Paula Deen's brownface Twitter photo has stirred a major social media backlash. On Tuesday, the 68-year-old celebrity chef tweeted a picture of herself and son Bobby dressed as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, the comedy couple in the 1950's show "I Love Lucy."
What made the photo so controversial was Bobby's noticeable brownface, which was done to make him appear more Cuban, as was Lucille Ball's then-husband and co-star, Desi Arnaz, USA Today reported.
Paula Deen is definitely in trouble again after she posted a brownface pic on social media. According to Fox News, fans quickly took to Twitter to express their anger and disappointment over the picture.
"Lucyyyyyyy! You got a lot of esplainin' to do!" the since-deleted tweet read, which was accompanied by a hashtag "#TransformationTuesday."
Due to the social media backlash caused by Paula Deen's brownface Twitter photo, her publicist Jaret Keller explained via an email that Deen was not responsible for the photo. Instead, it was her social media manager, whom she had fired.
"This photograph is from a Halloween episode of Paula's Best Dishes that aired in 2011," Keller wrote. "Paula immediately had this picture taken down as soon as she saw the post and apologizes to all who were offended. As such, Paula Deen Ventures has terminated their relationship with this Social Media Manager."
So, why would a social media manager tweet Paula Deen's 4-year-old brownface pic now? Well, it's still unclear. But what is clear is the fact that outraged fans made sure Deen understood that this time, she really crossed the line.
In 2013, it was recalled that Paula Deen was also under fire after admitting to using a racial slur. Her admission resulted to her termination from the Food Network.
Meanwhile, not everyone took Paula Deen's brownface Twitter photo as an insult. CNN revealed some even called it "adorable" and "cute" on her Facebook page before the post was deleted. The photo in question was originally from her since-cancelled Food Network show, "Paula's Best Dishes."
Moreover, another photo was also posted showing Bobby Deen in the makeup chair, getting his face done in a bad fake tan.
Unlike Paula Deen's brownface Twitter photo, those pictures reportedly went unnoticed. It appears that fans found nothing offensive in the photos at the time.
.@Paula_Deen deletes photo of son @BobbyDeen in "brownface" following criticism https://t.co/fKKzkEjlxB pic.twitter.com/6cw00duiRj
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 7, 2015
Paula Deen blamed her son's brownface photos on a social media manager & fired the employee https://t.co/w2PO0zbNvn pic.twitter.com/ZxljBkZQMg — Independent US (@IndyUSA) July 8, 2015
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