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Prevention magazine’s two-part EXCLUSIVE interview with Paula Deen – hit newsstands yesterday.
The first part of our interview can be found on newsstands and the second part of the interview is exclusively online at Prevention.com.
This is a amazing exclusive interview – Paula’s FIRST magazine interview since her diabetes announcement.
****
Prevention magazine’s two-part EXCLUSIVE interview with Paula Deen – hit newsstands yesterday.
The first part of our interview can be found on newsstands and the second part of the interview is exclusively online at Prevention.com.
This is a amazing exclusive interview – Paula’s FIRST magazine interview since her diabetes announcement.
****
Paula DeenQUOTES FROM PART 1 - IN-BOOK INTERVIEW WITH PAULA:
On how she learned she had type-2 diabetes:
You know, I did not have symptoms. I’m really good about going to the doctor every 6 months. It was during a routine visit that they tested my fasting blood sugar—the one where you can’t eat or drink after midnight—and it showed I was in the early stages of type 2 diabetes.
On if she went through the classic stages of grief upon hearing her diagnosis:
Yes, every one of them. Denial is first, because you don’t feel any different. I thought, ‘Maybe the doctor’s got this test wrong.’ So it was my 3-month visit that confirmed it. But hopefully, the final stage you go through is a feeling of power through education.
On why she delayed revealing her diagnosis:
When I became agoraphobic, it took me 20 years to be able to say, ‘Okay, y’all, I’m a sufferer of agoraphobia.’ I was so ashamed that I, a reasonable person, had let fear literally stop me in my tracks. I could not tell people that. It took me 3 years to get to the point where I could stand up and say, ‘Hey, my name is Paula, and I’m type 2 diabetic.’
On what was going through her mind during the three years before she revealed she had diabetes:
I was thinking about it. But I knew that one day I would share this, when I felt I had answers and solutions. It was not my intention to hide it forever, because I don’t live my life that way. I don’t live in secrets, even though it was my right to keep this information to myself.
On how her drug endorsement deal with Novo Nordisk come about:
When they came to me, the first thing I said to them was, ‘How do you know I’m type 2?’ They said, ‘You’re diabetic?’ They were initially coming to me to challenge me to make my recipes more diabetic friendly. So I talked with my family until I was blue in the face about ‘Is this a good idea? Should I? Shouldn’t I?’
On if she was surprised by the media’s reaction to her announcement:
Oh my gosh, yes. But my fans, my loyal supporters, were incredible. I got so much love and support from them. And of course, there were haters that judged me—unfairly, I think. I don’t blame myself for this. And I don’t want 25 million people out there with diabetes blaming themselves. This is not something we chose. Diabetes is like a puzzle, and if the pieces fit together, then we show up with type 2 diabetes. But there are so many things that play into this. It’s your age, your race, your genes, and certainly your lifestyle—lack of exercise, the amount of stress you’re under, and not trying to get a grip on your weight.
On what part of the criticism hurt her the most:
Probably the accusation that I was just doing this for financial gain. That’s so, so untrue. I could not come out and say, ‘Hey, y’all, I’m type 2 diabetic,’ and turn around and walk off. I had to have solutions. And I saw Novo Nordisk as part of the solution, not part of the problem. They gave me the power to reach masses of people and to bring information. Yes, I am being compensated for my time and work—and I hope that you’re not doing this interview for free, either. If it makes any difference to those people, I’m giving a percentage to the American Diabetes Association.
On if she thinks she has any responsibility to be a role model for healthy eating:
I’m not a role model like Jillian [Michaels] from The Biggest Loser. That’s not me. I have weaknesses just like everybody else. But I see myself as an example of how we can pursue our dreams and accomplish things, because I have found over the years that people come up to me and say, ‘Paula, you have no idea how much hope and inspiration you bring to my life’—because I wasn’t supposed to succeed. I had only $200 to my name; I had no education. But I took that $200 and I said, ‘Lord, ain’t nothin’ gonna stop me.’
On the recent reports that she’s lost a dress size or two:
My personal assistant says I have. My clothes certainly do fit better. But we don’t own a scale. I won’t know [my weight] until I go for my 6-month visit to the doctor. And I threaten them to within an inch of their life not to tell anybody.
In retrospect, if there’s anything she would have done differently in making the announcement:
No. When I made my first public appearance after the hubbub, I was a little anxious. But I walked out to a theater filled with 2,500 people, and I got a standing ovation. I said, “Oh, my goodness, I did not realize how badly I needed to be here with y’all.” If I ever had any doubts about whether I was doing the right thing or not, they gave me my answer. And here is the bottom line: We woke up today on the right side of the dirt. We have one more day that we can do something good and positive. I’ve overcome a lot of obstacles in my life. And it’s my hope that when my party is up and I’m no longer here, if somebody says the name Paula Deen, the word that comes to mind is not butter but the word hope.
