Paula Deen Reacts To Food Network Dismissal
Following Paula Deen's admission in a deposition that she has used the N-word in the past and the subsequent backlash, Food Network let go of the "Queen of Southern Cuisine." On Saturday, June 22, ET received a statement from Deen, 66, regarding her dismissal.
Deen's statement reads: "I would like to thank The Food Network for 11 great years. Because of the gift The Food Network gave me, I have had the pleasure of being allowed into so many homes across the country and meeting people who have shared with me the most touching and personal stories. Again, this would not have been possible without The Food Network. Thank you again. Love and best dishes to all of ya'll. Paula Deen"
RELATED VIDEO: Paula Deen Releases Apology
"Food Network will not renew Paula Deen's contract when it expires at the end of this month," the network told ET.
The announcement comes on the heels of a heavily-edited video apology Deen released Friday, then later replaced with a longer, unedited version.
"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 says in the second version of her apology video. "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's in the heart, and my family and I try to live by that."