Maloney

Caitlyn Maloney
Dr. Jennifer Bone
Evaluating Contemporary Rhetoric
Dare We Forgive Her?
Introduction
Racism should have diminished with the civil rights movement, but
unfortunately that isnt the case. Although racial slurs are highly frowned
upon, they still appear in contemporary times. Celebrities are often caught
red handed using racial insults. Mel Gibson, Jay-Z, Tracy Morgan, Madonna,
Riley Cooper, Michael Richards, and Paula Deen are just a few to name.
These people range in fame, but their mistakes are unforgotten.
Paula Deen, a southern chef, best known for using large quantities of
butter in her recipes and her lovely grandmother image, was caught in a
scandal in June of 2013. She admitted under oath to using the n-word in
front of a court of law. She was allegedly accused of claiming that her dream
wedding would be a plantation-style wedding, having African Americans
serve her like slaves. Deen was also accused of calling one of her African
American cooks her little monkey(Hollywood Life). She has faced multiple
consequences due to her actions, including her contract being terminated by
the Food Network, and receiving unrestricted scrutiny from the community,
being called racist (NBC). Whether these allegations were true or not, she
needed to publically address them. After canceling her appearance once
before Deen finally came forth and issued a public apology on The Today

Maloney

Show with Matt Lauer, apologizing for her actions. I will use the method of
generic application to analyze Paula Deens apology, and then determine
whether or not it was effective.
When our society receives an apology from a public figure there are
certain expectations that need to be fulfilled. Sonja Foss describes generic
criticism, as Certain types of situations provoke similar needs and
expectations in audiences, and thus call for particular kinds of rhetoric (Foss
137). I applied generic application to Paula Deens apology speech. By
exploring the process of generic application my procedure was to apply a
standard model of a genre to a specific artifact, and looked to see if the
artifact overlapped in strategies with the generic model (Foss 141). In using
generic application, the task at hand was to define expected characteristics
demanded by the audience in a speech of apology. Then, explain the
elements that contribute and help characterize the artifact into that genre.
Next, determine the posture and modes of resolution of the artifact. Lastly,
determine whether the speech successfully executed the goal, and
ultimately determine if the artifact was efficient in apologizing or not.
The Artifact
Now we will move on to Paula Deens public apology itself. The artifact
isnt a speech but rather an interview with Matt Lauer. She expresses her
feelings towards the accusations of racial slurs, saying she is very hurt and
shocked by the aftermath. She begins her apology by stating:

Maloney

The main reason I am here today is, its important to me that I tell you and everyone out
there, what I believe, and how I live my life. I believe that every creature on this earth,
every one of Gods creatures was created equal. (Fuller)
Matt asks her about whether or not she is racist, whom she gives the answer no to. Although
she did admit, under oath, to using an extremely offensive word to describe an African American
individual, she does not identify as being racist. Then she elaborates on the day when she admits
to using the n-word:
Yes. The day I used that word, it was a world ago. It was 30 years ago. I had had a gun
put other my head, a shakin gun, because the man that had the gun to my head,
unbeknowing to me, was my customer at the main office. [sic] (Fuller)
Deen was referring to when she once worked at a bank, and had a gun held to her head by an
African American man. At that period in time she states that she was guilty of using the
derogatory term towards the man, but claims she hasnt used it since then. The interview between
Deen and Lauer progresses, and Lauer presses Deen to admit that she has indeed used the n-word
since the bank robbery incident, which she swears, she has not.
Although she is consistent in denying saying that word in any other instances, Lauer
brings up statements from her deposition that contradict her; proving otherwise that she had used
the n-word besides that one time. At that point in time Deen begins to move away from herself
using the word, and starts talking about the usage of it amongst young adults in her kitchens.
After asked if she has ever participated with these young adults in their explicit dialogue, Deen
declares,
Its very distressing. Its very distressing for me because I think that for this problem to
be worked on, that these young people are gonna have to take control and start showin

Maloney

respect for each other and not throwin that word at each other. That it is it makes my
skin crawl.(Fuller)
After using transcendence to shifting the audiences focus away from her, Matt then
brings her focus back to the problem at hand. Asking her if she had ever wished that she had
altered the truth so the scrutiny she received wouldnt have been so harsh. Her response to this
question is that she would never lie. Deen states, Theres a couple of kinds of people that I dont
like that I am prejudiced against, Matt, and thats thieves and liars. This makes it clear that she
has no regrets regarding her truthfulness on the matter. Deen then builds on the trustworthiness
virtue and starts explaining her family values. By explaining these values to Lauer, she uses
bolstering as a mode of resolution. Reinforcing her relationship with her family, and identifying
with being trustworthy is at the center of the mode of bolstering. Herself, her children, and
grandchildren were all raised having honesty being a core virtue.
Attention is then brought to all of the support she had been receiving from her followers.
Her fans lined the streets outside her restaurant, and also turned to twitter to defend her against
the allegations. Deen explains that her followers are just as angry about the untruthful stories that
had been fabricated as the people that were offended by the same stories. No one knew the whole
truth, so anger was spurting from both sides. Deen states that she is heartbroken due to the lies
being told about her. However, she doesnt feel heartbroken for herself, but for her friends and
family that are affected by these hurtful accusations. Although she and her family were facing
hardship at that time, she remains grateful for her supportive Reverend Jackson and fan base. She
then states If God got us into it, then hell get us through it all while she is slightly sobbing
(Hollywood Life).

