More fallout from the Paula Deen controversy. The long-time publicist for the self-proclaimed 'Queen of Southern Cuisine' has quit. The departure was disclosed just one week after Deen signed up as a spokeswoman for Novo Nordisk, which sells diabetes treatments, but failed to disclose she learned three years ago that she has the disease, even as she served up unhealthy meals on her Food Network show (back story).
Nancy Assuncao, who spent six years touting Deen to a hungry public, "strongly disagreed with Deen's dramatic turnabout, after years of promoting fatty foods, to announcing she has a deal with a diabetes drug company and will be promoting lighter food and 'Diabetes In A New Light,' " an unnamed source tells The New York Post.
"While Paula did tell some people at her live appearances about her diabetes, she certainly didn't talk about it on her show. Nancy disagreed with Paula's plan to be a drug-company spokesman and challenged her decision. But this wasn't a battle Nancy felt she was going to win. She couldn't be part of it," the source tells the paper. Assuncao apparently quit just before the deal was announced.
In a prepared statement given to the newspaper, Assuncao says: "I'm very grateful for the six years that I worked with Paula in helping her build the Deen brand. Although we had a great deal of fun along the way, I could not agree with the new business strategy going forward. Nonetheless, I wish them continued success."
Her departure will likely add weight - pun intended - to the argument that Deen has appeared hypocritical for her failure to previously disclose her diabetes and that Novo Nordisk showed poor judgment in selecting a spokesperson whose public behavior and business strategy contradicts the eating habits needed to combat the disease (read more here).
5 Comments
Good grief...Paula Deen bears no responsibility to share her diabetes diagnosis with anyone regardless of when it occurred. Just because she's a public figure doesn't exclude her from having the same rights to her medical privacy as the rest of us. I can't believe how much conversation there has been around this issue...time to move on! Ms. Deen if you're reading this, your publicist is a whimp...I'd happily defend your right to be a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk. Let's be real...have you watched Ina, Guy F., Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, and everyone else on Food Network...they all have shows promoting fatty foods as well as healthy ones...as has Ms. Deen. She never said to anyone that they should eat rich and fatty foods everyday, but her show was about rich, southern food...it's her niche! I'm sure someone is already planning a "hot coffee lawsuit" claiming they got fat because they watched Paula Deen.
Right on, John! I could not have said it better. My thought was that Paula had no obligation to disclose her medical history any more than any other personality...I don't care who has an type of disease, whether DM, ED, HTN, MS or CA. It's not my business and I don't follow celebrities or care about their maladies. As a southerner, it was a treat to watch her southern style become so popular. Yes, my mother learned to cook much the same way, and she taught me those ways along with muchchealthier and simpler styles to cook and eat Who eats all that rich food every day? No one I know. That being said, I don't care if she finds more ways to make a buck. People who watch her, whether they ever pick up a pan or a pound of butter, like her personality. That's what Novo Nordisk wanted, her enthusiasm and energy. So she's making a fortune...isn't that what so many people want? Perhaps sour grapes?
Food for thought: 1. Personal disclosure - Do we really care, what Deen is putting in her own body re food, drink, drugs, or (shades of Clinton) cigars? 2. Personal choice. Has anybody held a gun to the heads of Deen's fans, forcing them to ingest a high-glycemic index diet? Should we censure R.J. Reynolds and its competitors on similar principles? 3. Drug-Dealer as Hypocrite Angle: Would Deen have been more, or less, morally culpable if she were eating nothing but wheat grass and dew drops while influencing America to do otherwise? 4. Publicity for Publicist - Assuncao has benefited greatly from that which she now spurns. Do publicists not have full and complete knowledge of their clients' actions? She'll cry all the way to the bank. 5. Fat as a Feminist Issue - Let's face it. Mario Battali (sp?) will never face the same hue and cry as Deen. I'd be hard-pressed to guess that his arteries, BMI and blood sugar were well within safety zones.
I am looking forward to "Tobacco Road", a show that extols the enjoyment and differences in the flavor of various cigarette, pipe, snuff and chewing tobaccos. If the host will just make it clear that they are not saying smoke, dip or chew on a regular basis, what's the problem?
Then if they get lung, throat or mouth cancer, they too have the right not to tell their audience, until they sign a promotional deal with Pfizer for Chantix.
I guess they will have to advocate smoking at the seashore in only prevailing westerly winds to avoid any exposure of bystanders to second hand smoke. Other than that, I see no difference from the above poster's arguments.
@Doc: Yes, macaroni and cheese has been shown in countless studies to be equivalent to tobacco. /sarcasm
I think we need to separate Paula Deen the brand from Paula Deen the person. The brand focuses on the preparation of Southern comfort-food dishes. It does not represent a daily eating plan. I think anyone over the age of 10 knows that.
The person, on the other hand, has Type II diabetes, which is by no means uncommon in her age group. We have no information about her dietary, smoking, drinking, or exercise habits, nor should we--it's not any of our business. It's also not our business if she chooses to become a spokesperson for a drug company's diabetes program.
She's donating some of her earnings to the ADA, plans to create lighter alternatives for some of her recipes, and is talking with the Food Network to incorporate the recipes into her show. The ADA approves of the endorsement deal, saying "People may benefit from seeing how others successfully manage Type 2 diabetes." I wish we had more TV people like Paula Deen.