What's up with all the Paula Deen haters? I've never watched her for more than...

[MiddleFingerMom]

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... about 10 mins or so on two separate occasions (didn't impress me).
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Did she claim that her recipes were HEALTHY!?!?!? Is there anyone over the age of 7 or 8 who
would believe them to be so.
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Basically, did she lie and say they were good for you or was she honest and just said they're good?
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She's not to blame for American obesity and she didn't seem Svengali enough to MAKE anyone use
her methods and ingredients.
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Remember in the 60's, the "Galloping Gourmet"? British... and just totally shitfaced for every show.
Very funny, very quick, and very Deenish in his choices of ingredients.
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He went clean and sober and tried to make a comeback in the 90's as a "healthy" chef. He and his
recipes were grandmotherly B-O-R-I-N-G -- and not a cool grandmother neither.
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He didn't last long. Nor should he have.
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One of my favorites was on PBS long ago (maybe 70's) -- "Floyd on Fish" (there was also a "Floyd
on Food" that I only saw a partial episode of). He would go out on small fishing vessels (though one
time a tugboat) and cook gourmet meals for the crew. He was always shitfaced and always encouraging
the camera crew and the boat's crew to have another round with him. Hilarious.
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And the best theme music EVER -- reminded me of Primus' closing music for "South Park" -- much guttural
grunting going on.
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[Chan790]

1. Okay, imagine your irritation...

knowing your own health issues, with a TV chef who oversalted everything, joked about her oversalting of everything, then had the audacity to try to hawk hypertension and blood pressure drugs to you as a paid shill.

That wouldn't get your goat? It'd piss me right the f*ck off.

[murielm99]

2. But you don't have to watch that crap.

Turn off the TV.

[Chan790]

4. The concept of it even is taking the piss to me.

I don't even own a TV, I get all my entertainment on my media-center computer and I'm certainly not Redbox, Netflix, Miro or Hulu-ing it.

[Major Nikon]

5. I don't really see the conflict

There's a lot of conflicting information regarding salt intake and blood pressure. Healthy people who don't have problems with high blood pressure really don't derive any benefit from lowering their sodium intake and there's at least one study that suggest lowering your sodium intake may actually increase your cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/237480.php

[Chan790]

7. Yes, but MFM is on no-sodium diet per medical orders because of his BP and heart disease.

It's outside of the realm of conjecture, they know that sodium is bad/causes coronary issues in that circumstance. I'd guess he's probably limited on his low-density fats, 3gly and cholesterol too.

My point is that I'm assuming that anybody shilling drugs for a lifestyle-condition caused by behaviors they take in their public persona is taking the piss, so to speak.

I'd not take diabetes medication recommendations from Willy Wonka, hypertension medication advice from the Morton's Salt Girl or for chemotherapeutic drugs from the Marlboro Man either.

[Major Nikon]

8. Lots of people are on medically recommended restricted diets for all sorts of things

That doesn't mean a chef who includes those ingredients is inherently evil. Lots of recipes that include salt can exclude that ingredient with no ill effects other than taste. That's the great thing about preparing your own meals from scratch. You get to choose what goes in and what doesn't. As far as paid spokespeople go, the only value they have is what other people place on their advice. If the American Humane society wants to hire Michael Vick as a paid spokesperson, I don't think that would be a very good idea, but I'm not going to blame Michael Vick for taking their money.

[pacalo]

3. I've never seen her show, but I knew she liked to use a lot of butter.

She seems to invade some of the other cooking competitions I watch, though, & her cackling and exaggerated Southern personality aren't my cup of tea.

I missed "Floyd on Fish" but it sounds like something I'd at least check out, due to his on-camera drunkeness.

Sort of OT for cooking shows, but the reason I watched Morton Downey, Jr. was because he was so bizarre.

[cherokeeprogressive]

6. Herd mentality. It's cool to hate her even if you've never seen her show...

Acceptance by the group and all that.

I've watched her a few times. Having a lot of family from the south I find her entertaining and funny. I hardly even notice what she cooks.

It's cool to hate Guy Fieri too, even though only two people claim he's a homophobe... one is his ex-producer and the other works for said ex-producer. When I win the lottery, I plan on visiting most of the places on his show, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.

[HappyMe]

9. She's the newest person to blame health problems on.

It's almost as if people cannot change the channel. People are too stupid to realize that they can't eat that way every day.

Whatever. Personal responsibility is obsolete.

[PVnRT]

10. It's the fact that she's obviously been planning this announcement

and lining up yet another product endorsement the entire time that has pissed people off.

[LynneSin]

11. We know her food is fattening but for the last 3 years she hid a big secret

It wasn't yesterday that she realized she had Type 2 Diabetes, usually developed from eating the types of food that Paula Deen likes to cook.

It's that for 3 years she cooked these foods guarentee to make your health even worse while hiding the secret she had it. Now she comes out and says 'Oh yeah I do have Diabetes, had it for 3 years and woohoo now I get to show you great recipes AND sell you the diabetes medicine you'll need to allow you to eat my foods'.

Food Network should fire her.

As for your PBS show - was the host shilling for beer companies or better yet was he shilling for alcohol recovery centers?

[Archae]

12. "Food Network should fire her."

You don't like her so she should be fired?

Her show is not educational, or instructional.
It's simply entertainment.

Last time I had a Sara Lee cheesecake was several months ago.
I buy them once in a great while as a treat.

