Showing posts with label Paula. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paula. Show all posts

Saturday, 31 August 2013

Robin Thicke and Paula Patton Escape Miley Cyrus VMAs Drama With Beach Vacation

Robin Thicke, Paula Patton, Julian Dasha/FAMEFLYNET PICTURES

It's time to escape!

Robin Thicke took his wife, Paula Patton, and their son, Julian, on a beach getaway amid the flurry of MTV VMA reactions over his performance with Miley Cyrus.

The music man and his beautiful family were spotted stepping out of the ocean in Miami after a day of playing in the waves.

Robin made sure to keep his shirt on while Paula looked sensational in a brown string bikini. What a bod!

Paula helped the couple's little one play in the ocean and carried him towards the sand towards the end of the day.

NEWS: Stars react to Miley Cyrus' VMAs performance

It looks like a little rest and relaxation was precisely what the doctor ordered for the media-frenzied singer.

Despite his mother being less than thrilled with his duet of "Blurred Lines" with the former Disney starlet, it appears that his wife was much more comfortable.

Gloria Loring, opened up to OMG! Insider about what she thought of the scantily clad, ultra-suggestive number.

"I don't understand what Miley Cyrus is trying to do," she said. "I just keep thinking of her mother and father watching this. I was not expecting her to be putting her butt that close to my son. The problem is, now I can never unsee it."

PHOTOS: Most controversial VMA moments ever

Miley Cyrus, Robin Thicke Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for MTV

Meanwhile, Paula was reportedly not as bothered by the whole ordeal.

According to TMZ, the stunning actress knew from the get-go that things were going to get heated onstage and wasn't surprised at all by Cyrus' crotch-grabbing and groping.

Then again, she did let him prance around with a few naked models in his rather explicit "Blurred Lines" music video.

Either way, there's nothing like some quality family time!

PHOTOS: 2013 VMAs red carpet


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Friday, 26 July 2013

Paula Deen's Son Bobby Headed to Food Network as Celeb Chef Denies Asking Employee to Wear Aunt Jemima-Style Dress

Bobby Deen Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images

Paula Deen's son is filling the family's empty Food Network shoes while his mother continues to field the sorts of claims that got her kicked off the channel in the first place.

Bobby Deen, host of Not My Mama's Meals on Cooking Channel, apparently entered the heat of battle on Iron Chef America this week.

"I'm thinking about my brother boy this morning. He's filming an episode of Iron Chef today! #pressure," his brother Jamie Deen tweeted yesterday. The reveal prompted an outpouring of social media support for Bobby, including love from the still-chugging "We Support Paula Deen" Facebook page, which now boasts 608,000 "likes."

PHOTOS: Hot celebrity chefs

Deen's sons remain two of her biggest supporters, with Jamie tweeting a blast-from-the-past pic of the three of them today.

"With all the cookbook talk I thought this photo from our first book would be a fun #ThrowBackThursday. #family," he wrote.

But while food blog Eater.com has a Food Network source saying that the embattled celeb chef will be "back in a year or two, under different terms," Deen had to ward off yet more claims this week that she made racist comments to a former employee.

Jamie Deen Twitter Twitter

Dora Charles, who works at Deen's Savannah, Ga., restaurant Lady & Sons, told the New York Times that her former boss used racial slurs and once asked her to wear an old-style Aunt Jemima dress at the restaurant.

Deen's camp denied the allegations in a statement to the Times, also saying, "Fundamentally Dora's complaint is not about race but about money. It is about an employee that despite over 20 years of generosity feels that she still deserves yet even more financial support from Paula Deen." 

Deen "provided guidance and support through the many ups and downs of Mrs. Charles's life," the statement continued. 

VIDEO: Watch Paula Deen tearfully deny being racist on Today

Charles, 59, reportedly helped open Lady & Sons and has spent years developing recipes, perfecting dishes and training other employees.

"I'm not trying to portray that she is a bad person," Charles told the Times. "I'm just trying to put my story out there that she didn't treat me fairly and I was her soul sister." She said that she used to work for $10 an hour and that Deen had once promised to take her along for the financial ride when she really made it big.

READ: 9 stars who bounced back from scandal

Per the Times, lawyers from Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition investigated Lady & Sons and issued a report stating, "There was evidence of systemic racial discrimination and harassment at the operations." But "there is limited evidence of direct racism or racial discrimination" by Deen.

Jackson, meanwhile, was reportedly contacted by Deen last month and agreed that she should be "reclaimed rather than destroyed" after it was revealed that she admitted in a legal deposition to having used the N-word in the past.

PHOTOS: Top 10 onscreen restaurants


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Paula Deen Fans Send Butter Wrappers to Retailers That Dropped the Celeb Chef

Paula Deen Alex Oliveira/startraksphoto.com

Walmart, Kmart and Sears are just a few retailers that will be receiving a number of butter wrappers in the mail.

