Paula Deen Posts Photo of Her Son in Brownface, Fires Social Media Manager

Two years after accusations of racism nearly tore down her empire, Paula Deen posted a photo of her son in brownface on Twitter
Two years after accusations of racism nearly tore down her empire, Paula Deen posted a photo of her son in brownface on Twitter

Two years after accusations of racism nearly tore down her empire, Paula Deen (and her team) appear to have learned exactly nothing.

Bobby Deen and Paula Deen (Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Bobby Deen and Paula Deen (Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

Tuesday morning, the deep-fried dogmatist posted a #TransformationTuesday photo on Twitter, featuring herself as I Love Lucy's Lucy, her former producer Gordon Elliott, and her son Bobby Deen — in brownface — as Ricky. The tweet, which read "Lucyyyyyyy! You got a lot of esplainin' to do! #Transformation Tuesday @BobbyDeen," has since been deleted, but not before it was saved, well, everywhere. (For the record, the photo itself is not a new one: it's actually from the 2011 Halloween episode of her Food Network show, Paula's Best Dishes. Then again, it was no less racist then.)

In 2013, Deen lost nearly all of her business relationships after a former employee sued her claiming sexual and racial discrimination. In the suit, an employee claimed Deen had hired black waiters to dress like "slaves" for a plantation-themed wedding. During the court proceedings, Deen admitted to having used the n-word on multiple occasions.

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Maybe Paula didn't mean all of those teary apologies? Or maybe she learns slower than a hog covered in molasses. This family...

Yahoo reached out to Deen's representation for comment. Her publicist Jaret Keller declined to provide a response on the record.

However, her reps later issued a statement to People, blaming a Deen employee for the post. "Paula Deen's Social Media Manager posted a picture this morning of Paula and Bobby Deen dressed in costume as Lucy and Ricky, from I Love Lucy. This photograph is from a Halloween episode of Paula's Best Dishes that aired in 2011. Paula immediately had this picture taken down as soon as she saw the post and apologizes to all who were offended. As such, Paula Deen Ventures has terminated their relationship with this Social Media Manager."