Food Network officials tell TMZ that Paula Deen's contract, which expires at the end of the month, will not be renewed amid her current racism scandal. The celebrity chef's offensive racial remarks at her May 17 deposition were recently leaked to the media, and the chef issued several video apologies today.
Recently Deen posted a video to Youtube apologizing for the offensive racist comments she made, and released a second apology video shortly thereafter. Deen's comments were made at her deposition over a $1.2 million lawsuit by former restaurant manager Lisa Jackson, who claims that the Emmy-award winning chef used the n-word and other derogatory language at her Georgia restaurant, Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House.
During the deposition, Deen freely admitted to using the n-word in the past and making racist jokes. "Things have changed since the '60s in the south. And my children and my brother object to that word being used in any cruel or mean behavior. As well as I do," Deen said.
In her first video, Deen appears visibly distraught as she apologizes for making racist remarks. "I want to apologize to everybody for the wrong that I've done," she said. "I want to learn and grow from this...I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners, I beg for your forgiveness."
In the second video, the chef explains why she did not appear on The Today Show this morning, as she was "physically not able" to appear due to the pain she was experiencing over the recent scandal.
"I want people to understand that my family and I are not the kind of people that the press is wanting to say we are," she said. "I've spent the best of 24 years to help myself and others. Your color of your skin, your religion, your sexual preference does not matter to me, but it's what in the heart and my family and I try to live by that. I am here to say I am so sorry. I was wrong, yes, I've worked hard and I make mistakes, but that is no excuse."
Deen claims her second apology comes from the "deepest part" of her heart and apologizes to those she has offended.