LittleRickyII Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 I can't believe nobody's mentioned this: I Love Lucy, back in the news . . . sort of. http://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/paula-deen-catches-heat-tweet-son-bobby-deen-brownface-n388171 Celebrity chef Paula Deen is in hot water again after a picture was tweeted Tuesday from her official account showing her son in brownface. The tweet, which was deleted, whipped up a frenzy of backlash on social media. In the photo, Deen's son Bobby is wearing dark facial makeup to parody Cuban-born "I Love Lucy" character Ricky Ricardo, while Deen, wearing a red wig, impersonates Ricardo's wife, Lucy. The photo was apparently taken from Deen's 2011 Halloween episode of "Paula's Best Dishes," which aired on the Food Network. "Lucyyyyyyy! You got a lot of esplainin' to do!" the tweet reads — a catchphrase made famous on the classic sitcom, which starred Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Also in the photo is Deen's longtime producer, Gordon Elliott. In a statement released to NBC News, a representative for Deen said: "Paula Deen's Social Media Manager posted a picture this morning of Paula and Bobby Deen dressed in costume as Lucy and Ricky, from I Love Lucy. This photograph is from a 2011 Halloween episode of Paula's Best Dishes." "Paula immediately had this picture taken down as soon as she saw the post and apologizes to all who were offended," the statement said. "As such, Paula Deen Ventures has terminated their relationship with this Social Media Manager." Deen, 68, once a popular TV chef known for bathing her Southern cuisine in butter, was embroiled in scandal two years ago when she admitted in a deposition to using the N-word and once considered throwing a "plantation-style" wedding. At the height of the outrage, she lost her Food Network programs and multimillion-dollar retail deals before tearfully telling Matt Lauer on TODAY that she is not racist. Deen's dynasty has bounced back in recent months. The Food Network is scheduled to begin airing "Southern Fried Road Trip" — hosted by her adult sons, Bobby and Jamie — next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie2 Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 I think I vaguely remember this happening. I'm not concerned with it. People are just looking for ways to make her seem more racist than she actually is. I'm not a supporter of her or anything, but I don't think she's a member of the KKK, as most media outlets seem to insinuate every time something like this happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleRickyII Posted July 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 I think I vaguely remember this happening. I'm not concerned with it. People are just looking for ways to make her seem more racist than she actually is. I'm not a supporter of her or anything, but I don't think she's a member of the KKK, as most media outlets seem to insinuate every time something like this happens. I agree it's overblown, but the Tweet just happened yesterday. People are questioning why she would allow that image to be Tweeted after all she's already gone through. And why the brownface when Desi was light skinned? It's been the subject of talk shows today. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie2 Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 I agree it's overblown, but the Tweet just happened yesterday. People are questioning why she would allow that image to be Tweeted after all she's already gone through. And why the brownface when Desi was light skinned? It's been the subject of talk shows today. Didn't one of Lucy's relatives think Desi was black? Anyway, I agree that it was stupid of her to resurface the tweet nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 I agree it's overblown, but the Tweet just happened yesterday. People are questioning why she would allow that image to be Tweeted after all she's already gone through. And why the brownface when Desi was light skinned? It's been the subject of talk shows today. Even in color, Ricky's skin didn't look markedly different than any of the other 3. If anyone looked like another race, it was the golf-tanned Gary Morton next to "fur-skinned" Lucy. Ricky's ethnicity was handled in exactly the right way. His heritage was celebrated and his differences affectionately mocked. I had no idea there was any prejudice against Cubans until much later. (My 5000-populatuion Oregon hometown had no minorities.....well, maybe one) For instance when Lucy tells Fernando Lamas "My husband is Cuban", it's said matter-of-factly and with some pride. It's only recently that their marriage was described as "inter-racial".. I never thought of it as that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleRickyII Posted July 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 Even in color, Ricky's skin didn't look markedly different than any of the other 3. If anyone looked like another race, it was the golf-tanned Gary Morton next to "fur-skinned" Lucy. Ricky's ethnicity was handled in exactly the right way. His heritage was celebrated and his differences affectionately mocked. I had no idea there was any prejudice against Cubans until much later. (My 5000-populatuion Oregon hometown had no minorities.....well, maybe one) For instance when Lucy tells Fernando Lamas "My husband is Cuban", it's said matter-of-factly and with some pride. It's only recently that their marriage was described as "inter-racial".. I never thought of it as that. I don't get the interracial description at all. Desi was Caucasian. Lucy was Caucasian. They were of different ethnicities -- Anglo-Saxon and Hispanic -- and different cultures and national origin, but the same race. As for skin tone, Lucy was very, very fair skinned. She's really the one who stands out as fairer than the other three. Rather than Bobby Dean darkening his skin, if they were going to do anything of that nature at all, I think it would have made more sense for Paula to lighten hers. http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr01/2013/4/14/22/enhanced-buzz-7496-1365994528-17.jpg https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/df/d0/95/dfd095a5f91c3734dc1f06258e058b13.jpg https://41.media.tumblr.com/e2c63ab1227ecb52f72f65c2e520c698/tumblr_n04wkezXxB1qzdzbuo1_500.jpg http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr01/2013/4/14/22/enhanced-buzz-9461-1365991271-8.jpg http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/data/800/I_Love_Lucy_cast.JPG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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