When The Food Network yanked Paula Deen’s shows and replaced them with programs by Giada De Laurentiis, the chef felt the backlash.
Giada stopped by Access Hollywood Live on Tuesday, where she dished on being in caught in the middle of Deen’s N-word controversy.
“Her shows got replaced by my shows, so we have a lot of people not happy with me right now, as if I had anything to do with it,” Giada told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover.
Deen supporters have taken to Twitter and Facebook over the issue, telling the chef she needs to defend her fellow celebrity chef, but Giada stressed that she is not getting involved when she doesn’t know all the facts of the situation.
“That’s what everyone on social media wants me to do, to make comments, [to] stand up for her. The problem is, you need to do your homework first, you need to have all the facts before you say anything – especially in a situation like this,” she explained. “Paula has been nothing but wonderful to me over the years.
Adding, “I know her as a kind woman. I don’t know what happened and this happened awhile back, so I don’t know what happened so I’m not going to make a comment based on ignorance. That is not a good thing to do.”
Giada explained that she never witnessed Deen using the N-word.
“I do know her family and we’ve worked together many times… I’ve never been in the presence of that,” she said. “I think this was a shock to many of us on the network.”
Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.