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Ithaca, N.Y. - FBI agents arrested a 62-year-old man in Ithaca, N.Y. for attempting to extort Paula Deen. Thomas Paculis was taken into custody Friday morning by FBI agents and deputies from the Tomkins County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities say Paculis threatened to expose “true and damning” information about Deen if she did not pay him $100,000. Paculis was transported to the Onondaga County Jail and will appear in a Savannah, Georgia court on July 16.

Let’s start with Paula Deen, who admitted to having used the “n” word — 30 years ago. If it had been, let’s say, Alec Baldwin instead, the media would have quickly given him a pass, because, after all, he’s one of them. Alec is a media guy. He’s smart and talented and thinks what they think about life. He’s also a northerner. He was born on Long Island! And my God, there’s no racism there. Racism is a disease people catch when they cross the Mason-Dixon line. Paula is from Georgia, and from that one slip, which she admitted and...

The woman who filed a harassment lawsuit against Paula Deen said Monday her suit "has never been about the N-word," addressing the slur that has tarnished the celebrity chef's image and cost her endorsements, a book deal and her TV show. The statement from Lisa Jackson was the first since the scandal began last month, when Deen's deposition in Jackson's suit was made public. In the deposition, Deen acknowledges using the racial slur more than once "a very long time" ago. "This lawsuit has never been about the N-word," Jackson says in the statement, provided to CNN's Don Lemon by...

I am from the south. I was reared in a small southern town. Paula Deen and I are about the same age. As I look at my Facebook page, I see you guys from my high school -- liberal schoolteachers, liberal Cosmo-reading sophisticates, state workers, law-enforcement officers, elected officials, and big-time corporate executives. Once we shared space and lives in a small southern town. Each one of you should be thankful that you never reached Paula Deen's celebrity status. If you had, today you would be in the midst of a crapstorm from hell. In our town the n-word was...

The real story behind the Paula Deen scandal can be summed up in a single word: greed. The American judicial system and the media are being used as formidable weapons in a brazen attempt to extort money from Ms. Deen, in my opinion. This isn't a story about racism. It's all about the money. The mainstream media have reported with glee only some of the gory details as Paula Deen's financial empire continue to crumble. The Food Channel, Wal-Mart, Target, and the publisher of her bestselling cookbook all have abruptly terminated their relationship with Ms. Deen. The firestorm erupted after...

(CNN) -- Former President Jimmy Carter said embattled celebrity chef Paula Deen should be forgiven, arguing that while there's no condoning the racial slurs she uttered, the well-known personality has been candid and apologetic.

Earlier this afternoon, we reported on how despite the controversy over her past use of racial epithets, celebrity cook Paula Deen is experiencing a surge in book sales on retailer Amazon. The sales spike was so strong that her newest book, Paula Deen’s New Testament, hit #1 on the site’s Best Seller list despite not being released until October. It turns out those huge pre-sale numbers are for naught. The book’s publisher has canceled its release. In a statement released Friday afternoon, Ballantine Books announced it has dropped Deen and will not publish Paula Deen’s New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes,...

Paula Deen's upcoming cookbook, currently the No. 1 seller on Amazon.com, has been dropped by its publisher. In a brief statement Friday, Ballantine Books announced it had canceled publication of "Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up." The book was scheduled for October.

Paula Deen's forthcoming cookbook, Paula Deen's New Testament, has surged past best-sellers by the likes of Dan Brown, Stephen King and Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin to take the top spot on Amazon's sales charts.The book charted in the 1,500s on Monday and by Wednesday it was at No. 18.

With the Food Network, Wal-mart, and even Diabetes drug company Novo Nordisk severing ties Paula Deen, major brand partnerships look dire for the shamed celebrity chef. But just because Deen's cookbooks are being thrown in the clearance bins at local Duane Reades doesn't mean that every company is jumping on the drop-Deen bandwagon. In spite of accusations of racism and using the N-word, Deen still has some (albeit smaller) corporate sponsors that are vocally showing their support. 1) Local food company Sandridge Foods voiced its "unwavering support." Twitter @SandridgeFood The soup, salad, and fresh produce maker out of Medina, Ohio...

Paula Deen's southern cooking empire continued to unravel Thursday. Home improvement giant Home Depot and retailer Target have decided to end their deals with Deen while drugmaker Novo Nordisk has suspended its relationship with her.

