Findings
During the trial Paula Deen hired a crisis manager. This went a very long way in damaging her ethos. The work of a crisis manager is to help people to say the right things which appeal to the public. By hiring a crisis manager Paula Deen as showing the public that the words she was saying were not her own. She was being guided on what to say ad when to say it. This thus serves to damage her credibility as far as what she says is concerned. The public would be in a better position to believe her if they knew she was actually speaking her mind. The crisis manager alludes to the fact that she is not speaking her mind but rather being guided on exactly what to say and when to say it so that it appeals to the public.
Conclusions
Paula Deen made the first step in regaining her name by making a public apology. Her apology was emotional and evoked feelings of sympathy and empathy in anyone who heard her apologizing. Paula however needs to do much more than that, the rhetoric theory demands that she not only appeal to the emotions of her audience but she should also show that she is truly sorry for what she did and give the public an assurance that she will never do it again. She has a large fan base which loved her initially and which she can get back only if she can prove that she is truly not a racist.
Implications
The implications of this case are that racism is not acceptable and no one can get away with racism irrespective of their stature in society or their financial state. Paula Deen lost a large sum of money and a substantial portion of her Business Empire and clientele due to her racist remarks. This study also shows that even in current time’s racism is still reality that any people in the world have to deal with. Discrimination is also a real part of daily life and it must be eradicated at all costs.
Future research
This case presents many avenues for future research. One such avenue is research on whether Paula Deen has also discriminated against other people in the past. Her conduct in the future also needs to be studied in order to fully establish whether she has abandoned racism or that was just a lie to get out of a tight situation which was a threat to her empire.
