Paula Deen said that her cooking show is 'for entertainment.'

[onehandle]

More than one right-wing talk show host claims the same thing.

Do they think this washes away their sins and relieves them of responsibility to society?

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Like Rush and Sean and Glenn are "entertainment"?

[FSogol]

2. I agree. Her show is entertainment. What else would a cooking show be?

Her way of cooking is fine for an occasional meal, but deadly if not taken in moderation. Most cooking shows, except for the ones organized about eating healthy are similar.

[southernyankeebelle]

7. Your right. But even looking at her receipes you can change them to make them lighter.

[GoneOffShore]

17. Just looking at her recipes can make you put on five pounds

Raise your blood pressure, cholesterol, triglyceride and PSA levels (obviously the last only if you're a guy).

[ProfessorGAC]

60. Although I Don't Care For Her. . .

. . .i saw her on The Chew the other day in the doctor's waiting room. She made it clear that she DID NOT endorse her cooking as daily fare. She admitted that she rarely eats that way. She is, after all, diabetic.

So, she actually does preach moderation.
GAC

[xchrom]

3. I like Paula Deen - & the episode w/ Jimmy carter

Was really nice.

I hope she does well.

[sharp_stick]

4. What responsibility does she have to society?

If someone is too dumb to realize that eating everything she prepares on her show isn't going to be too good for their health they probably shouldn't be allowed near hot things like stoves or sharp things like knives.

[MrCoffee]

8. Total agreement here

I'm more bothered by the fact that I know Paula Deen's name than I am about the crap food she makes.

[roguevalley]

23. I remember her making grits with tons of butter and then sticking an entire

brick (long rectagular Tillamook brick) of Tillamook cheese into it. I almost hemmhoraged.

[southernyankeebelle]

5. Huh? Since when does she have the power to force you to watch her show? I watch it just

for the entertainment. I don't ever cook like that. I can't stand a lot of butter. But I don't understand why she has to be responsible for society. Good grief, no she doesn't. You have a hand turn the channel. She has no responsibility to anyone and you should be responsible for your own family not her.

[Mojorabbit]

46. I cook like that once in a blue moon.

I have a lot of wonderful recipes from her that I have collected over the years for when I do.

[southernyankeebelle]

48. Please let me ask you a question? Did anyone hold a gun to your head to watch the show? Did

anyone tell you to fix her receipes? Just wondering.

[Mojorabbit]

53. I was agreeing with you. I used to watch her show a lot and loved it.

I just do not watch tv much these days.

[southernyankeebelle]

66. LOL, sometimes we need some entertainment to free our minds of worries. Politics give me

worries. Some of these cooking shows I watch because I like the people not necessarily the food. I am a picky eater and I can't eat spicy foods. But sometimes they show you some techniques you can use I never thought about before and I learn and use them. Like making my own stuffing and getting my 6 yr old granddaughter to help me with it. She learned to use an ice scoop and put them in a spray pamed cupcake tins. She loved doing it and she learned she liked it.

[librechik]

6. Most of the folks I know who love Paula Deen are well aware of the dangers in that food

they just love to watch--better than porno--but disclosure of her illness should be a stark reminder of how luv kills...

[Scout]

9. hahahaha Paula Deen's cooking show IS entertainment, and she hasn't a "responsibility to society"

my god, where you came up with that i don't know.

[Dreamer Tatum]

10. You have an on/off button - suggest you simply use it.nt

[OriginalGeek]

11. I've eaten at Lady and Sons in Savannah

It was great. Naturally I wouldn't want to do that every day but her restaurant makes good food. I mean, if you like that kind of thing. I do. In moderation.


I like Sushi and Indian and Greek and French and Italian food too. Heck, I even like British food.


lol, maybe I'm not as picky as I should be.



Now I have to admit until all this brouhaha started over her diabetes I never knew about the Smithfield ham thing. That bugs me a good deal and I hope maybe she will reconsider her endorsement or, better yet, use her food industry clout to get them to change how they treat their pigs?

[Lint Head]

12. Does she mean like Anthony Michael Hall who plays the killer Dexter on TV?

So she is admitting to being a phoney?

[Bluenorthwest]

16. Dexter is played by Michael C Hall

The other guy is another guy.

