Paula Deen

Paula Deen may have had a bit too much of the Florida sun this week.

Or a margarita too many before appearing on The Today Show in Miami this morning, as the chef chatted up Al Roker in a strange segment alongside her kin.

Deen professed her love for "chicken balls." She interrupted her son at every turn. She couldn't stand still and she caused viewers to wonder: Is Deen going all Diane Swayer on election night?

Is she wasted?!? Watch and decide for yourself:

Paula Deen: Drunk on Today?

NOTE: We don't recommend getting drunk on national TV. We do recommend the Paula Deen butter pecan ice cream recipe!

If you ever wondered what Katy Perry's face would look like on Paula Deen ... you have really bizarre and specific thoughts. But you're also in luck!

The Internet decided to create this imagery. You're welcome:

It's hard to tell where Katy Perry ends and Paula Deen begins. Originally created last year, before any Paula Deen weight loss, the pic is making the rounds again this week.

We just have two questions:

• Why didn't Katy rock that hairstyle in her inauguration performance?
• Is this what John Mayer fantasizes about if he's really hungry?

Paula Deen is an admitted food fanatic.

The habit has unfortunately stuck this famous chef with Type 2 Diabetes, while also landing her in hot water for pushing the sort of unhealthy food items that result in this disease.

But the chef has now shed 36 pounds and she tells Woman's Day the key is "moderation" in her diet. We also assume she has stopped making that Paula Deen pecan squares recipe.

"I just needed to learn to eat a normal portion size and not overindulge," the star tells the magazine.

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Paula Deen knew it was time to shamelessly cash in on for a change.

Six months after announcing she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, the Food Network star revealed how she devised a slim-down strategy.

One that has helped her shed 30 pounds already, according to People.

"I do think differently [about food] now," Deen says. "I'm more aware."

So instead of regular meals with favorite "trigger" foods, the Southern chef has developed a newfound love for Greek salads and baked fish.

Her focus has paid off so far, with a slimmer frame and fatter bank account, thanks to the diabetes meds she's shilling for. Living the dream!

"It took me a couple of years to get to this point," says Deen, who faced harsh criticism when she finally announced her diagnosis in January.

"If you make a few small changes, they can add up to big results."

Results may include longer life span and/or total loss of scruples.

[Photo: WENN.com]

Paula Deen says that the former general manager of her restaurant who's suing for sexual harassment tried to extort her by demanding a seven figure sum.

If she failed to put up, Deen says she was told she'd face "ruin."

Paula's responding to a lawsuit filed against her and her brother Bubba Heirs by Lisa Jackson, former G.M. of Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House.

Deen cited a letter from Lisa's lawyer, who wrote bluntly that Lisa would shut up and not file the lawsuit against Paula if she forked over $1.25 million.

Paula Deen with The Situation, who has nothing to do with this article.

Lisa's lawyer adds, "If we are unable to settle, the complaint will not be quietly filed. I am making arrangements for a press conference on the day of filing."

Paula is asking for a gag order in the case, prohibiting everyone in the case from blabbing to the media ... which clearly hasn't been the case up until now.

Paula's lawyer says Lisa's strategy is clear: "Pay or I will ruin you."

Lisa claims Bubba engaged in a campaign of terror, subjecting her to porn, kissing and spitting on her, making racist and sexist jokes, and on and on.

Paula denies all of Lisa's allegations, and says that just before she quit, Lisa praised Bubba and told Paula how he helped her become independent.

[Photo: WENN.com]

Attorneys for Paula Deen said that the former worker suing for sexual harassment and being subjected to a hostile work environment is making false allegations.

Deen's camp says Lisa Jackson only made the claims after rebuffing attempts to resolve the matter amicably, and after the chef refused to pay her to keep quiet.

The lawsuit, filed Monday, "makes false allegations against Paula Deen and they will be proven false in court," said a statement from the firm representing Deen.

The law firm said the suit was filed in a local court after the Southern cooking star and Type 2 diabetic refused to pay the woman to "address false claims."

Attorneys for Jackson, a former general manager at the restaurant, didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment regarding Deen's rebuttal.

Jackson said her doctor encouraged her to quit managing Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House in Savannah, Ga., due to panic attacks and other stress.

The restaurant is owned by Paula Deen and her brother Bubba Hiers.

