Paula Deen Apologizes for Racial Slurs in Bizarre Video Statement
Is this for real? Paula Deen finally went on camera to address the racial slur scandal that's been plaguing her for several days now. After admitting last month under oath in a deposition that she used racial slurs -- including the N-word -- in the past, the Southern celebrity chef, 66, bailed last minute on the Today Show Friday morning, June 21. (The shocking transcript was released earlier this week.)
Instead, the Food Network star recorded a video message posted this afternoon on YouTube -- in a heavily edited, borderline-incoherent and bizarre apology. (UPDATE: Shortly after the instantly-viral video was published via YouTube, the clipped was taken down and marked "private." Several media sites captured the clip in advance, with one example above.)
"I wanna apologize to everybody, uh, for the wrong that I've done," the Georgia native begins. "Uh, I want to learn and grow from this inappropriate hurtful language is totally, totally unacceptable." (In a previous written statement to Us Weekly, Deen explained her past use of epithets could be blamed on her childhood in the segregated American South.)
Credit: Tom Briglia/FilmMagic
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"I've made plenty of mistakes along the way," a blinking Deen says in her trademark slow drawl. "But I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners, I beg for your forgiveness. Please forgive me for the mistakes that I've made."
Watch the bizarre apology now.