Before a national television audience Sunday, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed called Georgia celebrity chef Paula Deen’s acknowledged use of a racial slur “very unfortunate” and “totally unacceptable.”
Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Reed said “we all have to change.”
He predicted that the public will hear more from Deen, whose show was yanked Friday from the Food Network shortly after she made an emotional YouTube apology.
“I think she’s apologized once. She’s going to continue to do that,” Reed said. “But it was very unfortunate and totally unacceptable.”
A former manager at Deen’s restaurants in Savannah is suing her and her brother for sexual and racial harassment.
Most of “Meet the Press” focused on the National Security Agency’s anti-terrorism programs and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Early Sunday, news broke that Snowden had left Hong Kong and was heading toward Russia, with his final destination unclear.
Reed said he believes President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush “have done a strong job of keeping this country safe.”
He challenged those “who are making all these commentaries from the cheap seats” about NSA monitoring to “put a bill on the floor” of Congress that could address the concerns they have.
But Reed cautioned “with that bill would come responsibility.”
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