Syndicated radio and TV host, Steve Harvey interviewed former Food Network personality, Paula Deen on his daytime talk show, and is bringing the former Food Network personality in for his annual Steve Harvey Mentoring Camp. Deen will spend time at the four-day event helping young men who have an interest in the culinary arts.
“Paula and her team agreed to take as many boys as I want to fly down to Savannah [Georgia]…and teach them culinary skills. That, to me, is how you get something from something,” Harvey said in a clip from his show.
Held in Dallas during Father’s Day weekend, the Steve Harvey Mentoring Camp was founded by Harvey to teach fatherless young men about “personal responsibility, dream building and the importance of nutrition and physical fitness,” according to the organization’s official website.
In addition to announcing Deen’s participation in the camp, Harvey touched on the 2013 controversy surrounding Deen. This interview comes months after Food Network declined to renew her contract after she admitted using the “N-word” in the past.
“I just know the good in her. That’s all I know. And it outweighs the bad by a landslide,” said Harvey, who admitted to there being a possible backlash from critics and bloggers who may slam him for forging an alliance with Deen.
Nevertheless, Harvey has a message for those people.
“Now, when you blog about me…can you please type, right after you get through typing, that I don’t give a damn. Just for me,” he said.
