Paula Deen promotes self-made documentary as she again apologizes for racial slur scandal

show ad

Airstrikes to avert another 9/11: U.S. deploys its awesome arsenal - including the new F-22 Raptor stealth fighter - over fears Jihadis were about to launch attacks on passenger planes
Wanted: New arrest warrant issued for nursing assistant who was the last person seen with missing UVA student Hannah Graham for charges of abduction with intent to defile
Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer assaulted his wife in an argument that left her believing he was cheating on her with another woman
Does the new iPhone 6 BEND in your pocket? Angry users post photos of phones warped just a few days after buying them
Changing wind patterns - and not global warming - are causing temperatures to rise on America's West Coast according to new study
German-American reporter held in captivity by Somali pirates for more than two years is FREED in exchange for ransom payment
Horror as shed blaze kills boy, 8, after friend mistakenly douses burning paper with GASOLINE instead of water
Tempest over Obama's tea cup salute: Commander-in-chief sparks anger by saluting Marines with drink in his hand
ISIS posts new video of their British hostage John Cantlie showing him forced to criticise military build-up against terror group as 'a new Vietnam'
Obama says 'we'll do what's necessary' against those who 'plot against America' after launching airstrikes in Syria
Agony of hostage's wife as he begs for his life: As U.S. blitzes ISIS, terror group taunts Briton's family with desperate recorded message sent in response to airstrikes
Refugee crisis mounts at Turkey's border as 400,000 flee ISIS advance and fresh violence erupts
Fragile peace is broken in Ferguson as protesters take to the streets AGAIN and vandalize shop after fire destroys makeshift Michael Brown memorial
Armed robber shouts ‘This is for Michael Brown’ as he holds up three couples outside St Louis restaurant
Desecrated! Outrage in Ferguson as fire destroys Michael Brown memorial on street where teen was gunned down by cop
Mother of Columbine shooter who suffered 'indescribable grief and shame' announces her book deal
Costco employee 'breaks customer's leg with martial arts move as workers try to check his receipt at store exit'
'I was fired for telling the truth': Witness who spoke out over Palin family brawl left begging for work on the street after speaking out about the 'Jerry Springer-style' fight at party hosted by his bosses
'The Queen purred down the line when I told her Scotland had voted No': British PM caught making extraordinary comments about the Monarch
Who wants to live forever? Doctor and former Obama health adviser says elderly are 'feeble, ineffectual and pathetic' and he hopes he dies when he's 75
They ARE fake! Woman who claims to have surgically implanted third breast is a self-proclaimed hoaxer who once reported a '3 breast prosthesis' stolen from her luggage
'I just shot my daughter and shot all my grandkids and I'll be sitting on my step when you get here': Chilling 911 call of Florida man who killed his family before turning gun on himself is released by officials
The great Whole Foods rip off: The charts that show how much more your shopping is costing
Montana teacher who spent ONE month in jail for raping a 14-year-old student who then took her own life now facing 10 years prison at re-sentencing

Beleaguered chef was reunited with Matt Lauer on Tuesday, a year after she broke down in tears on the Today show
Last year, she admitted to using the 'N' word and making other racist comments after an employee sued her for racial discrimination
She was dropped by the Food Network and other sponsors
In her interview with the Today show, she acknowledged the power of her hurtful words and apologized for what she had said
She is now launching a new network featuring a documentary about the scandal - but it'll cost you to watch

Published: 08:10 EST, 23 September 2014 | Updated: 09:39 EST, 23 September 2014

View
comments

Disgraced celebrity chef Paula Deen today said she has learned 'so much' following her racism scandal last year - and vowed to come back stronger than ever.

A year after her famous meltdown on the Today show, Deen returned to chat with Matt Lauer about her 'dark and difficult' year and made it clear she has not been deterred.

When asked what she had learned after she admitted to using the 'n' word, Deen said people could find out by watching her self-made documentary on her new Paula Deen Network - for $9.99.

'I really feel it's going to require another book,' she said.

Scroll down for videos

Comeback: Paula Deen appeared on the Today show on Tuesday - a year after her famous meltdown. She apologized for her hurtful words and discussed plans for her new network, which launches tomorrow

Support: She appeared on the show with her sons Jamie and Bobby, who will also appear on the network

'I disappointed myself': Paula Deen speaks out

Last year, a former restaurant employee accused Deen of racial discrimination and sexual harassment, and in a deposition, Deen admitted to previously using racial slurs. It also emerged she had quipped about a 'Southern style wedding' featuring African-American servants.

As more details emerged, she was dropped by the Food Network and sponsors. She also appeared on the Today show, where she became hysterical as she begged for forgiveness.

More...

'I didn't recognize that woman,' Deen said on Tuesday. 'That was a woman in trauma and shock, trying to understand what had happened. The cold hard fact was that I probably should not have been here but perhaps under the care of a doctor.'

After the show, she went home and thought about what had happened, she said.

'I had to go home, sit on my sofa and get off the merry-go-round so I could think and see things from all the angles,' she said.

What a difference a year makes: Deen broke down on the Today show amid the scandal last year

'I've learned so much over the year... The most powerful thing - the power of words. I don't care how old they are, words are so powerful, they can hurt.

'Frankly I disappointed myself. And for that I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry for the hurt I caused people. Because it went deep.... I'm here to make people happy, not to bring sadness.'

Now, she said, she is trying to forget the past and looking to the future.

After realizing that she still had an immense body of supporters, she decided to launch the Paula Deen Network and bought all of her content from the Food Network - but would not disclose the price.

She explained that fans can also find out more about her tumultuous year in a documentary, which is set to launch on the network - but it'll cost them.

The documentary will only be available to subscribers of her new website, which launches on Wednesday. Recipes on the site will be free, but viewers need to pay $9.99 a month to view videos.

She added in an earlier interview: 'We hope to have it out the first of the year and tell everybody the true story of what really happened. It was a painful year for me. It was a hurtful year when I found myself being labeled for something I was not.'

The website will feature an ambitious array of original video content, including traditional cooking shows as well as lifestyle and game show segments featuring Deen and her sons.

The site, which will include no outside advertising or sponsors, also includes thousands of Deen's recipes, as well as menu planning tools.

Looking to the future: Deen and her two sons will launch the Paula Deen Network on Wednesday after buying all of her content from the Food Network. It will include videos, recipes and documentary about her past year

Paula Deen goes digital with new online network

The plans are part of a larger effort by the star and her backers to resuscitate her career after the public relations disasters cost her nearly all her book, TV and endorsement deals.

In 2012, just before the race scandal exploded, Deen announced that she had developed Type-2 Diabetes - and she was widely criticized for promoting her brand of high-fat, sugary Southern cuisine and for scoring a lucrative endorsement deal for a drug to treat the condition she'd hidden.

I really feel it's going to require another book

Paula Deen on what she's learned this past year

In 2013, a former manager at Deen's restaurants in Savannah, Georgia, sued her and her brother for sexual and racial harassment - and in a deposition, Deen acknowledged using the 'N word'.

Her former employee, who was white, was eventually forced to drop the racial part of her lawsuit - and Deen lamented that this had not been given as much airplay as the woman's initial claims.

'Of course the statement that was released at the end got almost no attention,' Deen said on the Today show.

She is now hoping that her new network will give her a degree of creative and financial control.

'That's the beauty of what we're doing now. We have total and complete control,' she told the Wall Street Journal. 'If we disagree on something, we can discuss it right then and there... It's as real as it can get.'