If I ate them every day I'd be a fat pig.
So they should be banned?

[LynneSin]

13. I wouldn't fire her because her food is fattening

I would fire her for taking on an endorsement whose main target is people who eat her food ESPECIALLY since for 3 years she didn't tell a soul about her health issues until she got the big endorsement deal.

[Archae]

14. Guess what. Her cooking doesn't cause diabetes.

Parents cause diabetes.
Namely genetic factors.

I have 4 sisters, two parents, nephews, nieces and grand-nieces.

We all grew up eating "unheathy."
(Lots of red meat, butter, etc.)

Not one of us has diabetes.

[LynneSin]

15. Once again - this is NOT because her food is fattening

I'd type it over again but you didn't read the last reply that I made.

And Edit Note: Some people can develop it from eating her food. Clearly she did.

[emilyg]

23. That's not what causes diabetes.

[Ishoutandscream2]

16. Being from the south.

Many DUers don't look too kindly to those of us below the Mason-Dixon Line.

[Phentex]

17. MFM, none of that is the point...

in addition to what LynneSin said above, Paula also NOW claims that she always encouraged moderation which is not true.

I have some of her cookbooks and I like many of her recipes. I used to really like her old show when she was just natural (not trying to be a character) and stepped over a dog in the kitchen while she cooked. I love her stories about the way she grew up and how she got started and her open love of food.

Later she became more of an entertainer and much more into the shock recipe than ever before. Still, I have never hated her.

I am irritated with her now because of her comments about moderation. And jumping on the diabetes bandwagon to make a buck. Her food habits may have nothing to do with getting diabetes. I would have more respect for her if she had simply said she was moving in a different direction and here's why.

[LynneSin]

18. She's like a congressperson or senator that supports legisilation that is bad for the country...

and then you find out she supports it because she gets money from the people who want to do that bad stuff. Like those who took money to support destroying our environmental laws. In a nutshell she does what about 99.99% of the Republicans and even some democrats do.

[Phentex]

19. Exactly!

And now her son plans to make money off of it by doing a show called "Not My Mama's Meals" where he attempts to make her recipes healthier.

How much money do they need?

[MiddleFingerMom]

21. Now you're blaming the marketing on her. She's NOT a congressperson, she's an entertainer...

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... and even DU's "advertisements" key off of the topic being discussed (computer program
that pops up "car-related" ads on a "car-related" subject, etc. AND they sometimes generate
ads that are distasteful to the vast majority of this site's users). She doesn't follow the ads...
the ads follow her.
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Like I said, I haven't watched her but for about 10-15 total minutes on two occasions and
I wasn't particularly impressed with her entertainment... but I'm a big believer in personal
responsibility AND personal freedom.
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I'm pretty convinced that MY personal "irresponsibilities" had much to do with my current
health condition -- fast, hard life including binge drinking, smoking up to 3 packs per day,
various drug usages, improper diet -- although I was a "responsible" self-supporting and
self-sufficient person who never spent a night in jail.
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But you'll never find me blaming Paula Deen nor the tobacco companies nor my connection
down on the street corner (though I DO wish they'd legislate tobacco out of existence).
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Nor do I blame my folks, both of whom developed Type 2 diabetes late in life (though
we were ALL heavier than we should have been -- ANOTHER contributing factor).
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And I have NO problem with Deen making money off now pushing a healthier lifestyle.
I very rarely denigrate someone's motivations for doing something good -- I don't believe
in TOTAL altruism... so EVERYBODY'S got something to hide ('cept for me and my monkey --
not true... I don't know if I've EVER been guilty of 100% pure altruistic behavior -- even if
my only reward was feeling good about doing something good).
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The fact is that she IS doing something good now -- why should that good influence be
taken away from folks who might benefit from it? Because she's making money off it?
Who ISN'T making money off most of the good things being done today? (Sure, there
are lots of non-profits and volunteers, but I wonder what percentage of "good" things are
done BY them... over 50%, 80%, 20%?).
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I still don't get the hate, no matter what reasons I've seen here today.
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Say Rush Limbaugh came out for universal free health care and he brought along his
mindless zombie hordes and they helped bring it about -- would you really CARE that
Limbaugh made a buttload o' money off it or would you rejoice that finally everyone had
access to this basic human right?
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If he could bring that about, I wouldn't kick even him outta bed for eatin' cracker-ass crackers!!!
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[RebelOne]

20. I am a Paula Deen fan.

I watch her on Saturdays on Food Network. She is entertaining, but I would never cook any of her recipes even though they seem delicious. I am a vegetarian, also watch my weight and try not to eat starchy, sugary or greasy foods. But I am guilty of overdoing butter on my food.

[nolabear]

22. Though I'm a moderate leaning to careful I always have a soft spot for a hedonist

I like big personalities and those who take the "slide sideways into the grave yelling 'Man, what a ride!' approach. If I could get away with it I'd be brassy as hell and enjoy the sumptuousness of food and drink and sex and music and art and all the things that make life worth living. Since I can't I appreciate a good hedonistic wallow now and again. Wish I could do it better.

As for that pharmaceuticals thing, I don't know what to think. Maybe that she should have said more often that this was good old fashioned food porn and not for everyday consumption.

But frankly the look-down-your-nose-like-my-Aunt-Fanny around here pretty often gives me the epizootic.

Thanks MFM. The Sweet Potato Queens of the world salute you.