Paula Deen fans are dishing up deep-fried outrage after the Food Network announced its decision to drop her from their celebrity chefs roster.Watching the Queen of Comfort Food was a weekend ritual for fan Marilynne Wilson. A nurse from Jacksonville, Florida, she believes the cable network "jumped the gun" in refusing to extend the cook's contract after she acknowledged using racial slurs in the past.
Similarily, the Food Network's Facebook page is bombarded by comments from angry Deen fans; many claim they won't be watching the channel anymore.
"The Food Network Sucks", one viewer wrote. "I would watch Paula Deen all day long and not care what she does in her free time. I just want to learn some good cooking."
The decision to drop Deen, whose daytime shows have been Food Network fixtures since 2002, came two days after a sealed court deposition surfaced in which the chef acknowledged using the N-word. However, the 66-year old added it'd been a long time.
"Things have changed since the '60s in the South," Deen said. "My children and my brother object to that world being used in any cruel or mean behavior."
Deen and her brother, Bubba Hier, are being sued by a former manager of The Lady & Sons for sexual and racial harassment. Deen's lawyer calls the allegations false.
Nonetheless, an hour after Deen issued a videotaped apology, the Food Network released their own statement on Friday, saying "it will not renew Paula Deen's contract when it express at the end of this month."
So what do you think? Should the Country Cooking Guru have been fired?
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