During Rachael Ray's visit to the clubhouse on "Watch What Happens: Live," she got to talking about her former Food Network co-star, Paula Deen. The network let Deen go after she admitted to using racial slurs in the past during a deposition for a racial discrimination lawsuit. Deen has since won that lawsuit.
"Food Network loves Paula Deen and I think that they were really caught between a hot pan and a hard place there," said Ray. "I think that the Food Network loves the fact that Paula’s been a part of their family forever. And that her family continues to cook on, and I believe that one day the family will make up as all good families do.”
As Ray pointed out, Deen's sons, Bobby and Jamie, both have shows on Food Network and its sister network, Cooking Channel. Deen has been known to make guest appearances on both of their shows. And the network might be reconsidering Deen's ouster for another reason.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported that Food Network's ratings have seen a rather dramatic decline since Deen was removed from the channel's lineup. The network is down double digits in the coveted 18-49 demographic.
"Rachael Ray" has been renewed for two more seasons, to run in syndication through 2016. Tune in to "Watch What Happens: Live" every Sunday through Thursday at 11 p.m. ET on Bravo.
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