PREVENTION.COM INTERVIEW QUOTE HIGHLIGHTS :
We’ve been interested to see that Anthony Bourdain, who was kind of nasty in his initial response to your diabetes announcement, has now been softening his comments. What’s going on?
Oh, really? My team told me of his statement that I was the most evil dangerous woman in America. I thought, “Oh my gosh, what hospital did he just get out of?” And I did hear he was going to break his leg to sell crutches, which I thought was awful, because people out there with diabetes haven’t chosen this. It’s not their fault. So many things play into whether or not you get diabetes. I thought that was very, very cruel. But I really don’t know nor do I care. I don’t know the man. I’ve never shared a meal with him. You could enlighten me on what he said. In what way has he softened?
He’s saying he feels sorry for you.
Don’t cry for me, honey. Don’t cry for me. God has blessed me unbelievably.
If he came to dinner at your house, what would you serve him?
Well, it would depend on the day of the week, and what was going on in my life at that moment. If my children were all coming, it would certainly be a different meal. If he was just stopping in on Michael and me, it would probably be a salad with a rotisserie chicken on top. Everybody has a right to their own opinion. And I can’t change his opinion, nor would I try. I wish him the best. I just do. I don’t wish anything bad on anybody. I know he’s had his demons, and I hope they’re under control.
What did you think of the Saturday Night Live spoof of you?
Oh my gosh, that made me just die laughing. I love Saturday Night Live. We have been big fans of that show since 1976, I think, and wouldn’t miss one for anything. The girl who has played me a couple times—Kristin Wiig, who did Bridesmaids—I think she is brilliant. She is the most talented female that’s been on Saturday Night Live since Gilda Radner. Like I said, it made me laugh, because to me it was so tongue in cheek. I never miss an opportunity to laugh, even if it’s at myself. I need to send her a thank you note.
Would you like to be on Saturday Night Live yourself?
I want to be on Saturday Night Live so bad I can hardly stand it. I think it would be a hoot.
In March, Oprah’s show on OWN broadcast an hour-long show with you. But the show didn’t focus on diabetes. Why not?
Oprah came to my house last year and spent the night and we filmed the show, but contractually I could not speak of it until we made the announcement. And so as we got closer and closer to the announcement, I sent word that I needed to speak with Oprah, so she called me on New Year’s Eve, and I said, “Oprah, I just want to explain to you about this announcement that I’m fixing to make and why I could not discuss it with you. I didn’t want anyone to think you were uninformed, so now I can tell you.” She thanked me. She said, “I appreciate that Paula.” I said, “Oprah, there’s a good chance we make this announcement and no one cares or we won’t get any feedback.” And she laughed and she said, “Oh, yes you will, Paula.”
Photo By: RD/Crisler/Retna
On how she learned she had type-2 diabetes:
You know, I did not have symptoms. I’m really good about going to the doctor every 6 months. It was during a routine visit that they tested my fasting blood sugar—the one where you can’t eat or drink after midnight—and it showed I was in the early stages of type 2 diabetes.
On if she went through the classic stages of grief upon hearing her diagnosis:
Yes, every one of them. Denial is first, because you don’t feel any different. I thought, ‘Maybe the doctor’s got this test wrong.’ So it was my 3-month visit that confirmed it. But hopefully, the final stage you go through is a feeling of power through education.
On why she delayed revealing her diagnosis:
When I became agoraphobic, it took me 20 years to be able to say, ‘Okay, y’all, I’m a sufferer of agoraphobia.’ I was so ashamed that I, a reasonable person, had let fear literally stop me in my tracks. I could not tell people that. It took me 3 years to get to the point where I could stand up and say, ‘Hey, my name is Paula, and I’m type 2 diabetic.’
On what was going through her mind during the three years before she revealed she had diabetes:
I was thinking about it. But I knew that one day I would share this, when I felt I had answers and solutions. It was not my intention to hide it forever, because I don’t live my life that way. I don’t live in secrets, even though it was my right to keep this information to myself.
On how her drug endorsement deal with Novo Nordisk come about:
When they came to me, the first thing I said to them was, ‘How do you know I’m type 2?’ They said, ‘You’re diabetic?’ They were initially coming to me to challenge me to make my recipes more diabetic friendly. So I talked with my family until I was blue in the face about ‘Is this a good idea? Should I? Shouldn’t I?’
On if she was surprised by the media’s reaction to her announcement:
Oh my gosh, yes. But my fans, my loyal supporters, were incredible. I got so much love and support from them. And of course, there were haters that judged me—unfairly, I think. I don’t blame myself for this. And I don’t want 25 million people out there with diabetes blaming themselves. This is not something we chose. Diabetes is like a puzzle, and if the pieces fit together, then we show up with type 2 diabetes. But there are so many things that play into this. It’s your age, your race, your genes, and certainly your lifestyle—lack of exercise, the amount of stress you’re under, and not trying to get a grip on your weight.
