Paula Deen Dropped By Food Network After Admitting To Using The N-Word

The network said on Friday it won't renew her contract. Before the announcement, Deen posted multiple videos apologizing for using "inappropriate, hurtful" language.

Here's the first apology Paula Deen posted on Friday:

buzzfeed.com

Earlier in the day, the butter-lovin' star cancelled an appearance on Today, then tweeted that a "video statement" was coming.

More than three hours later, the above clip was posted to an unofficial Deen YouTube account. It toggled between public and private for an hour before it was completely removed, replaced by a longer version.

The extended cut:

View this video on YouTube

"Your color of your skin, your religion, your sexual preference does not matter ... to me," Deen says in the second video. "But it's what in the heart. What's in the heart. And my family and I try to live by that." Deen also posted a third video, in which she directly apologizes to Today host Matt Lauer for cancelling her interview.

The series of apologies comes two days after National Enquirer published details of her workplace discrimination lawsuit deposition. Deen never specifies what prompted her apologies — only the "wrong that I've done."

"I want to learn and grow from this," she says in the first video. "Inappropriate, hurtful language is totally, totally unacceptable."

During her deposition, Deen apparently admitted to regularly using the n-word.

"It's just what they are — they're jokes … Most jokes are about Jewish people, rednecks, black folks," she told her former employee's lawyer. "I can't determine what offends another person."

Deen's heavily edited first message ends with her tearing up:

"I've made plenty of mistakes along the way, but I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners — I beg for your forgiveness."

UPDATE: Paula Deen's contract will not be renewed at Food Network.

From the Associated Press:

The network said in a news release Friday afternoon that it would not renew Deen's contract when it expires at the end of the month.

Deen has built an empire from her television shows, cookbooks and product endorsements. The Food Network began airing "Paula's Home Cooking" in 2002 and added "Paula's Best Dishes" in 2008.

QVC, which also works with Deen, has declined to comment.

Read the full discrimination complaint against Deen below.

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