You would think with all the emotional and financial headaches that Paula Deen went through two years ago after we learned of her using the “n” word in previous decades – then losing a huge chuck of her monetary nest egg – that she would be more careful with her public image. I guess some lessons take a long time to soak in.
Yesterday (Tuesday), a picture of Paula Deen dressed as the loveable Lucy Ricardo, a homage to the 1950s CBS TV classic, I Love Lucy, along with her son Bobby in brown face dressed as Lucy’s husband, Ricky, began popping up on the internet. Soon the social media circles were exploding with comments of “I’m offended” or “this is an outrage.” What has the public in an uproar this time is that Bobby Deen is wearing brown face makeup to resemble the Cuban actor and former hubby to Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz senior. Ms. Deen quickly apologized and said that her media manager, the person hired to take care of her public image on the internet, made a bad call. He has since been fired for that huge lapse in judgement. But I think the real lapse in judgement goes back to Paula Deen. True, not every boss can adequately predict how an employee is going to behave or respond in their job. But Paula should be more thorough and check on how her employees are performing from time-to-time. After all, she’s making the money and is probably the one signing the paychecks. Who’s to say she doesn’t check on how and what her employees are doing from time-to-time? Maybe the picture popped up on a day when Paula was too busy or unavailable. Still, if I were that manager, I would have at least consulted my boss before publishing a picture of her and her son in brown face. I worked in radio for nearly 15 years and I can tell you, once you tarnish someone’s reputation, it’s harder to even restore it. Most people will understand and accept your apology. However, there are those listeners, those out in the public, that will turn the channel and probably never listen to you again. They will chose to ignore your damage control measures.
Turns out the picture that is the latest social outrage is from an outtake of a Food Network program Paula made four years ago. So it’s not like this is the first time we’ve seen Paula and son dressed as Lucy and Ricky. What no one seems to be pointing out and I will now is, I’m offended at her portrayal of Lucille Ball, a.k.a. Lucy Ricardo. Women have come a long way since I Love Lucy debuted in October 1951. I agree that we as a society sometimes need to be reminded of how far women have come in 64-years, and still how far women have to go to achieve equal legal and economic status with men. So why is it that the American public is offended by a young man in brown face, but not upset that a woman is dressed up as a ditzy red-head? Another lapse in judgement from the Paula Deen camp, perhaps.
I don’t believe that this latest picture will create the backlash that the “n” word did for Paula, but it should not be overlooked. I just hope that who Paula hires as her next media manager, will use a lot more discretion in what is considered funny.
Joe Haffner
July 8, 2015
Joe's Random Thoughts! 