Thursday, June 20, 2013

Paula Deen

Click here if you don't know why Paula Deen is taking heat on Twitter. Here are some tweets that caught my eye as I followed the commentary on Twitter:










This Los Angeles Times article wondered if the Food Network will cut ties with Deen. The article references a statement from the Food Network which reads: "Food Network does not tolerate any form of discrimination and is a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion. We will continue to monitor the situation."

As it quickly turned out, the Food Network moved fast and fired Deen.

This led sociologist Crystal Fleming to make the following observation:
And for those who are wondering why all of this matters, this article is a good place to start.

As Rashawn Ray tweets, this story is not just about the use of a vicious racial slur. It is also about workplace discrimination.
To read about how Deen's employees have accused her of discrimination, and to think about the importance of fair labor practices, see this article at Crunk Feminist Collective.