Paula Deen represents everything that is wrong with America

Shocked or whatever? .... because she is now taking money to become a spokesperson for treatment of a devastating disease that is caused by behaviors she's been promoting. Shocked or whatever? .... because she has led people over a cliff for years and now she gets to get paid for what? Shocked or whatever? .... because "moderation" when it comes to her style of cooking is a cynical joke.

All the people defending the OP saying she's not saying Paula did anything wrong, the above quote is the OP's second post in this thread.

Maybe we're not the ones who need to learn reading comprehension. It's pretty clear the OP is blaming Paula for others' behavior.

Paula is a cook, and she does what a cook does, she cooks. She is not a doctor so knowing the ends and outs of diabetes probably does not fall in her job description. Who cares when she came out, and at least some of the money is being donated to research for diabetes.
She is paid and is under legal contract to put out a certain type of product. Her sons have been showing lower cal versions of her foods for the last couple of years also there was something about starting up at gym a while back. Who knows what she was doing exactly in her personal life to try and learn and to become more aware about the disease.

If you chose Paula as your role model for life, awesome for you, she has overcame so very tough things in her life. More power to her! I have had several role models but not once have I ever said that I want to eat like one of them.

I don't choose to eat her food and most days she annoys at best, but to say, imply or anything to point that "she represents what's wrong with the U.S." is completely nuts. Try changing the channel to CNN for a second or better yet spend some time helping out in a homeless shelter.

Shocked or whatever? .... because she is now taking money to become a spokesperson for treatment of a devastating disease that is caused by behaviors she's been promoting. Shocked or whatever? .... because she has led people over a cliff for years and now she gets to get paid for what? Shocked or whatever? .... because "moderation" when it comes to her style of cooking is a cynical joke.

If people would quit being a bunch of followers. How can you be mad because she 'led people over a cliff'? What kind of moron would someone have to be to follow someone 'over a cliff'? If you are ignorant enough to eat every meal like she prepares on her show with gobs and gobs of butter then you know what, you deserve the weight issues. People need to stand up and say, you know what I held the fork, I put the food in my own mouth. Stop blaming people. It's whiny, sad and pathetic. Guess what? My dad is diabetic and has lost a leg to the disease but it is HIS FAULT! I love my dad. Always will! He is eating himself into the grave but he is an adult and that is his right.

So she has diabetes? She's a cook, not a health adviser! Where did Paula ever claim her food was healthy? She was only doing what she's good at....cooking. Now she has an opportunity to teach, to raise awareness.

Yea, some of the cooks and foods presented on TV are not smart eating, but you're the only one responsible for your eating habits.

SOME PEOPLE. :grumble:

I don't think I will lose any sleep over Paula endorsing a diabetes medication and trying to make and extra buck -- everyone who is famous does this in some way shape or form. Aren't we used to this by now?

I love food - I love cooking and I watch Paula all the time. And sometimes... GASP... I make some of the stuff she does. And it's delicious!

And Paula did not make me cook what she cooks. She did not make me fat. My own bad decions did.

Did we mention this is a TV show on the FOOD network? --- Most of the chef's are not worried about calorie counting -- let's be serious.

So either watch and enjoy -- maybe get some ideas from them of flavor profiles and create your own healthier version -- or just make it like they do once in a while -- or don't. The end.

Side note - her son now has a show on cooking channel called "not my momma's meals" and he IS in fact looking to cut down on fat and calories of dishes. So if you despise her, give him a go.

I wish Paula Deen was MFP member witha public diary...

I like Paula. She seems very nice and I enjoy watching her show. She cooks good ol' southern food the way her mom and grandma did. I'm sure we all have recipes from our past that are favorites. Maybe we serve them during the holidays or on special occassions and not every day! Blaming Paula for people being overweight is just as ridiculous as blaming McDonalds. People need to take responsibility for making their own bad decisions. It is no one's fault but yours as to what you put into your own mouth. Own it!

I think people who sit on unemployment checks for two years are more of a problem to America than Paula Deen.

YES.

Do you think Paula Dean voted for Obama? :huh:

If it's any consolation, lots of Australian are fat and unhealthy too, and I'm betting most Aussies have never heard of this lady - I hadn't until today! I just googled her and maybe the recipes I saw weren't a good sample - but honestly, I've seen worse.

I agree with the previous poster who says that most of the cooking shows on TV are not to teach you to cook, they are for entertainment value. We often get ideas from TV chefs, but will cook the recipe to our taste (which often means cutting down the amount of things like butter, oil, cream etc) - because we know what we like to eat and what is good for us. I don't have a problem with over the top recipes for occasional treats, but if people choose to cook and eat unhealthy foods all the time - well, that's their problem, not the fault of some TV presenter.

