Y'all should have leveled with us.
Dear Paula,
I believe you are having your Kim Kardashian Moment. You know Kim…celebrity with a huge following who made the move to divorce her husband 72 days after her multi-million dollar wedding, Her fans could not go there with her. It was too unbelievable…fairytale wedding one day, divorce 72 days later. Her fans concluded it was all about the money. Paula, your decision to keep peddling Fried Macaroni and Cheese and Gooey Butter Cake for three years after your doctor told you you had Type 2 diabetes and only now share the news with your fans as a paid pitchwoman for a diabetes drug. Well Paula, this fan cannot go there with you.
We loved having you on Satellite Sisters and I enjoy your cooking show. Your love of food and how you shared it with your family and friends was fun to watch. While I never really tried to replicate your recipes at home, I enjoyed watching you make all that buttery, creamy stuff. I also have great admiration for all of the obstacles that you have overcome in your life that you vividly described in your book, It Ain’t All About the Cooking. I can also understand when you told Al Roker on The Today Show that when you received the diabetes diagnosis you had to take some time “to wrap your head around it”. But three years? I also imagine that you have the responsibility of employing many people who work on your shows, books, speaking engagements, endorsements, etc. I am sure the thought of altering your southern cooking empire might have been daunting but you could have made such a difference if you had lead your fans to healthier foods. I really wish you had because I know someone who would have loved to watch and learn how to live with Type 2 diabetes.
Our mother is a Type 2 diabetic and she works everyday to control her insulin through diet and exercise. When she got the diagnosis, she was shocked but she dealt with it. She went to class , read books, and tried to learn as much as she could about how her condition. Sadly, she like so many others who have type 2 diabetes would really have enjoyed watching you as you learned how to “wrap your head around the situation”.
Paula, I wish you good health.
Sincerely, Julie
ps I was so bummed about Paula that I cheered myself up with a Classic Satellite Sisters To Go. A random selection but I think you will enjoy hearing Liz and Lian in a segment called, We Are Not Going to Take It Anymore. Listen here.
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I’m with you, Julie.
Right on, Julie!
AMEN JULIE! As a pharmacist who REALLY does not like the idea of celebrity endorsement of drugs, or even any advertising of drugs to the public (nor to I like the way they are promoted to doctors, but that’s a whole other issue), it was quite disappointing to see Paula as a sell-out to grab the $ and sign on to sell this drug. You know she would never have revealed her diabetes had this ad campaign not been starting (for a drug that is one of the newest and expensive, I might add). If you saw her interview on Today, then you saw how Al Roker asked her at least three times if she had changed her eating habits, and she skirted the question every time. The really sad thing is, she has so many fans, and she is so personable – she has a golden opportunity to provide encouragement and education to alot of people. The rates of obesity, which is such a big contributor to diabetes and heart disease, are greatest in the South. How wonderful if she could have shown that Southern food can still be enjoyed in a healthful way. She could show that while exercise and diet are not easy, they are certainly able to be done – I think that she would have been able to keep it very “real” – be open about the stuggles she might have – just think how many people would have been able to relate to her and be encouraged by her. But she chose the other route – all for the money.
So many good points Julie. Glad to know your mother took positive action – I wouldn’t expect anything less from her!
I agree 100%, Julie. It would have been nice if she spent the last 3 years cleaning up her act, promoting healthier eating rather than finding a drug sponsor to treat the disease. As a country, we already rely too much on drugs for a cure-all. She had the perfect opportunity to do some good and she blew it!
Yup – seems unconscionable — think of all the good she could have been doing instead of subtely encouraging more Americans towards the same diagnosis….
Well Said Julie! This is a great example of some of the things that are wrong with the drug industry in this country. They are mainly in it for the money, and are certainly not in it for “curing” anyone. After all, if we were all cured by the drugs that they push, who would they sell their drugs too? I too love Paula Dean and agree that she had a wonderful opportunity to educate and help people by changing her recipes. It is almost incredulous that she is turning a blind eye to her diet and recipes contributing to her diabetes, and then taking and endorsing drugs to manage the problem instead of changing her diet. Hopefully, she will see the light after people get done skewering her!
Spot on Julie. And rock on, Edna, for being such an amazing example to your offspring. I read today that Paula’s son is starting a show to lighten up her recipes. Hmmmmm
Julie,
I totaly agree with you and couldn’t have said it better myself!
Thanks
Sherri, MN
Hi Julie,
I understand your point about how great it would have been if Paula Deen had embraced having Type II Diabetes earlier and been more public about it and had changed her recipes…but I hope you can be a bit more empathetic. As someone who was diagnosed with Type II at 34 and then re-diagnosed as a Type I (adult onset) five years later, I’m here to tell you that it is very difficult to live with diabetes day in and day out. I’d like to say that I always do the ideal thing with managing diabetes, but that would be a lie. And I was diagnosed almost 14 years ago now. So maybe it really did take 3 years because Paula, more than the rest of us, had an image very much tied to cooking and eating and living it up with food. For her, more than many people, it probably has been very difficult to eat to live not live to eat.