[Lint Head]

24. Thanks! I keyed a little too fast and referenced the wrong Hall.

@Bluenorthwest! I appreciate your correction and the manner which you informed me.

[Laurian]

13. I like Paula Deen

I'm certainly able to evaluate her recipes for what they are. I find her personal story compelling and admire the strength and determination she exhibited to overcome adversity and become successful.

[JustAnotherGen]

14. And I agree with her

The Paula Deen issue is definitely a First World Problem.

If you think Paula Deen is bad - pick up a Julia Child cookbook. Heavy cream and butter galore. But it's awesome stuff! I'm happy I have the money in my pocket and access to a reliable food supply where I can make their food.

Women in Sudan cooking on solar cookers in refugee camps could care less about the problem of Paula Deen having diabetes. Even less the women who have to go out and obtain firewood because they don't have a solar cooker. They are just trying to live and subsist. Or here in the US - the family getting by on beans, biscuits and gravy. . .

[cayanne]

15. She makes money off her cookbooks

And they aren't health friendly. Magazine articles and recipes too. I've looked at her holiday menus and passed them by, way too much fat for me.

[Historic NY]

18. I'd bet if she could switch to sensible southern cooking its would be a bigger hit....

the goal isn't to clog the arteries or develop in her case, diabeties.

People need to learn.

[lynne]

19. Love Paula Deen and if I'm making a dessert, I will usually make one of hers -

- as they're good and usually fairly simple. I don't do dessert often so I consider it a real treat and I'm not going to ruin it by using skim milk and a sugar substitute.

Yes, her show is entertainment and she has NO responsibility to society that I can see. The good news is that everyone has freedom of choice so they can just turn her off if they don't like her!

[fishwax]

20. Seems like "entertainment" to me (though I don't find them entertaining, personally)

[qb]

21. It's quite a stretch from preparing tasty food to spreading political lies.

If she's not claiming to promote a healthy diet, then all the power to her. The beloved Julia Child wasn't exactly known for healthy food, either.

[yellowcanine]

22. Who is Paula Deen? I am series. I really don't know. Is she related to Jimmy Dean?

[joeybee12]

25. Like the pigs she gets from Smithfield Farms that live

a life of misery,a nd for which she gets paid royally? Is that entertainment, Paula?

[closeupready]

26. She cooks junk food, IMO, but in moderation, I enjoy stuff like that.

For example, infamous Lady's Brunch Burger, which is a hamburger patty with an egg and bacon sandwiched between two glazed donuts - I would eat that first of all out of curiosity, but no more than once per month, if that. The biggest problem I have with it are the refined carbohydrates like the sugar and white flour.

[etherealtruth]

27. Are you seriously trying to compare Paula Dean to right wing hate mongers?

Paula Dean's show is purely entertainment ... I am aware of her; however, I am not one to watch much TV and most assuredly not "food network" shows... but, come on

She has a southern cooking show. I am not aware of her claiming any particular benefit ... Paula Dean is no more to blame for societal ills than SpongeBob is

[redqueen]

28. I've been trying to avoid the threads about this.

They're going from the ridiculous to the asinine at this point.

[ProfessorGAC]

62. No Way To Argue That Point, RQ

As i wrote upthread, she even says people can't eat what she makes as their normal diet. She says she didn't even eat like that every day.

A person with a cooking show has a responsibility to do more than show people how to cook? Really?
GAC

[redqueen]

65. I can understand jumping on her over the endorsement,

but diabetes?

Really? We're doing this?

No, wait... I'm supposed to stop feigning surprise about stuff that's really in no way surprising at all, simply cause I wish it wasn't so.

[Raine]

29. It IS entertainment

she is not making false claims that's it healthy. Deen is not doing a documentary, she's doing a half hour cooking show ... "entertainment" like most everything else that's on TV.

[RebelOne]

30. I watch Paula Deen's show on weekends.

Her recipes look good, but I would never cook them. No thanks, I don't need all the fat and sugar in her dishes. I must admit that I am a butter lover. Whenever I cook a baked potato, it is smothered in butter.

