Paula Deen is in the middle of a scandal that has decried her as a racist thanks to a deposition for a court case in which she stated she has used the N-word and told politically incorrect jokes in the past. In the days after the news broke the famous celebrity chef has been dropped by numerous outlets and has publicly apologized with varying degrees of success (although cook book sales are booming). The news will invariably die down over the next few weeks after which Ms. Deen will be able to take one of two life paths. She can either go back home and rebuild her business from the ground up or she can stay in the public eye for a while longer and try to keep a grasp on the national inroads she has already made. If she wants to attempt the latter, reports indicate that ABC’s Dancing with the Stars may give Deen the shot.
On Friday, The Gossip Table’s Rob Shuter announced that Dancing with the Stars is unfazed by the controversy surrounding Deen and has reportedly spoken with the chef and TV personality about appearing on the new season of the hit reality competition series. As Shuter himself notes, the series has allowed some controversial figures like Kate Gosselin and Bristol Palin on the show in the past and an appearance like that could do wonders for her public image, depending on how she portrays herself on the show.
Honestly, the show could do wonders for Deen’s health, as well. Another controversy in recent memory occurred at the beginning of 2012 when Deen learned she had diabetes. Obviously, this wasn’t particularly positive for her image as a butter-loving, southern home cooking connoisseur. Deen has lost some weight in the time since, but if she could pull a Kirstie Alley and drop some weight while dancing on the show, she could actually improve her public image on several fronts.
Still, nothing is set in stone, yet. Dancing with the Stars traditionally announces new season lineups during a TV interview, which amps up the excitement, but also means we are unlikely to find out whether or not Deen will officially sign on for a while. Season 16 wrapped up just last month, but we’ll let you know as soon as we know whether or not Deen has joined the cast.
In the meantime, you can check out some of the other opinions about Deen’s potential move to reality TV in The Gossip Table clip, below.
Get More: The Gossip Table, Celebrity Gossip, The Gossip Table
This poll is no longer available.