Maloney

On that note, Matt Lauer thanks Deen for her participation in the interview. She responds
by thanking him as well, and wishing that she didnt have to come to the show to defend herself
from these horrible, horrible lies, and that she plans to continue living in the way she believes
in (Hollywood Life).

Analysis
After carefully analyzing the Deen interview using generic application I have concluded
that Paula Deens apology is not effective in meeting audiences expectations. I believe that the
followers that she already had would continue to support her in her road to forgiveness, but she
didnt give enough explanation or clarification to the people she offended or those who
questioned the accusations.
By using generic application I determined the goal Deen wanted to accomplish in her
apology; she uses explanative reasoning in an attempt to coax the audience into forgiveness. It is
consistent throughout the speech that Deen wants her colleagues, followers, family, friends, and
anyone listening, to understand her motives behind the racial slur. Although she attempts to
somewhat explain the context of the situation, confusion occurs in moments where she denies
ever having used the word. Explanative reasoning, and denial dont usually go hand in hand in a
speech of apology so these opposing factors create misunderstanding. This further proves that
she is ineffective in completing her goal of reaching forgiveness.
Goal of Self-Defense
By identifying explanative reasoning as her main goal, I have pulled out important
elements of her apology that I believe contribute to this form of rhetoric. She defends her beliefs

Maloney

by emphasizing equality within the first few statements of the interview. By putting her own
views of equality out on the table the audience could infer that she is a good person with valuable
morals, and isnt a person who would stand for inequality.
When she explains the context in which she is guilty of using the n-word, viewers then
may begin to understand why that derogatory word escaped her mouth. Having a gun held to
your head would be terrifying to anyone, and an individual would more than likely feel resentful
towards the person who threatened them. She explains that when she did use this word, it was a
different time period. This idea leaves the audience wondering if perhaps that word was a little
more acceptable then. Deen claims in the interview that she has not used the n-word since the
bank robbery instance. While enlightening viewers on the bank robbery, she is vague in
describing the situation. Without providing any background information on the story, the
audience may be left feeling confused and may not necessarily understand the correlation
between the robbery and the lawsuit she was facing at the time.
On top of that, Lauer mentions statements from her deposition, which contradict her not
using that word since the robbery. Deen insists that her reports are honest, but does not clarify if
she is talking about the deposition or the interview. This adds even more confusion to the
audience, leaving them not knowing what to believe. As mentioned before, there are multiple
instances where Deen completely denies using the word at all, furthering misunderstanding from
the audience.
Mode of Resolution
After identifying the use of explanative rhetoric to achieve her main goal, I then
evaluated what mode of resolution she took to move forward. Deen relates her family, friends,
fans, and faith to the situation. She claims that she raised her children and grandchildren to be

Maloney

honest and not to discriminate. She mentions she is thankful for her fans and friends support
during this troubling time. God is also a name that she drops when discussing those that have
helped her through. By bringing up all of these relationships, she used bolstering to achieve her
set goal of receiving forgiveness. By mentioning these relationships she is identifying with
something positive. Despite the terrible situation she brought upon herself, there are still
encouraging aspects in her life that will help her overcome this. These ideas then, in-turn,
highlight that she is still a good person with honorable morals and people should still trust her.
However, at one point in the apology, she tries to focus on the use of the n-word in her kitchens,
shifting the focus from her, to a more abstract concept. By doing so, she uses a little bit of
transcendence as one of her modes of resolution. This shifting of focus does not effectively work
in her favor; it adds more muck to her already unclear apology.
Conclusion
Explanative and Bolstering- Did it Work?
Although Deen does use two main rhetorical components that the audience feels are key
to begin the forgiving process, there is room for improvement in her delivery. There are two
other rhetorical elements used that contribute to her inefficient apology, denial and
transcendence. Deen incompletely uses the modes denial and transcendence in her apology, and I
believe if she had devoted more time in effectively using these then perhaps the outcome of her
apology would have been different. Explaining herself to help people somewhat understand the
situation, and relating the incident to positive relationship in her life are a good start but the issue
at hand remains fairly unclear.
Improving the Delivery