Anyone remember Two Fat Ladies? NONE of their recipes were healthy and they both died from complications from their obesity.

They were British.

but then again, McDonald's did get sued for having hot coffee. . .

this always gets tossed around the internet. Sigh.

Do you know that the McD in that suit had already been warned on three other occasions to turn down the heat setting on their coffeepot? Do you know that the person who won that suit originally asked McD's only to pay for the THIRD DEGREE BURNS that were suffered on her genitals when the almost boiling liquid spilled into her lap? And that it was the jury that decided that the plaintiff deserved not only to have her medical bills paid, but that McD's would have to pay a penalty for knowing there was a hazard and not addressing it? Their penalty (that's what punitive damages are) was equal to one day's coffee sales, corporate wide. So for permanantly disfiguring a woman, through negligence, and then refusing to pay for her medical bills, they lost ONE DAY worth of coffee sales.

Facts.....a beautiful thing.

/rant.

THANK YOU!!!! I saw someone mention this at the beginning of the thread and jumped to the end to post this exact thing. Now, I believe that there was also something along the lines of her taking the top off the coffee, putting the cup between her legs on the seat to hold it and driving off which caused the spill. But, yes, McD's was negligent in that they had failed to address the issue before. I believe they failed to do so because they are only supposed to keep the coffee on for a certain amount of time and by brewing the coffee hotter, they could keep it on longer. Less waste = less # lost. This example has got to stop being used in such a simplistic way.

Sorrym but these "facts" do not change my mind on this case. She put a cardboard cup of boiling water between her legs and DROVE A CAR with it there.

C'mon! Common sense is common sense and that woman should have known better.

Right, which is why they used comparative negligence to find the woman at fault also and reduced the value of the award. And they are facts...not "facts". If the coffee had spilled while it was being handed to her and gave her third degree burns - she still would have won and probably won more. It's not that "she didn't know the coffee was hot" as is so often said - it's that it was negligently hot and McD's didn't (doesn't?) give a hoot about their customers since the settlements they paid in the past were meaningless to them and they didn't change their policies.

The fact is, the coffee didn't spill when being handed to her and no one poured it on her. She put it between her legs in a car she was driving.

Even if that coffee was not *as* hot as it was, coffee is still boiling water and would still have burned her, even at a "reasonable" temperature.

She did something dumb and she got paid well for her stupidity. If people are so unhappy with the temperature of McD's coffee, they shouldn't buy it. That will force the company to change its policies.

What stinks about the situation though is that she waited, reportedly, some three years to reveal her diagnosis until she had a plumd eal to make money off pharmaceuticals. She has SUCH a huge audience and such wide reach that she could be discussing the important of moderation, increased activity, whatever.

But instead, she is choosing to make a wad of cash off drugs, and the implicit message to her fans is, "Don't worry about making yourself sick through your lifestyle; here's some pricey medicine to deal with it." It's terribly sad she's skipped what could have been a great public education opportunity and instead opted for even more profit.

^this.

She is donating a lot of that wad of cash to research.
She is not obligated to come out about having diabetes.
The website that she is now featured in is geared towards the education of diabetes.

And the British two fat ladies are dead???? I'm so sad cuz I love watching that show and I had no idea...but their food always look so gross...almost as bad as a bacon, donut burger...except it's thinks like salt crusted cod. Gag!

Many, many years ago. They were a hoot, though. Loved the little motorcycle with the side car!

Paula Dean perpetuated a fraud and now intends to be a paid spokesperson for some pharma company with no repercussion from the american public whatsoever! Personal choice is an entirely separate issue from a promoting a food lifestyle that you personally know to be one of the main contributing factors to very disease that you suffer with. This whole thing is really lame. Anyone who thinks Paula is some type of "victim of circumstance" or without fault in this matter should really take a closer look at the timeline involved and the facts as they have been released. I think most reasonable people can smell a racket when they see it from all sides.

Precisely this. As the OP, I did not blame her for making America fat. I blame her for taking buckets of money from a drug company. The hypocrisy is just disgusting.

Shocked or whatever? .... because she is now taking money to become a spokesperson for treatment of a devastating disease that is caused by behaviors she's been promoting. Shocked or whatever? .... because she has led people over a cliff for years and now she gets to get paid for what? Shocked or whatever? .... because "moderation" when it comes to her style of cooking is a cynical joke.

This comment seem vaguely familiar? The second line stating she led people over a cliff does indeed imply that you are blaming.

I for one is happy she is getting that money, for the simple freaking fact that she is donating a good amount of it for to the research of diabetes, money they would not be receiving if she wasn't making it.

this thread is what's wrong with america.

Oh no ! Now we both have contributed to whats wrong with America !