An 11-year-old video about the racist allegations against celebrity chef Paula Deen is making the rounds on the internet again. A decade ago, Black cook Dora Charles alleged that Deen left her behind after 20 years of working together once the Food Network hired the restaurateur.
“She is in charge of that kitchen at The Lady & Sons. If it’s a Southern dish, you better not put it out unless it passes this woman’s tongue,” Deen once said about Charles, who served as the main cook at Dean’s The Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah.
During a 2013 interview with The New York Times, Charles recalled a conversation she had with the Georgia native before she became a famous television personality. She claimed Deen told her, ‘Stick with me, one day, if I get rich, you get rich.'”
But according to Charles, Deen broke her promise once she reached celebrity status. She expressed her belief that Paula Deen is racist because of her experiences with the “Kitchen Classics” author. Charles told the Times, “I’ve heard her use the N-word.”
A clip from Dora Charles’ 2013 sit down has resurfaced via a TikTok account on Aug. 12, 2024. Other users on the platform were aware of the interview but some were shocked to learn about Deen allegedly taking advantage of a Black woman.
“I don’t put nothing past Paula Deen!!!” one person exclaimed. Another individual commented, “I always knew it. The way Paula would season her food was too familiar.”
A third person posted, “Paula Deen needs to give this lady the money she worked hard for so she can open up her own restaurant!”
Charles did not get her own restaurant but she did release a cookbook titled “A Real Southern Cook” in 2015.
Dora Charles is not the only former associate of Paula Deen to accuse the “Paula’s Home Cooking” show host of being a bigot. Former Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House restaurant manager Lisa Jackson sued then-owner Deen in 2013 for racial and sexual discrimination.
A federal judge threw out the discrimination case against Deen because Lisa Jackson is a white woman, and the two sides agreed to drop the sexual discrimination suit. There is unverified speculation that a settlement was reached between Jackson and Deen.
Despite the legal fight coming to an end, Paula Deen still torpedoed her career as a result of Jackson’s lawsuit. A transcript of Deen’s court deposition for the case revealed she admitted to using racial slurs.
The Food Network chose not to renew Deen’s contract and pulled her programs off the air. In addition, she lost an endorsement deal with Smithfield Foods. Retailers like Walmart and Target pulled Deen-related products from their stores as well.
Paula Deen published an apology on YouTube for the “hurtful language” she used in the past. Furthermore, Deen appeared on “Today” to deny being a racist. The entrepreneur also said, “Would I have fired me? Knowing me, no.”
Following the backlash for her N-word admission, Paula Deen managed to make her way back to television by showing up on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2015 and “MasterChef: Legends” in 2021.
This is what being racist all ya life will do to ya. pic.twitter.com/b7r6QDer9s
— Betty-Anne’s Tata Salad (@iDontHaveThyme) June 17, 2024
Deen went viral in June 2024 when images of the 77-year-old’s appearance led to unfavorable reactions on social media. This cause many to dredge up old feelings about her past, which many will never forget.
However, Dora Charles has remained mostly out of the public eye for the past nine years. The Southern Foodways Alliance produced a short documentary in 2015 for Eater which featured the Savannah, Georgia-based chef discussing how she learned about southern cooking from her grandmother.
