Does Diabetes Silence Tarnish Paula Deen's Personal Brand?

Posted by Shirley Brady on January 17, 2012 05:33 PM

Paula Deen confirmed this morning to Al Roker on The Today Show that she has had type-2 Diabetes for the past three years but chose to keep it "close to her chest," despite continuing to espouse butter-laden comfort food (stuffing on a stick or donut burgers, anyone?) on the Food Network.

Deen, who told Roker that she doesn't intend to change the way she cooks now that her diabetes is public, has timed her announcement to the signing of a deal to be a paid spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, which produces the diabetes drug Victoza. The drug company is featuring Deen on a new website (called "Diabetes in a New Light") that offers "recipes, lifestyle tips and support"). Deen's ads for the diabetes drug are slated to appear later this month.

How the Southern celeb chef announced the partnership to her Twitter followers: "Y'all can visit http://www.DiabetesinaNewLight.com to learn more about my journey with type 2 diabetes! #DiabetesinaNewLight"

Deen tells USA Today that her delay in talking about the disease had nothing to do with fear about hurting her reputation. "That was not why. My knowledge about the disease was very limited. But now I'm coming with good information, something that can help and bring hope to other people. It may sound cliché, but it's the God-honest truth."

Fox Business commentator Stuart Varney thinks she has misled fans and that her brand is tarnished for not divulging her medical condition earlier; your thoughts?

More about: Personal Brands, Celebrities, Paula Deen, Food Network, Diabetes, Health, Pharma, Endorsements, Novo Nordisk

SatGuy says:

Anthony Bourdain said this to say on Twitter: "Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later."

January 17, 2012 09:52 PM #

Ed Kriese says:

Bourdain's pretty funny. Think Paula's back in her double wide frying up a mess of something right now.

This is like O.J. Simpson coming out with a brand of knives...

January 18, 2012 08:55 AM #

Paula Deen Can't Eat Own Dishes Due to Diabetes

The Food Network's Paula Deen is about to come clean with an ironic, sad admission: She can’t eat her own dishes anymore because she has diabetes.

The Georgia-born chef, considered the queen of high-calorie, Southern comfort food who has five best-selling cookbooks, has never addressed this.

In fact, she has been trying to keep her condition a secret, even after the National Enquirer reported in April 2011 that she has Type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes has often been associated with fatty foods and obesity.
Neither Paula Deen, 64, nor her reps have confirmed this report. If Paula's brand is hurt by this revelation, she's covering her bases.

Sources say Deen has hammered out a seven-figure deal to be the spokeswoman pharmaceutical company Novartis, endorsing the drug she is taking. Makes sense. But repositioning herself may prove a tough task.

“Paula Deen is going to have to rebrand herself now that she has diabetes,” said a source. “She’s going to have to start cooking healthier recipes."

"She can’t keep pushing mac and cheese and deep-fried Twinkies when she is hawking a diabetes drug five minutes later.”

In August, No Reservations host Anthony Bourdain called Deen “the worst, most dangerous person to America” and said she should “think twice before telling an already obese nation that it’s OK to eat food that is killing us.”

January 18, 2012 09:00 AM #

JFox says:

Clearly she has made her bed. If she'd smarten up and start a new series with healthy, diabetes-friendly dishes she would have a lot more fans.

January 18, 2012 10:05 AM #

Ebony Princess says:

Yes! Her brand is definitely tarnished. While she gave out that aura of mom next door of caring and willing to stuff us with food she was carrying a grave illness that is afflicting a huge chunk of the U.S. population.

The worst part is that all her recipes are laden with artery clogging ingredients. As JFox mentions, she needs to come out with a new show that emphasis on healthy eating and diabetes friendly dishes.

She needs to change her ways for the audience to believe in her because diabetes requires care and generally a good diet.

I liked her but I never made her dishes but now I don’t respect or like her for hiding this fact. One hand it is none of our business but it becomes our business when she is enriching herself at her followers’ expense.

January 18, 2012 10:31 AM #

Mike says:

Did it really take her getting diabetes for everyone to realize her dishes are typically unhealthy? Come on, people! Always looking for somebody to blame.

January 18, 2012 02:20 PM #

Deen's List says:

This also looks bad for the Food Network, too -- they air her shows, butter sticks and all.

January 18, 2012 02:36 PM #

Kelly says:

Paula Dean is all about making a buck -- first on promoting a diet that helps cause diabetes and then selling a Big Pharma drug that treats it. The great American lifestyle! What there's no money in is telling the truth: the medical literature proves that Type 2 diabetes can be prevented, managed, treated, and even cured by a plant-based, whole-foods diet. Nutritionfacts.org talks all about these studies. It's a non-profit, science-based website that keeps up with the latest in nutrition research. It's run by Dr. Michael Greger, MD, whose life mission has been promoting good health and reducing a world of suffering. Unlike Paula Dean, he is not peddling products. The only thing he sells are his DVDs, which are collections of his free online videos that review recent medical studies, and even then, all proceeds go to charity. I just love the website, and I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Greger, who seems to be the exact opposite of money-grubbing disease-promoters like Paula Dean.

January 19, 2012 02:33 PM #