their home state of Georgia for racial and sexual discrimination in the workplace.
Deen said she had used the racial epithet when describing, probably to her husband, how a black man robbed a bank where she was working. She said she had used the word since, “but it’s been a very long time.”
The lawsuit alleges that, while discussing with Jackson plans for Hiers’ 2007 wedding, Deen said she wanted a “true southern plantation-style wedding” and used the slur to describe the black men she would want serving at the wedding dressed in white shirts, black shorts and bow ties. In the deposition, Deen said she referred to the race of the servers as black.
Jackson’s lawyer, S. Wesley Woolf of Savannah, did not return calls seeking comment. An attorney for Deen said the author of more than a dozen cookbooks was looking forward to her day in court and did not condone any use of racial epithets.
In a statement on Thursday about the deposition, Deen’s company, Paula Deen Enterprises, said she “recounted having used a racial epithet in the past, speaking largely about a time in American history which was quite different than today.
“She was born 60 years ago when America’s South had schools that were segregated, different bathrooms, different restaurants and Americans rode in different parts of the bus. This is not today,” the statement added.
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Paula is an American chef, cookbook author, and television personality who was born on January 19, 1947.
Till now, she has published fifteen cookbooks. The famous chef on the Food Network has been in the news since “racist” controversies.
Is Paula Deen Racist?- Racism Remarks
Deen admitted to using the N-word while being deposed in a case brought against her by Lisa Jackson.
However, a federal judge dismissed race discrimination complaints against Deen, ruling that the allegations against her were without merit.
Undoing years of public rehabilitation and declarations that she was no longer a racist, she once again had stirred up the news on being racist when she posted a picture of her son Bobby with Bobby’s face painted a dark brown color.
Paula Deen tweets photo of her son in brown face, has literally learned nothing http://t.co/RQFDnH2FOm pic.twitter.com/AlhfOTpUib
— Mic (@mic) July 7, 2015
But she quickly realized her mistake, deleted the post, and announced that her social media manager was responsible for the act in an interview with BuzzFeed.
Deen is currently out and cleared from all those allegations. And has started a cooking show on RFD-TV called “Positively Paula,” in early January 2020.
So, talking about her being a racist, it is in your hand to make that decision. However, she has been doing a lot to bury this rumor under the ground and get her chef career back to track again.
She also has her own website, where she posts cooking tutorials and recipes.
Paula Deen’s Husband Michael Groover
Paula was married to Michael Groover in 2004, despite using the last name, Deen, from her first marriage with Jimmy Deen.
It’s been 17 years since their marriage. But still, we can see their cute love story on Deen’s Instagram page. Going on a date and having a photoshoot together has all been an important aspect of keeping their relationship young.
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It all started in 2002 when Paula sought her lost dogs, which led her to meet her then-neighbor Groover, who took a fancy to her right away and asked her out on a date on his boat.
Groover worked as a tugboat captain until he retired, which meant he spent a lot of time alone and only spoke by radio, and now Groover is proud and feels lucky to be a wonderful stepfather to Paula’s older children, Bobby and Jamie Deen, who, like their renowned mother, are TV chefs and restaurateurs.
Paula Deen- Chef Controversy
The celebrity chef and cooking show host had her first controversy on July 19, 2013. When Lisa Jackson, the former general manager of her Savannah, Georgia restaurant Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House file a case against her for using the N-word.
As well as for making her black employees wear slavery-era clothing. The case was dissolved due to lack of evidence; however, the controversies cost her a lot.
It led to the Food Network not renewing her contract for her show “Paula’s Home Cooking”, which aired for 14 years.
Once again, in 2015, with some stupidity, Deen made controversy by posting a picture of her son Bobby dressed up as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo from the TV sitcom I Love Lucy, with Bobby’s face painted a dark brown color.
Ricardo, the main character, is of Latino ancestry.
Question to the black people defending Terry McMillan’s history of homophobia because her ex deceived her about his sexual orientation:
Do you also believe Paula Deen is justified in using the n-word because a black man robbed her?
The black, gay delegation will wait. pic.twitter.com/99XU0bGWDb
— chris evans (@chris_notcapn) May 20, 2021
Paula Deen – Net Worth
Paula Deen Net Worth: Paula Deen is an American restauranteur, cook, author, and television personality who has a net worth of $16 million dollars. She has released a number of successful cookbooks and hosted several cooking shows. She has also attracted controversy at times for racist remarks and awkward apologies.
