I’m admittedly a fan of the Steve Harvey Show.

It is one of the few shows that I have my DVR set to record Monday through Friday. Also, admittedly I have been inundated with the workload and commitment of an up and coming blogger. Therefore, my attention to television watching has decreased immensely.

However, this past Sunday, I opted to sleep in after a late night out with friends and family the evening before. I also skipped church services. Shameful admission, yes, but I did log on to the 11:00am service via Internet. Still not the same, I know, but I won’t belabor this confession so that I may get to the real purpose of this blog post, albeit a late one.
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Realizing that it was probably my guilty conscience kicking in as I lay in bed, my ability to fall asleep simply disappeared, and I reluctantly grabbed the remote control. At a 93% full level, my DVR was certainly calling for me to make some deletions. The greatest number of recordings were those of the Steve Harvey Show, so I decided I’d begin to look through those. I came across one which aired on October 2nd, which featured Paula Deen, accompanied by her two sons, Jamie and Bobby. Midway through the interview, Harvey announced Deen’s new involvement with his annual boys mentoring camp. Deen and her team will be involved with boys participating in the Steve Harvey Mentoring Camp, who express an interest in acquiring culinary skills.

Since the show aired, many have questioned Harvey’s decision to incorporate an accused racist into a program that largely addresses the needs of African American boys. Clearly Harvey isn’t concerned about her being a guest on his show, or about what others may have to say about his selection. He admitted to Deen during the show that “I’m gonna take some heat for this.” After the show had aired, reportedly Harvey had this to say, “There has to be a good behind everything. I just know the good in her. That’s all I know, and it outweighs the bad by a landslide to me. Now, when you blog about me, put also in the blog — can you please type, right after you get through typing, that I don’t give a damn.”

Uh, well alright! So noted, Mr. Harvey.

It’s widely speculated that her appearance on the show was in conjunction with her continued Redemption Tour. The former Food Network Star continues to work to regain her, “Y’all gotta love her” image, following the revelation that she admitted in a deposition that she used the n-word and had a desire to host a plantation-style wedding for her brother, staffed with all black waiters.

Based on the audience’s positive reaction to the news of her new Paula Deen Network, Harvey’s insistence that the focus now needs to be on forgiveness and redemption, it seemed that she had made some headway with the public at large.

Not so fast. It seems that Deen is back in the controversial spotlight-again.

Image from Paula Deen’s restaurant website THE LADY & SONS

It is reported that there is a “mammy figure” image being used in an advertisement for Lady & Sons, Deen’s Savannah, Georgia restaurant. The controversial image depicts a woman ringing a dinner bell that allegedly simply points out the restaurant’s new operating hours. However, during the slavery era, the house mammy would ring a similar bell to alert the plantation folk that dinner was ready.

According to Eater.com, news of the image was brought to light by a Facebook group called For Black Women ONLY,
“To us, this ad for Paula Deen’s restaurant evokes images of slavery when our women ancestors would cook for their masters and ring a bell (similar to this one) to alert the family that their meal was ready. Paula Deen longs for the antebellum south when Blacks, especially black women were non-threatening servants…” “BLACK WOMEN: we have to “LET MAMMY DIE”. BLACK WOMEN: TAKE 100% CONTROL OF YOUR IMAGE!!!” These are two samples of messages posted on the Facebook group’s page.

Eater.com reported that a restaurant spokesperson released a statement responding to the claims surrounding the “racists nature” of the photo. According to the spokesperson, the image depicted in the ad is not new but has been used on the restaurant’s website for “five years.” The spokesperson went on to say, “The lady featured in the picture has worked at the restaurant for over 17 years and is like family to the Deens.”

Needless to say, it seems that Deen may have a long way to go on her Road to Redemption with many, as some continue to feel that she is incapable of being reformed. Others feel that this situation has been exaggerated and that it’s time to move on and forgive.

What’s your take on this DuJour fans?