[Mojorabbit]

47. Her banana pudding is just awesome. We have it every Christmas for the big family get together. nt

[tammywammy]

51. +1 on the banana pudding

My mom made it a few years ago and I was hooked. Then I brought it to work once for a pot luck. It only takes 10 min to whip up. Now every pot luck I get multiple people asking me to bring the banana pudding. We had a baby shower for a guy at work and he was all "pleeeease bring your banana pudding!" A couple spoon fulls of banana pudding two times a year ain't gonna kill me.

[SoCalDem]

31. All things in moderation.

Most of the stuff she makes is high-fat/calorie, BUT if you eat them OCCASIONALLY, as a "treat", you'll probably be fine.

The fact that she has diabetes is not surprising, with so many people now having it.

"modern" people forget that once upon a time, people led more strenuous lives and they burned off calories like we no longer do.

My grandfather "ate like a horse", and was never overweight or diabetic, but he worked at hard physical labor every day


People also walked a lot more.

[obamanut2012]

32. It is enterainment -- it's a show on The Food Network

Not CNN.

She has also stated in interviews many times that she does not eat fattening Southern food all the time, just like Tony Bourdain doesn't always eat fried spiders in Vietman, or Guy eats in diners, dives, and drive-ins 24/7. She has her hook, like every other entertainment show on TV.

Paula is a single mom who is 100% self made because she had to be, or see her sons starve. She also does alot for charity. The only thing about her I really dislike is her endorsement of Smithfield.

[tawadi]

33. Guess now that she gets paid by big pharma to endorse a drug for diabetes

she can have her cake and eat it too.

I find her disgusting.

[shanti]

56. i wouldn't go that far

but she is definitely a hypocrite who's out for a buck.

[The Straight Story]

34. So has she forced anyone to cook what is on her show?

I haven't seen any news stories about such, but maybe I am wrong....

[tammywammy]

37. Apparently Paula Deen caused every case of diabetes ever

She goes into people's houses and forces, FORCES, them to make her recipes every day.

[aikoaiko]

35. Its a southern cooking show. What responsibility to society does she have?

geeesh.

[cherokeeprogressive]

39. I think you may have just hit on the OP's inspiration for this thread...

She's a Southerner.

[aikoaiko]

40. And I think you are correct.

[Fawke Em]

42. Yup.

And not all Southerners are rejects from "Deliverance."

See my post below. I am allergic to pork in a pork world. I'm fine.

[tammywammy]

36. It is an entertainment show.

I've made a few of her recipes. they're delicious. I highly recommend Not yo' Mama's Banana Pudding, people beg me to bring it to all the pot lucks. It's southern cooking, you're not supposed to eat that way every day.

[undeterred]

38. Honestly, I never heard of her until this week.

How many cooking shows are there? I don't watch any unless I'm channel surfing and hit on something good by accident.

[Fawke Em]

41. Cooking IS entertainment. Politics shouldn't be.

First, let me say I haven't eaten pork in 20 years. It makes me sick, so I avoid it and I'm all of 42 - so it's not age. HOWEVER, I am Southern and I have learned how to turn turkey sausage into damn good gravy, adore my crispy turkey bacon and hell, everyone knows a beef hot dog is better anyhoo.

All that said, there's not a damn thing wrong with butter. Use it in your rich dishes and, better yet, use light butter and/or olive oil (which may or may not be the real thing as recently posted on DU) in your everyday cooking.

The thing here is: DON'T EAT PROCESSED FOODS AND WALK. Period.

Diabetes runs in my family. I limit my carbs (feel better when I don't eat them anyway), I'm not a sugar freak except when Aunt Flo visits (dark chocolate actually alleviates some PMS symptoms) and I eat a lot of fresh cheese, meats, vegetables and fruit. I agree with another poster on this board (wish I could remember his or her name) that the food pyramid is a joke: lessen the grains and fill up on fruits, veg, lean meats and good fats. Since I've been doing that, I've lost a few pounds - hard at menopause - but have brightened my eyes, strengthened my core and multiplied my energy.

Paula's food is delicious and any reasonable person should know that her food is a treat - a once in a while thing. DUH!

What's sad is that there are so many people who aren't reasonable.

[cherokeeprogressive]

45. No bacon? OMG I'd die!

I kid. The turkey sausage gravy sounds yummy. Especially over bisquits... Once in a while of course!

Oh, and hot dogs? Gimme Nathan's skinless or Hebrew National.