Personal Life and Family: Paula Ann Hiers was born in Albany, Georgia, on January 19, 1947, to Corrie A. and Earl Wayne Hiers, Sr. She was raised Baptist, and remains devoted to her faith. After her parents passed away before she was 23 years old, and the failure of an early marriage, Deen began suffering from panic attacks and agoraphobia. She began cooking, because it was something she could do for her family without leaving the house. She is known by the last name Deen, from her marriage to Jimmy Deen. They were married from 1965 to 1989, and have two sons together. After her divorce from Jimmy Deen, she worked a variety of jobs to support her children and younger brother, Earl (“Bubba”) Hiers. These jobs include hanging wallpaper, working as a bank teller, selling real estate and insurance, and a catering business. In 2004, Deen married Michael Groover, a tugboat captain. Their wedding was featured in a show on the Food Network, and took place at Bethesda Academy in Savannah.
Restaurants: Deen’s catering service, The Bag Lady, was originally operated out of her own kitchen at home. As the business grew, she moved into the Best Western on the southside of Savannah, Georgia, in 1991, opening a restaurant called The Lady. In January 1996, Deen opened the restaurant The Lady & Sons in downtowan Savannah, on West Congress Street; within a few years it had moved to an old building on Whitaker. In 1999, USA Today named The Lady & Sons the “International Meal of the Year”. Additionally, Deen owned four casino buffets at: Harrah’s Casino Tunica in Mississippi, Harrah’s Cherokee casino in North Carolina, Horseshoe Southern Indiana, and Harrah’s Joliet in Illinois. However, these buffets were all rebranded in 2013. She also was co-owner of Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House in Savannah, Georgia, which underwent an “abrupt closure” in April 2014, before reopening in June 2017 as Paula Deen’s Creek House. Other restaurant ventures Deen has been involved in include Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, another restaurant in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and two locations in Texas.
Cookbooks: In 1997, Deen self-published “The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook” and “The Lady & Sons, Too! A Whole New Batch of Recipes from Savannah”. She then published two more cookbooks, co-written with Martha Nesbit. Her life story featured in the 2007 book “Extraordinary Comebacks: 201 Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph, and Success”. She also published her memoir “It Ain’t All About the Cookin'” in April 2007 with Simon & Schuster. In November 2005, Deen launched her own lifestyle magazine “Cooking with Paula Deen”, which as of March 2009 claimed a circulation of 7.5 million.
Television: Deen began her relationship with the Food Network in 1999, when she was introduced by her friend to Gordon Elliott, a producer and television personality, and Barry Weiner, the owner of Artist’s Agency. Elliott subsequently took Deen on a few episodes of the series “Doorknock Dinners”, and she also appeared on the show “Ready, Set, Cook!”. After filming a pilot named “Afternoon Tea” in early 2001, Deen impressed the network, and they gave her her own show. “Paula’s Home Cooking” premiered on the Food Network in November 2002, and Gordon Elliott served as the show’s executive producer. Original tapings of the show occurred in Millbrook, New York, but beginning in November 2005, production of the show began at her home in Savannah, Georgia. Deen won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle Host in June 2007, for “Paula’s Home Cooking”.
Since then, Deen has filmed two more Food Network shows, “Paula’s Party”, which premiered in 2006, and “Paula’s Best Dishes”, which began siring in 2008. Furthermore, in March 2006, an episode of the “Chefography” program featured a biography of Deen.
After a controversy in 2013, where Deen admitted during a deposition for a lawsuit that she had used racial slurs in a social media post, the Food Network announced they would not be renewing her contract. Then, in September 2014, Deen announced she would be unveiling her own network. The Paula Deen Channel was launched on Roku on March 11, 2015. In October 2016, Deen launched a syndicated television show, “Positively Paula”.
Additionally, in 2015 Deen was a competitor on the 21st season of the hit competition show “Dancing with the Stars”, finishing in 9th place overall. She also appears regularly on the home shopping network Evine, where she sells a wide variety of merchandise including kitchen appliances, food products, and clothing.
Other Ventures: In September 2009, Deen announced her new dessert line, to be sold at Walmart. It included the signature pies Apple Crunch Top and Dark Rum Pecan, Old Fashioned Fudge, and St. Louis style Gooey Butter Cake bars. Deen made her film debut in “Elizabethtown” (2005), playing the aunt of Orlando Bloom’s character. The role featured her cooking. In conjunction with the film’s premiere, the Food Network aired the special “Paula Goes Hollywood”.
Controversies: In June 2013, Deen was sued by Lisa Jackson for racial and sexual discrimination. The suit was dismissed by the judge, but after Deen stated in her deposition that she had used a racial slur before, there was widespread backlash against her. She ended up losing publishing deals and endorsement contracts with the Food Network, Smithfield Foods, Walmart, Target, QVC, Caesars Entertainment, Novo Nordisk, Sear, and Kmart. Other controversies include criticism of Deen’s use of sugar in recipes, as well as backlash over a Halloween picture from 2011 that depicts Deen dressed as Lucy Ricardo from the show “I Love Lucy”, along with her son Bobby dressed as the character Ricky Ricardo in brownface makeup.
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