By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed August 19, 2011
Paula Deen, Savannah's most popular on-air food personality, bit back at Anthony Bourdain's harsh assessment in TV Guide of her and other Food Network staples.
At the same time, she does not address his chief criticism: that the food she dishes out is incredibly fattening and unhealthy for its viewers. Instead, she said he went after her character and failed to address how charitable she is, while also questioning his level of charity.
Here's what she told the New York Post:
"Anthony Bourdain needs to get a life. You don't have to like my food, or Rachael's, Sandra's and Guy's. But it's another thing to attack our character. I wake up every morning happy for where I am in life. It's not all about the cooking, but the fact that I can contribute by using my influence to help people all over the country. In the last two years, my partners and I have fed more than 10 million hungry people by bringing meat to food banks."
Back at you, Anthony! What do you have to say about that?
Here's what Bourdain, star of Travel Channel's "No Reservations," originally said in the print edition of TV Guide about Deen: “The worst, most dangerous person to America is clearly Paula Deen. She revels in unholy connections with evil corporations and she’s proud of the fact that her food is [bleep]ing bad for you. If I were on at seven at night and loved by millions of people at every age, I would think twice before telling an already obese nation that it's OK to eat food that is killing us. Plus, her food sucks.â€
He also insulted Guy Fieri, Rachael Ray and Sandra Lee.
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By Rodney Ho, rho@ajc.com, AJCRadioTV blog