In an effort to butter up (get it?) the companies that dropped Paula Deen after her N-word controversy, fans of the celeb chef have taken part in what's called "Butter for Paula," where they are encouraged to send butter wrappers with a written message to the stores to show their support for the Southern cook (fun fact: Deen released her own line of butter shortly before the scandal).

According to the website created for the movement, "A company without Paula is like a wrapper without butter," and continues to state, "These corporations have cut ties with Paula, and no longer broadcast her television shows, or carry her products. We have the power to demand that her status be reinstated, and it's easier than you think.

PHOTOS: Celebrity restaurants

"Join the National Butter Wrappers for Paula Protest now to tell these corporations that you want Paula Deen back on the shelves and back on your television."

The campaign has been organized by John Schmitt, a hotel auditor in Indianapolis, who has also started a Facebook page called "We support Paula Deen" on June 21 that already has more than 600,000 "likes."

Additionally, Schmitt joined Stitches ‘N Dishes, a California food truck company, to sell Paula Deen products and give the proceeds to Deen's charity, The Bag Lady Foundation.

Paula Deen, Today Show Peter Kramer/NBC

Schmitt wrote on the Facebook page, "'I think back on those tough times and remember how hard we worked to pull ourselves up by our boot-straps. It was a difficult time for us, but an experience that made me and my sons stronger.'~ Paula Deen.

"And, that's why she named The Bag Lady Foundation after her first business. The foundation is Paula's passion - she created it to help people in poverty and empower them. Stitches 'n Dishes is sponsoring a fundraiser for The Bag Lady Foundation. Give what you can, if you can. Even sharing this helps tremendously. They've also got some nice Paula Deen products as gifts for contributions over $50. :-)"

VIDEO: Watch Paula Deen's tearful Today Show interview

Nearly a dozen companies have cut ties with Deen—including JCPenney, Walgreens, QVC and The Food Network—after admitting to past use of the N-word and to telling what could be perceived as racist jokes during an admission in a video deposition as part of a $1.2 million lawsuit filed against her by a former employee.

Since the scandal and witnessing her career crumble, Deen has fired her agent and legal team and hired an entire new group of legal "heavy hitters" to take on the case.

PHOTOS: Hot celebrity chefs


View the original article here

Wednesday, 17 July 2013

Paula Deen Alleged Extortionist Pleads Not Guilty

by Alyssa Toomey Tue., Jul. 16, 2013 4:48 PM PDT

Paula Deen Noel Vasquez/Getty Images for Extra

The man accused of allegedly trying to extort $250,000 from Paula Deen appeared in court today.

62-year-old Thomas Paculis pled not guilty to felony charges of extortion before a judge in Chatham County, Ga., according to local reports.

He was arrested July 5 by the FBI after he allegedly threatened to release "true and damning" statements made by the disgraced chef if she failed to pay the hefty sum of money.

NEWS: A timeline of the Paula Deen scandal

A federal criminal complaint was filed in the Southern District of Georgia on June 24 (around the time Deen failed to appear on the Today show), alleging the former Food Network star received an email and a follow-up phone call from Paculis, in which he threatened to publicly release information he said "would bring hardship and financial ruin to Deen."

If convicted, Paculis faces up to two years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. He was reportedly appointed a lawyer by the state of Georgia because he could not afford legal representation.

Paculis is currently out on bail, but he must report to a probation officer as part of the terms of his release.

VIDEO: Watch Paula Deen's tearful Today Show interview

Paula Deen, Today Show Peter Kramer/NBC

Meanwhile, Deen's son Bobby reportedly married girlfriend Claudia Lovera in a private ceremony today.

The wedding is a much-needed happy occasion for the celebrity chef, whose reputation has been irreparably damaged after she admitted in a video deposition to using the N-word.

After Deen's controversial confession, a number of sponsors severed their ties with the 66-year-old chef, including the Food Network, Caesars Entertainment Corporation, Smithfield Foods, Sears, JCPenney and Walmart, to name a few. Her cookbook was also dropped by its publisher, despite reaching the No. 1 spot on Amazon.com's best-seller list.

NEWS: Accuser's lawyer sounds off on Paula Deen's apology

Since Paula's public fall from grace, the beleaguered star has dropped her agent of over 10 years and hired a reported "world class" team of "legal heavy hitters."

She's also added Patricia Glaser to her legal team to provide general insight.  The Hollywood powerhouse attorney is famous for representing Keith Olbermann in his lawsuit against CurrentTV and landing Conan O'Brien and his staff a $45 million settlement after the comedian was fired by NBC.

—Additional reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum

PHOTOS: Paula Deen throughout the years


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