Given the media storm set off by the public release of Paula Deen’s deposition last month in a lawsuit brought by a former employee of Uncle Bubba’s, this is not surprising news:
BREAKING: Food Network says it won't renew Paula Deen's contract after admission she used racial slurs. -MM
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 21, 2013
It’s impossible to know at this point what factors were considered by the Food Network, but — as I noted in a post earlier today — Deen’s deposition is peppered with disturbing details about the management of Uncle Bubba’s. Even if one takes her at her word that she quit using the N-word many years ago, there were all sorts of ugly revelations that would be circulating endlessly.
And America’s food culture has undergone a considerable shift in recent years. As I noted in a post in 2011 — NYT: Growing number of Southern farmers “want to reclaim the agrarian roots of Southern cooking, restore its lost traditions and dignity†— we’ve been seeing a resurgence in traditional Southern cooking that predates the post-WWII ingredients so common in Deen’s recipes.
And it’s worth noting that Deen has been through various contract negotiations with Deen the Food Network, including in 2010.