On what part of the criticism hurt her the most:
Probably the accusation that I was just doing this for financial gain. That’s so, so untrue. I could not come out and say, ‘Hey, y’all, I’m type 2 diabetic,’ and turn around and walk off. I had to have solutions. And I saw Novo Nordisk as part of the solution, not part of the problem. They gave me the power to reach masses of people and to bring information. Yes, I am being compensated for my time and work—and I hope that you’re not doing this interview for free, either. If it makes any difference to those people, I’m giving a percentage to the American Diabetes Association.
On if she thinks she has any responsibility to be a role model for healthy eating:
I’m not a role model like Jillian [Michaels] from The Biggest Loser. That’s not me. I have weaknesses just like everybody else. But I see myself as an example of how we can pursue our dreams and accomplish things, because I have found over the years that people come up to me and say, ‘Paula, you have no idea how much hope and inspiration you bring to my life’—because I wasn’t supposed to succeed. I had only $200 to my name; I had no education. But I took that $200 and I said, ‘Lord, ain’t nothin’ gonna stop me.’
On the recent reports that she’s lost a dress size or two:
My personal assistant says I have. My clothes certainly do fit better. But we don’t own a scale. I won’t know [my weight] until I go for my 6-month visit to the doctor. And I threaten them to within an inch of their life not to tell anybody.
In retrospect, if there’s anything she would have done differently in making the announcement:
No. When I made my first public appearance after the hubbub, I was a little anxious. But I walked out to a theater filled with 2,500 people, and I got a standing ovation. I said, “Oh, my goodness, I did not realize how badly I needed to be here with y’all.” If I ever had any doubts about whether I was doing the right thing or not, they gave me my answer. And here is the bottom line: We woke up today on the right side of the dirt. We have one more day that we can do something good and positive. I’ve overcome a lot of obstacles in my life. And it’s my hope that when my party is up and I’m no longer here, if somebody says the name Paula Deen, the word that comes to mind is not butter but the word hope.
PREVENTION.COM INTERVIEW QUOTE HIGHLIGHTS :
We’ve been interested to see that Anthony Bourdain, who was kind of nasty in his initial response to your diabetes announcement, has now been softening his comments. What’s going on?
Oh, really? My team told me of his statement that I was the most evil dangerous woman in America. I thought, “Oh my gosh, what hospital did he just get out of?” And I did hear he was going to break his leg to sell crutches, which I thought was awful, because people out there with diabetes haven’t chosen this. It’s not their fault. So many things play into whether or not you get diabetes. I thought that was very, very cruel. But I really don’t know nor do I care. I don’t know the man. I’ve never shared a meal with him. You could enlighten me on what he said. In what way has he softened?
He’s saying he feels sorry for you.
Don’t cry for me, honey. Don’t cry for me. God has blessed me unbelievably.
If he came to dinner at your house, what would you serve him?
Well, it would depend on the day of the week, and what was going on in my life at that moment. If my children were all coming, it would certainly be a different meal. If he was just stopping in on Michael and me, it would probably be a salad with a rotisserie chicken on top. Everybody has a right to their own opinion. And I can’t change his opinion, nor would I try. I wish him the best. I just do. I don’t wish anything bad on anybody. I know he’s had his demons, and I hope they’re under control.
What did you think of the Saturday Night Live spoof of you?
Oh my gosh, that made me just die laughing. I love Saturday Night Live. We have been big fans of that show since 1976, I think, and wouldn’t miss one for anything. The girl who has played me a couple times—Kristin Wiig, who did Bridesmaids—I think she is brilliant. She is the most talented female that’s been on Saturday Night Live since Gilda Radner. Like I said, it made me laugh, because to me it was so tongue in cheek. I never miss an opportunity to laugh, even if it’s at myself. I need to send her a thank you note.
Would you like to be on Saturday Night Live yourself?
I want to be on Saturday Night Live so bad I can hardly stand it. I think it would be a hoot.
In March, Oprah’s show on OWN broadcast an hour-long show with you. But the show didn’t focus on diabetes. Why not?
Oprah came to my house last year and spent the night and we filmed the show, but contractually I could not speak of it until we made the announcement. And so as we got closer and closer to the announcement, I sent word that I needed to speak with Oprah, so she called me on New Year’s Eve, and I said, “Oprah, I just want to explain to you about this announcement that I’m fixing to make and why I could not discuss it with you. I didn’t want anyone to think you were uninformed, so now I can tell you.” She thanked me. She said, “I appreciate that Paula.” I said, “Oprah, there’s a good chance we make this announcement and no one cares or we won’t get any feedback.” And she laughed and she said, “Oh, yes you will, Paula.”
Photo By: RD/Crisler/Retna
