Paula Deen’s admission that she suffers from Type 2 Diabetes should shock no one. Considering that her TV show features such delectables as Paula’s Brunch Burger which consists of a fried egg and bacon atop a burger served between glazed doughnuts instead of a bun, I’m surprised that she’s still alive. 

    To me, however, Deen’s story also is about business and brand ethics and her breach of these tenets.
    Responses from viewers, reviewers, other chefs, and even her own TV colleagues, are all over the map. Some, like Anthony Bourdain call her the “worst, most dangerous person in America.” Others defend Deen. “She feels like she cooks for ‘real people,’ and for better or worse, that is how many people in this country choose to eat,” writes Virginia Willis, a food writer in Atlanta, Georgia.

    Paula Deen has a powerful brand. She has a bully pulpit and a large audience who trust and believe in her. At the very least, she entices people on a regular basis to eat unhealthily. Even those who don’t particularly care for her demeanor, cuisine or flip attitude toward unhealthy food, were tempted by her congenial and friendly persona that celebrated excess. She snubbed her nose at organic foodies and encouraged butter and fat laden foods with an anti-intellectual and anti-science attitude of ‘what do nutritionists know?’
Celebrities are selling products -- themselves. Like it or not Paula, your loyal fans –as misguided as they may be - believe what you say and do.
You have done damage, and now it’s your job to fix it.


The William G. McGowan Charitable Fund provides grants in three program areas including Health care and Medical Research; Education, and Community Programs for Those Most Vulnerable. It gives priority to programs that have demonstrated success, measurable outcomes, have a plan for sustainability, and aim to end cycles of poverty and suffering.