The celebrity chef loses two more business partners hours after her “Today” interview. Another two bite the dust. Caesars Entertainment Corporations and Walmart have become the latest organizations to cut ties with former Food Network personality Paula Deen in the wake of a racial slur scandal. Both groups made their announcements on Wednesday, just hours after Deen offered a tearful mea culpa in an interview with Matt Lauer on Today. While we appreciate Paula’s sincere apologies for statements she made in her past … we have mutually decided that it is in the best interests of both parties to part...

If the bleak reckoning of Reputation.com’s Howard Bragman is to be believed, Paula Deen “will survive” her recent ordeal, “but she will never be whole again.” This is because, in the choice words of Bill Maher, “she f****d up.” Court documents revealed last week show Deen being asked under oath whether she had used the N-word before. “Yes, of course,” she replied, although “it’s been a very long time.” For this admission, the Food Network fired her. Immediately prior to her dismissal, Deen made what was tantamount to a hostage video, in which, per the Huffington Post, she was shown...

There seems to be a full court press on Paula Deen for her either joking or indiscriminate use of the N Word, which is only allowable within the domain of African Americans. Call it ethnic immunity or racial privilege, the N Word may be used both as a pejorative and/or an expression of affection within the black community. "Look what we can do, but you whitey's can't.." Its as if there is a bounty poster over the head of non-blacks which is titled "WANTED: ANYONE WHO IS NON BLACK CAUGHT USING THE N WORD."  The reward for these merciless...

An attorney for the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition said current and former Paula Deen employees told him the famous cook and her brother discriminated against black employees, one of whom was consistently referred to as “my little monkey.” After Deen acknowledged using a racial slur, the story went viral and the Food Network announced on Friday that it would not renew her contract when it expires at the end of June. Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, are being sued by Lisa T. Jackson, a former employee who claims she endured a hostile work environment replete with racial slurs. Robert Patillo, an...

When Paula Deen met Michelle Obama, it wasn't exactly the queen of butter versus the first lady of garden greens. Deen, known for her delicious not-so-good-for-you recipes like Gooey Butter Cake, said the two women had more in common than you might expect. "Well, I did a show with Michelle and I just loved being with her," Deen told Yeas & Nays. "She probably ate more than any other guest I've ever had on the show —she kept eating even during commercials." Deen taught Obama how to fry shrimp during a TV segment in September before the 2008 presidential election....

Yet another company has dropped Paula Deen in the wake of the Food Network giving her the boot and QVC apparently thinking about doing the same. Smithfield, a major pork company (that was recently purchased by a Chinese company), says it will no longer partner with Deen for her line of "Paula Deen Collection" hams in the wake of her n-word controversy, TMZ reports. "Smithfield is determined to be an ethical food industry leader and it is important that our values and those of our spokespeople are properly aligned," reads a statement from the company. As such, "we are terminating...

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Watching Paula Deen’s cooking show was a weekend ritual for Marilynne Wilson, who says she’s furious at the Food Network for dumping the comfort-food queen after she acknowledged using racial slurs in the past. “I was shocked. I thought she’d get a fair trial,” Wilson, a nurse from Jacksonville, Fla., said Saturday after stopping to buy souvenirs at the gift shop Deen owns next to her Savannah restaurant. “I think the Food Network jumped the gun.” A day after announcing that it’s dropping Deen from its roster of celebrity cooks, the cable network was served heaping portions...

SAVANNAH, Ga. — The line of Paula Deen fans waiting for her restaurant here to open grew throughout the hot, muggy morning Saturday. They discussed what they might select from the buffet inside The Lady and Sons, her wildly popular restaurant in the heart of Savannah. But they also talked of boycotting the Food Network, which dropped their beloved TV chef on Friday after she awkwardly apologized for having used racial slurs and for considering a plantation-themed wedding for her brother, with well-dressed black male servants. The predicament that Ms. Deen finds herself in began when a former employee —...

Television chef Paula Deen, who lost her gig Friday with the Food Network after admitting and apologizing for having used racial epithets, including the “N-word,” is a supporter of President Barack Obama, campaigning on his behalf in 2008 and cultivating a friendship with first lady Michelle Obama. Though Deen allegedly called Obama the “N-word” in front of her employees, according to a lawsuit, the Southern-bred television personality actually campaigned with Obama in 2008, invited Michelle Obama onto one of her television programs, and praised the first lady’s healthy eating agenda. …