Feature Focus

Chef Paula Deen hid diabetes, pushed high-fat food

Paula Deen, the Southern belle of butter and heavy cream, is making no apologies for waiting three years to disclose she has diabetes while continuing to dish up deep-fried cheesecake and other high-calorie, high-fat recipes on TV. She said she isn't changing the comfort cooking that made her a star, though it isn't clear how much of it she'll continue to eat while she promotes health-conscious recipes along with a diabetes drug she's endorsing for a Danish company. "I've always said, 'Practice moderation, y'all.' I'll probably say that a little louder now," Deen said Tuesday after revealing her diagnosis on NBC's "Today" show. "You can have diabetes and have a piece of cake. You cannot have diabetes and eat a whole cake." Health activists and one fellow chef called her a hypocrite for promoting an unhealthy diet along with a drug to treat its likely effects. Deen added her support of the Novo Nordisk company to a collection of lucrative endorsements that include Smithfield ham and Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Deen, who turns 65 today, said she kept her diagnosis private as she and her family figured out what to do, presumably about her health and a career built solidly on Southern cooking. AP

Harvey 'keeps it real' in Hammond

Comedian Steve Harvey's “keeping it real” humor ignited the stage during a sold-out performance at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino on Jan. 13. After being welcomed by a 5-minute standing ovation, Harvey proudly stated, “I started out in Chicago, on WGCI.” The Grand Finale tour is Harvey’s farewell to this episode of his career. “I have to see where God is taking me next,” Harvey said. He told the audience, “This is the real (expletive)! No sponsor, no Home Depot or Sears… Some people may get offended by what I have to say, but I keep it real. No one in here is perfect. I have my flaws, just like everyone else. So don’t judge me on my behavior or about what I say.” Harvey was particularly addressing “religious” people who have issues with his straight, profane delivery. Needless to say, whatever judgment some may have had, the crowd was gripped by comedic tales of Harvey’s adventures so funny that most audience members were holding their stomachs and crying with tears of laughter. As one of the original Kings of Comedy (together with Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Hughley, and the late, great Bernie Mac), Harvey catapulted to stardom from the highest-grossing comedy tour in the United States, to date. But don’t shed tears of sadness for the multi-talented Harvey. With a future of possibilities streaming from a present career as a bestselling author of relationship advice books, radio host of the nationally syndicated “Steve Harvey Morning Show” and host of the TV game show “Family Feud,” Harvey’s fans don’t have to experience this tour as a goodbye. - LaVeta Hughes