One of the biggest Ls I’ve ever had to take was when I finally had to admit that Paula Deen was and is trash. Back in the day, I used to really like her as a Food Network personality. She cooked Southern food, she has a wildly successful restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, and she was pro-gay rights. Then she was outed as a racist who made her Black employees dress up like antebellum “servants” at a plantation. She was credibly accused of saying and doing some other wildly racist sh-t. And so Paula Deen was canceled, and she deserved every drop of that cancellation. Of course, to some people, Paula was never canceled. While Deen was dropped from The Food Network and her other TV gigs dried up for years, she still ran somewhat successful restaurants and I believe her cookbooks still sold well. In recent years, she’s even gotten a couple of TV gigs (nothing on The Food Network though).
All of which to say, Deen possibly could have had a mainstream comeback at some point and introduced herself to a new generation. Instead, she followed her worst instincts and leaned into the Aggrieved Racist White Culture movement. She’s been cozying up to Lara Trump – Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law – and in an Instagram photo posted on Thursday, Paula Deen was seen with her arm around Donald Trump. This is a bad look for all involved. Deen is no longer in that “any port in a storm” damage-control mode. It’s been a decade since her life was upended by her own racist horsesh-t. She’s choosing to associate with Donald Trump and the MAGA cult because that’s who she is. That’s who she always has been. It’s awful.
Paula Deen is a pretty regular visitor at Lara’s home, too.
A true ‘southern plantation-style wedding’ would include waiters dressed as slaves – she said
— Outspoken (@Out5p0ken) October 17, 2024
Photos courtesy of Lara Trump’s IG and Cover Images.