By Manuel McDonnell Smith
In a bid to repair her badly tarnished image, celebrity chef and restaurateur Paula Deen finally appeared on NBC’s Today show on Wednesday morning, five days after she skipped a scheduled appearance to explain her use of the N-word and other slurs revealed in a deposition in a harassment suit filed by a female employee.
Nearly breaking into tears from the first question from host Matt Lauer, Deen admitted that she has been “just overwhelmed” and “in a state of shock” since the revelations. “There have been some very, very hurtful lies said about me,” she said. “The main reason I am here today, Matt, is it is important to me that I tell you and everyone out there what I believe and how I live my life. I believe that every creature on this earth, every one of god’s creatures, was created equal. … That’s the way I was raised, and that’s the way I live my life.”