Nothing at all wrong with enjoying food. I've seen Paula's show, and I think she's a hoot. Funny, homey, and entertaining. Love her accent...

[Fawke Em]

49. Here's the trick... add veg lard once the turkey sausage

is rare to medium rare... not a lot, mind you, just enough so you can build a flour rue.

It works - just add ground pepper, sea salt and sage and then add your flour. All after the eye is off and the pan is still warm.

Then add your milk - any will do. I've done it with skim, 2 percent and whole. It all works if you're stirring your gravy like you should.

And it is YUM on biscuits and no one who isn't told can tell the difference.

[Fawke Em]

50. P.S. I also applaud Jimmy Dean and IHOP

for offering turkey sausage and turkey bacon as alternatives.

I haven't tried the processed Jimmy Dean stuff, but it's nice to know that, in a pinch, I can run to the grocery store and get it pre-packed if I need to.

I have tried the IHOP stuff and it's good! Just tell 'em how you want it. I like mine crisp, so I ask that they microwave it. My kids like it limp, but seared. They'll do it.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

43. This is silly

I love cooking shows, or things like Man VS Food, but almost never watch them because I know it will only lead to bad things.

[SecurityManager]

44. Lay off Paula

Almost like watching my mama cook

[Tuesday Afternoon]

52. wouldn't this thread be better suited for TV chat as it is show business

[Erose999]

54. That kind of food was probably OK when people plowed fields with mules, chopped firewood every day,

and walked everywhere they went.

Given that most people don't burn nearly as many calories in modern life, a steady diet of Paula Deen food is pretty self destructive. Its alright in moderation. Hell, some people have health issues where they NEED a diet like that. My mom, who had ALS for example. The Dr's put her on a high fat diet.

She can say whatever she wants about how her show is "entertainment", but she always tells people both to eat the food and share it with others on her show.

[Son of Gob]

57. Now she'll be able to tell people

'If you get Diabetes from eating all this shitty food, take this drug that I endorse for millions of dollars.'

[Douglas Carpenter]

55. the wisdom of Garfield ...sums up Paula's wonderful, wonderful cooking

[Son of Gob]

58. To the people questioning her "responsibility to society"

Most famous people who have any type of disease will use their fame to spread awareness of said disease and help fund raise to try to combat it. Paula Deen chose the opposite tact, she used her fame to secure a multi-million dollar endorsement deal to shill a drug.

She had the perfect fucking platform to spread awareness of how to eat healthier to combat Diabetes for the last 3 fucking years. She decided it was more lucrative to keep pushing shitty food until she could maximize her profit. Paula Deen is an evil fucking person. This is coming from someone who used to like her.

[Blue_Tires]

59. someone catch me up...what's with all the hate for a cooking show host?

i don't watch the shows so I don't know who's what....

[Son of Gob]

64. Here's a good summary

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/18/idUS182507375620120118

Deen -- known for her high-calorie takes on Southern cuisine -- has drawn the wrath of fans and colleagues alike with her admission that she has Type 2 diabetes. Many are infuriated that Deen withheld her condition while shilling gut-expanding recipes to the public. And they are accusing her of exploiting her condition by revealing it on the same day she began promoting a diabetes treatment as a paid spokesperson for a pharmaceutical company.

Deen's revelation that she suffers from diabetes -- a condition she's had for three years, by her own admission -- on Tuesday's "Today" show likely didn't surprise many people. The Georgia-born Food Network personality's recipes typically consist of two-thirds butter, half-sugar and perhaps a sprinkle of lard.

However, the fact that her announcement came on the same day as she began promoting the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, manufacturers of the diabetes medication Victoza, has inspired outrage in many.

Also adding fuel to accusations of exploitation: The fact that Deen's son, Bobby Deen, launched a new series, "Not My Mama's Meals" -- on which he offers more health-conscious variations on Paula's recipes -- on Cooking Channel earlier this month.

[Snake Alchemist]

61. Sins? nt

[LanternWaste]

67. I imagine you then believe that WKRP is responsible for the death of every turkey?

"More than one right-wing talk show host claims the same thing..."

As does/did The Simpsons, South Park, and the WKRP.

I imagine you then believe that WKRP is responsible for the death of every turkey? Or do hold those things we enjoy to a different standard than those things we dislike?