The fall of Paula Deen's cooking empire has been surprisingly swift — in one week's time, nearly a dozen companies that were affiliated with her brand have announced that they're distancing themselves from the former Food Network star.
On Friday, Kmart, Sears, and Walgreens became the latest companies to drop Deen, The Huffington Post reports. They're now "phasing out" all products associated with her brand.
Here's a running list of all the brands that have released statements distancing themselves from Deen so far:
- Food Network
- QVC
- Smithfield Foods
- Caesars Palace
- Novo Nordisk
- Walmart
- Target
- Home Depot
- Kmart
- Sears
- Walgreens
Some of Deen's partners, including QVC and Novo Nordisk, have just suspended their relationship with Deen for the time being. Others, such as the Food Network, have dropped her altogether (the network announced that Deen's contract won't be renewed at the end of this month).
It's very possible that more brands could follow, but the fallout from Deen's racism scandal might be nearing an end. Some (albeit, smaller) companies she's partnered with are actually showing support for her.
UPDATE: J.C. Penney just announced that it's going to stop selling Paula Deen merchandise, bringing the total number of companies to distance themselves from Deen to 12.