And if it took getting a gig as a diabetes spokesperson for her to move beyond denial, that’s good. And if it helps other Type IIs begin to deal with diabetes more honestly, that’s good, too.
I’m glad your mom is ok and managing her diabetes, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last 14 years, it’s to try not to be too judgmental about how people manage their diabetes because as every person with diabetes knows, you can do all the right things, you can exercise, eat right day to day, and your blood sugar may or may not respond in the same way from day to day.
It’s one of the hardest and most frustrating things about this disease.
Just wanted you to see another side…
Alison
That Paula has diabetes is not a surprise. That she now tells us as a paid spokesperson is disingenuous, at best. I agree with Allison that Paula hasn’t yet been able to switch from the “eat to live rather than live to eat” mentality, and I don’t have an opinion on that because it’s really her personal issue. I’ve made several of her dishes, and I was never once under the impression that they were “healthy”—she has never portrayed her cooking as healthy. If she were to give all proceeds from her paid endorsement to diabetes research, that would make all of us feel differently about it. And hoping that she “wraps her head around it” and turns her show and cooking into a guiding light for people with diabetes.
Well said, Julie. One might have thought Paula had enough money already to not be swayed by the lure of endorsement money. Disappointing.
President Clinton, while in office, said he was changing his diet for health reasons, health warnings from doctors, etc. The guy didn’t change until he left office, & needed massive heart surgery. He’s one intelligent human being, w/the world watching, & even he could not make those changes. I am not apologizing for Paula. To me, she could have said, ‘hey, y’all, I’m in the same boat as a lot of you! let’s see what we can do to eat well & eat deliciously too!’ She didn’t. Disappointing. She should have spoken up sooner, on her own, & started to make recipe & show changes little by little. It was dishonest of her. But, like Clinton, & others, the American public is fast to forgive, regroup, & move on.
Honestly, do people tune in because they’re going to make Red Velvet Cake at home, or to see & hear Paula Dean laugh, mess up, & talk w/a guest? The latter more than not. If the Food Network is smart, they will tweak her show up, and make it about regular people battling diabetes & trying to curb calories, sugar, fat, etc. in their daily food.
I got her book in audio form as a gift years ago, heard it. Fun stuff. She is a lifetime chain smoker & admits hiding it from the public, she was not the greatest mom to her 2 sons by her own admission, & she carried on an affair w/a married man for many years. Contradictions galore. She ain’t a saint.
I hope she uses her spotlight & influence to tweak her recipes a lot, substitute ingredients for healthier fare, make smaller portions, throw in some exercise, & let’s see what she can do. The drug deal – she’s a businesswoman through & through, self made millionaire, I expect no less from her. The drug itself – have you heard that disclaimer? It’s frightening! I’d steer clear of the drug just because of that disclaimer….
More sugar and salt and butter substitute, more recipes w/less of the aforementioned, lot more vegetables & fiber, & a few exercise ideas….get on w/it Paula. Show me how you can make fried chicken w/o the frying part, how to make brownies w/o all that sugar…because you can if you work at it. In the meantime, PBS has Christina Cooks – hyper healthy vegetarian food recipes.
Paula,
Its not too late to help: first help yourself and then help others…. lets see you rise to a higher standard and turn things around.. are you worth it???? I think you are, and your fans will appreciate it…you may save lives.
I for one, did not enjoy watching the shows of decadent cooking and eating, just not worthwhile.. type 1 diabetes in my family was and is a very serious condition. As a nurse since 1970..I saw the ravages of a serious disease.. another topic all together.
you have had time to get over the excuses and to get serious….what is wrong with healthy lovely food that we CAN eat in moderation..our meals need moderation…portion control is key..but food so full of sugar and fat is addicitve, and should not be eaten at all.. you know better, so now lets do better….and Paula…lets tackle that smoking…down the road you will be glad you did….
I believe there are many people in your corner…you have overcome obstacles and this is one more …. use your talents for good!!
thanks Paula…
thanks Paula …staying tuned…. a nurse..
Thanks Julie for the thoughtful comments. If only Paula could use her stage as a way to help those with diabetes, both with recipes and financially
Very nice, Julie. Almost exactly what I was thinking. . .
I’m with Paula on this one. Its her life and her right to privacy. As for her show and all the succulent recipes, well, I think of it as a party or Christmas dinner. You wouldn’t eat like that everyday, but it makes a good show and viewers can choose for themselves what or what not to make. Just because she has diabetes doesn’t mean she can’t demonstate a certain style of food. Its a fun show!
I agree with you 100% Julie! What I can’t get my head around is the fact that she doesn’t need the money to even represent the drug company she’s now a spokeswoman for! If she would have said she would donate 100% of her earnings from the drug company to a charity, I’d respect her a little more. I think she’s going to see this whole thing situation have a huge negative affect on ALL of her endoresments.
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