Career comeback? Paula Deen made her first public work appearance at the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show in Houston, Texas on Saturday, Sept. 14, since admitting to using racial slurs. The 66-year-old disgraced chef was brought to tears while receiving a standing ovation at the event, which she attended with sons Jamie and Bobby Deen.
"I've said all along that the one place that I would want to make my first step back out was Texas," Deen told the crowd (via ABC News). "Y'all's hearts are as big as your state." At the show, Deen held two cooking demonstrations with tickets costing up to $400.
The Southern star's career imploded three months ago after she was sued by former employee Lisa Jackson for allegedly using racial slurs. During a videotaped deposition in May, Deen admitted to using the n-word. She was subsequently fired by Food Network and lost endorsement deals with Walmart, JCPenney, Target, Home Depot and a slew of other companies.
On Aug. 23, however, the lawsuit against Deen was dropped "without any award of costs or fees to any party," according to The Associated Press. She said in a statement at the time, "Moving forward, my team and I working to review the workplace environment issues that were raised in this matter and to retool all of my business operations. I look forward to getting back to doing what I love."
