Remember the summer of 2013 when Paula Deen dominated the news cycle with clueless acts that got her Food Network show and book deal cancelled and a slew of endorsements lost?
First there was that deposition a former employee leaked, claiming that Paula and her brother Bubba freely used the N-word and wanted to throw a Southern plantation style wedding.
Then, there was that awkwardly bizarre apology on the Today show that didn’t help her case one little bit. In the aftermath, Paula laid low, returning in January 0f 2014 for a comeback interview with People, where she compared her plight to gay football player, Michael Sam.
You’d think, after all that, the proponent of fatty southern comfort food would have learned her lesson. Well, think again.
Paula tweeted a photo of herself dressed as Lucy from the iconic 50’s TV show, I Love Lucy and her son Bobby in “brownface” as Ricky Ricardo. Putting aside the obvious ick factor of that pairing, EXACTLY HOW STUPID ARE THESE PEOPLE? After everything they’ve been through, they still haven’t bothered to educate themselves about what is offensive and what isn’t. White people donning blackface/brownface IS OFFENSIVE
Paula quickly deleted the photo. But you know. The internet. “Lucyyyyyyy! You got a lot of esplainin’ to do!” the tweet read, with the hashtag “#TransformationTuesday.” Apparently, the photo was taken in 2011 and was also uploaded to Facebook. The Hollywood Reporter, where I found this, has some of the twitter reactions.
@paula_deen @bobbydeen Paula, *you* have a lot of esplainin' to do
— David (@DiscreetLatino) July 7, 2015
.@Paula_Deen @BobbyDeen it isn't a transformation if you're still terrible.
— buupy (@officialbuup) July 7, 2015
Saw Paula Deen trending and, before finding out why, immediately thought, "perfect running mate for Donald Trump".
— Common Sensai (@CommonSensai) July 7, 2015
So…yeah Paula. Thanks for checking in. Now go away again.
UPDATE: And of course, Paula blames her social media manager…
“Paula Deen’s Social Media Manager posted a picture this morning of Paula and Bobby Deen dressed in costume as Lucy and Ricky, from I Love Lucy,” her reps said in a statement to PEOPLE. “This photograph is from a Halloween episode of Paula’s Best Dishes that aired in 2011.”
“Paula immediately had this picture taken down as soon as she saw the post and apologizes to all who were offended,” the statement continues. “As such, Paula Deen Ventures has terminated their relationship with this Social Media Manager.”