Research Paper Topic

By: Celeste Ligon

My partner, Sara Ligarde, and I chose American celebrity chef, Paula Deen, as the person we want to research for our paper. We will study how she reconstructed her image after news broke of her past use of the "N" word. We thought about researching Brittney Griner, but we had a difficult time finding enough information about her that would provide enough of a basis for the paper. 

Paula Deen will be an interesting person to research because her scandal occurred recently during the summer of 2013. Deen acknowledged using the "N" word in her deposition in a lawsuit. Lisa Jackson's lawsuit alleged that Deen and Bubba Heir engaged in violence, discrimination, and racism that ended Jackson's five-year employment at one of Deen's restaurants. Not only did she lose her spot on the Food Network, but she also lost millions of dollars from sponsors who pulled out. She was also harshly ridiculed by the general public for being racist. 

Deen responded shortly after the scandal through her teary-eyed interview and apology on the Today show. She claims to have used that word a long time ago and swears she is not racist and does not condone that behavior. She also tweeted thanks to all of her Twitter followers for all of their love, support and kind words. I'm looking forward to researching more on this topic and discovering what efforts Deen made to repair her image.