Maloney

By never mentioning directly what she is apologizing for, the audience may not have
enough background information on the issue. If she had come forward and explained the details
of the lawsuit, the times when she had used the word, and the accusations, everything would be
much more clear and leave the audience with no sense of doubt in her honesty. Providing the
audience with vital details would help her gain skeptics trust, and in turn benefit her in the long
run.
In addition, Deen has no structure in the way she answers Lauers questions. He seems to
ask one thing, and she responds with an unrelated answer to the question. This adds to the
ambiguity of the issue, and leave the audience with little to work with. If she answered the
questions more directly then the audience would have a better opportunity to trace her thoughts
and therefore understand her better.
Deen touches base on the way she was raised in a household with strong family values
throughout her statement. She uses bolstering in one way to help identify her good values, but in
another way it calls attention to her being raised in the South during times of segregation. Her
southern accent is an unavoidable part of her apology, and it automatically associates her with
the South. Although she cannot alter her accent, she could have easily avoided speaking about
growing up and the time period in which she was raised. At the time of her being raised, racism
was a more common practice, so one could believe that the chances of her making racist
statements are greater than others. Rather than mentioning how she was raised, she could have
solely focused on the way she raised her children. This idea would still reflect respectable family
values and positive characteristics, without calling attention to her being from Georgia.
The primary audience Deen addresses in her apology seems to be her family, friends, and
loyal fan base. Her friends and family are directly linked to the accusations, having their

Maloney

everyday lives be effected due to her actions. She directly mentions her fans, saying that they are
undeservingly angered by the allegations, and lies. She is thankful for all of these peoples
support, and acknowledges that they have helped her get through this. Although Deen never
directly says Im sorry or that she apologizes for her actions, the audience can determine that
is her intention. Deen does leave out one major audience that her racist comments very explicitly
affected, African Americans. Although her admitting to using the n-word years ago offends more
than just African Americans, they deserve the biggest apology of all. If she were to have directly
apologized to African Americans her creditability would have increased substantially. Having
better credibility would help audiences all over trust and accept that her apology is sincere.
The last section of Paulas speech she says, Because I live my life the way I believe
(Fuller). This statement may lead people think she is stressing her beliefs in honesty and equality.
It can also be taken that if she always lived in a way that she believes and if she once said the nword, she still could believe in that word today. This statement really stood out to me, it seems as
if she isnt remorseful towards the situation whatsoever. If an individual really wanted to gain
forgiveness, they would end their statement on a note that is more sincere, and apologetic.
The Aftermath
Nine months after the instance, Deen is trying to rebuild her name. After losing millions
of dollars, and a large amount of her sponsors she is still striving to recover from this incident.
Although the lawsuit was dismissed, people havent forgotten the allegations. David Johnson is
quoted in People Magazine saying Her brand identity as the sweet grandmother was destroyed
permanently with all but her loyal fan base. She continues to play the victim and send a signal to
sponsors that she doesnt understand the gravity of her words or race issues (Dunea). Deen

Maloney

10

states that she would never intend to hurt anyone, but believes that her name will always be
associated with disgrace (Dunea).
It seems as though after all of the controversy, Deen is still receiving scrutiny for her
actions. She is no longer the Queen of Butter but now the Racist Queen of Butter. Nine
months isnt necessarily a lengthy period of time, so perhaps as time progresses she will be able
to recover and gain forgiveness. As for now, her apology doesnt seem significant enough to
salvage her name.
So What?
Despite Deen not making the most effective public apology many rhetorical lessons can
be learned from her interview. A critic can pull out elements of her statements and safely
conclude that she is making an apology, despite her lack of definite apologies.
Through generic application one can identify key characteristics that place her statements
under the apologia genre. She gives some context to the situation that is in question, and
associates herself with positive characteristics that will help her start fresh. By explaining her
wrongdoing the audience can begin to somewhat understand how and why this inappropriate
instance happened. From there they can get an idea of how Deen will better herself from that
point on. This apology is a great example for a starting point in a speech of apology. If one were
to take her ideas and elaborate on them, an excellent artifact would be in the making. If Deen
were too put as much effort into constructing her apology as she put butter in her casseroles, then
perhaps the country would be more forgiving of her actions.

Maloney

11

Works Cited
Deen, Paula. Interview with Matt Lauer. Today Show. 26 June 2013. Broadcast.
Dunea, Melanie. Im Getting My Fight Back. People Magazine 10 March 2014: 62-66. Print.
Foss, Sonja K. Generic Criticism. Rhetorical Crititicism: Exploration and Practice. 4th ed.
Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2009. 137- 145. Print.
Fuller, Bonnie. Paula Deen Sobs in Today Show Interview: Im not a racist. Hollywood Life.
Wordpress. 26 June 2013. Web. 9 March 2014.