Jackson, who is white, said in the lawsuit that Hiers routinely made inappropriate sexual remarks and that she heard Heirs and Deen using racial slurs.

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A racial slur against President Barack Obama is just one of the many explosive allegations in a bombshell lawsuit against Paula Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in Georgia on behalf of Lisa Jackson, a past employee of Paula Deen Enterprises. Among the stunning allegations in the lawsuit:

"In the presence of Ms. Jackson and a vendor, Bubba Hiers stated they should dispatch President Obama to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico so he could n***er-rig it."

The lawsuit also claims that Deen herself used the word in front of employees:

According to the court documents, Jackson was appointed by Deen to handle catering for Bubba's wedding in 2007, and asked Deen what servers should wear.

Paula's alleged response?

"Well what I would really like is a bunch of little n***ers to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties, you know in the Shirley Temple days."

"They used to tap dance around. Now, that would be a true Southern wedding wouldn't it? But we can't do that because the media would be on me about that."

The documents state that Jackson became GM of Bubba’s Oyster and Seafood House in Savannah, Ga., which is co-owned by Deen and Bubba, after the previous GM (a male) apparently got fired for having sexual relations with the servers.

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Already embroiled in controversy over her recent disclosure of diabetes, Paula Deen is now accused of sexual harassment in the termination of an employee.

The queen of Southern fried cooking nixed allegedly philandering general manager of one of her restaurants because, as she put it, "If you think I have worked this hard to lose everything because of a piece of p**sy, you better think again."

Paula replaced the G.M. with a woman, and now she's suing Paula and her brother for ... sexual harassment. That qualifies as irony right there.

Lisa Jackson worked as G.M. for Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House in Savannah, Ga., from 2005-2010. Paula's brother, Bubba Hiers, is part owner with Paula.

Lisa claims Bubba brought "inescapable pornography" to the workplace all the time, often visiting XXX websites on the kitchen computer and failing to log off. Smart.

According to the suit, Bubba allegedly asked Lisa to bring pics of herself to work, photos of her when she was younger, telling her, "You have nice legs."

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The lingering feud between celebrity chefs Anthony Bourdain and Paula Deen took another turn on Sunday at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Florida.

With both chefs on hand for separate cooking demonstrations, Bourdain, 55, wasted no time bashing Deen, 65, yet again for endorsing diabetes medication.

After years of shilling massively high-calorie, decadent foods, Deen recently admitted she has Type 2 diabetes ... which she concealed for a matter of years.

Bourdain, a vocal critic of Deen, was asked by chef Eddie Huang: "Aren't you a hypocrite – smoking on your show and making fun of this nice old lady with diabetes?"

Bourdain replied: "You're right. I did smoke cigarettes for a lot of years on my show. But I wasn't selling [expletive] cigarettes ... And when I found a spot on my [expletive] lung, I didn't wait three years so I could get a deal selling the patch."

Ouch. But nicely played. It's not like he put spots on anyone else's lungs, even if you make the argument that smoking on his show wasn't setting a good example.

Either way, the two chefs' contrasting styles were further accentuated when each was asked at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival for their best hangover cure.

Deen answered, "I don't drink, so I don't get hangovers!"

But Bourdain, drinking a Pabst Blue Ribbon at that very moment, said his cure was "aspirin, a cold Coca-Cola, a big joint and leftover Kung Pao Chicken."

Paula Deen's fans noticed something different about her at the 2012 South Beach Wine and Food Festival in Miami on Sunday: She's looking noticeably thinner.

The Queen of Southern cooking, who was recently criticized after she revealed she's had Type 2 Diabetes for three years, says she's already shed two sizes.

"I've dropped two pant sizes and I feel great!" Deen, 65, said, crediting a health regime that includes walking 30 minutes a day and eating smaller portions.

Deen hosted a brunch that included a menu of fried chicken, waffles, jambalaya cooked by her husband and a strawberry margarita mousse prepped by Robert Irvine.

She told fans during her cooking demo that she isn't sure what she weighs.

"We don't own a scale in our house," she says. "Every six months I go for a physical and find out. Now it's time to see the doctor. She'll be happy if I've lost weight."

Both the cook and her family are pleased with results.

"Doesn't she look nice?" son Bobby said. "She has a little more pep in her step now. She'd been guilty of being a little too sedentary – like a lot of people."

Deen told fans, "It's amazing how good getting up and moving makes you feel."

[Photo: WENN.com]