--- description: Celebrity chef apologizes once again for past use of racial slurs title: Paula Deen on Today Show One Year After Scandal image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fb0037e9eebc13d/6986a4c035ba6f2f32c03f54/171547771.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Paula Deen Returns to _Today_: 'My Words Hurt People' by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 23, 2014 12:34 PM CUT  Paula Deen appears on NBC News' "Today" show, Sept. 23, 2014. Paula Deen appears on NBC News' "Today" show, Sept. 23, 2014.NBC/Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 23, 2014 12:34 PM CUT One year after Paula Deen’s[meltdown](http://deadline.com/2013/06/today-show-gives-deen-failing-grades-after-her-interview-529981/ "undefined") on NBC’s _Today_ show — in which she “apologized” for using racial slurs 30 years ago with the declaration “I is what I is” — the cooking star reunited with Matt Lauer Tuesday to reflect on what the last 365 days had wrought. It was a “dark and difficult year,” Lauer recalled to Deen, who appeared alongside her two sons. The celebrity chef lost her Food Network show in 2013 after a leaked deposition revealed she admitted using the n-word “a very long time” ago, and also that she had planned to host a “Southern plantation-styled” wedding featuring African-American servants. Deen agreed with Lauer’s verdict, adding that doing the infamous _Today_ interview had been a mistake. “That was a woman in trauma, shock, trying to understand what happened,” she said. “And you know the cold hard fact, Matt, is I probably should not have been here. I should have been home, maybe under the care of a doctor.” She also apologized for the scandal. “My words hurt people,” Deen said. “They disappointed people, and quite frankly I disappointed myself. And for that I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry for the hurt I caused people. Because it went deep.” So what is Deen up to after a year of self reflecting (and admittedly reading [WeSupportPaulaDeen.com](http://WeSupportPaulaDeen.com "undefined")) on her couch? Even though Lauer declared Deen had become “radioactive in the business world” after the scandal, Deen was promoting her new endeavor: The Paula Deen Network. Deen recently bought all of her content from The Food Network to fill the site alongside 20 other new shows a week. Other things to look forward to? A documentary showing her side of the story will premiere exclusively on the digital network. Oh, and there might be a book. “I really feel it’s going to require another book,” she said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3421319/paula-deen-today-show-nbc/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3421319/paula-deen-today-show-nbc/"},"headline":"Paula Deen Returns to Today: 'My Words Hurt People'","datePublished":"2014-09-23T12:34:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:13:22.870Z","description":"\"I'm so, so sorry for the hurt I caused people. 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