SAVANNAH, Ga, (WSAV) — Savannah’s own Paula Deen is the subject of a new documentary, “Canceled: The Paula Deen Story.” It premiered this week at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
Directed by filmmaker Billy Corben, the film looks at Deen’s life from becoming a caterer in Georgia to her rise as a television star to her scandalous fall from grace.
In 2013, Deen was fired from the Food Network after she admitted to using a racial slur in a sworn deposition. The backlash from the public was immediate. Before the scandal, Deen had lucrative partnerships with big businesses like Walmart and Target. She also sold products on QVC.
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In an interview with People magazine published this week, Corben said, “I think that [Deen] tried to tell her story. I think she realized that she wasn’t very good at it. There’s a word she uses to describe herself a lot. It’s only in the doc once or twice, but if you go across her era of stardom, ‘naïve.’ She refers to herself as naïve. I think that’s a very fair and accurate and polite description.”…