Celeb Chefs respond to Deen's racial comments, Talk show host Wendy Williams has spoken out in the wake of celebrity chef Paula Deen has admitting to using the N-word and wanting to plan a 'plantation-style wedding' with black waiters dressed like slaves.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Williams stated: 'This is something that has been swirling around about Paula Deen for longer than this story.
'It's just a shame to hear that she has admitted in her deposition that she uses the word and that she freely throws around racist jokes.
'She seems to think that it's okay. It's not okay. It just goes to show you money doesn't buy you class, it only exposes who you really are. Stupid is as stupid does.'
Williams also went on to discuss Paula's friendship with Oprah Winfrey.
'Oprah, believe it or not, is the first person I thought about when I heard this statement. I said ‘I wonder if her black friend Oprah knows about this statement?’ I wonder if Oprah's been privy in person to hear Paula use this and if she's ever talked to Paula about it… I'm done with Paula Deen.'
Meanwhile, the 66-year-old attempted to justify her comments via a historical context.
Paula Deen Enterprises issued a statement to TMZ stating that Paula grew up in a time when such words were not considered offensive.
It reads: 'During a deposition where she swore to tell the truth, Ms. Deen recounted having used a racial epithet in the past, speaking largely about a time in American history which was quite different than today.'
The statement continues: '[Paula] was born 60 years ago when America's South had schools that were segregated, different bathrooms, different restaurants and Americans rode in different parts of the bus. This is not today.'
'To be clear Ms. Deen does not find acceptable the use of this term under any circumstance by anyone nor condone any form of racism or discrimination.'
The queen of Southern cuisine also revealed she referred to an underage waitress as a 'piece of p****' and said she was not offended by racist or sexist jokes - even when members of her family told them.
The startling admissions stem from a May 17 deposition Deen gave in lawsuit filed against her and her brother Earl 'Bubba' Hiers.
Lisa Jackson is seeking $1.2million over claims that she was routinely exposed to racist slurs and sexual harassment while managing at Uncle Bubba's Oyster House in Savannah, Georgia - a restaurant owned by Deen's company and run by her brother.
The allegations span the years 2005 to 2010, when Deen's Food empire was expanding rapidly.
Deen has be come an internationally-renowned chef, thanks to her numerous Food Network TV shows, including 'Paula's Home Cooking' and 'Paula's Party.' She has become known for her charm and quick-witted Southern banter.
The lawsuit alleges Deen hired Jackson to plan her brother's wedding and then told her: 'What I would really like is a bunch of little n******s to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties. Now, that would be a true Southern wedding wouldn't it?'
Deen denied that she has used in the N-word in that context - or any time in the last several years.
However, she admitted she loved the idea of have only older black men dressed Civil War-era house slave garb serve guests.
She got the idea from a restaurant that she and her husband ate at in North Carolina or Tennessee.
'The whole entire wait staff was middle-aged black men, and they had on beautiful white jackets and a black bow tie. I mean it was really impressive,' she said.
'And I remember saying I would love to have servers like that, but O would be afraid somebody would misinterpret.'
By 'somebody,' Deen meant the media, which was covering the lavish wedding.
'It just wasn't worth it,' she said.
Despite allegations that she had used the N-word on several occasions in front of Jackson, Deen denied that she used racial slurs.
She also denied harboring any racial bias or telling racist jokes.
'Things have changed since the 60s in the South. My children and my brother object to that word being used in any cruel or mean behavior,' she said.
However, she later admitted, she wouldn't necessarily object if someone told a racist joke in her home.
'It's just what they are, they're jokes,' she said.
'... They usually target a group. Gays, straights, black, redneck, you knew. I just can't myself determine what offends another person.
She also dismissed men looking at pornography on work computers or on their phones as 'just men being men.'
When asked whether she had used the N-word herself, she said 'of course' she had.
She recalled one time after a black man robbed the bank where she was working as a teller and held a gun to her head in the 1980s.
She said she referred to the man by the N-word when she recounted the story to her husband later that night.
She also said she had used the word when she was recounting a conversation between two black people.
Deen also admitted to referring to a teenage girl who worked for her by crude slang.
She said she had just fired a manager who was having sex with the girl and told him: 'If you think I've worked this hard to lose everything because of a piece of p****, you better think again.'
She doesn't regret using the word.
'I said it that day and I would say it again today, it it applied,' she said
Deen also admitted to knowing that her brother had been admitted to rehab for substance abuse 25 years ago.
She said her brother 'liked to drink,' but denied he had trouble with drugs or alcohol.
She also denied knowing about an cocaine use that was alleged against Bubba.
Bubba is accused of showing women he work with pornography an openly viewing it at the restaurant.
The 5'6'' matriarch recently made the headlines by ditching her calorie-laden favorites and opting for healthier foods.
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