Paula Deen on Her Diabetes Announcement: 'People Were Kind of Mean About It'

Was Paula Deen surprised by the furious media backlash after she announced that she had been diagnosed with diabetes? Yes, yes she was. After all, she only kept it a secret for three years in order to continue promoting her famously rich diet until she landed a sweet multimillion dollar pharmaceutical partnership that made revealing the diagnosis worth her while. No, some people weren't nice about it at all, she tells Al Roker on The Today Show this morning: "A few people were kind of mean about it and hold it against me."

There were definitely some jabs on Twitter (that is, after all, what Twitter is for) but there have also been some thoughtful criticisms of Deen's situation. She has, at this point, pretty much chosen not to address any of these — apart from feebly commenting that "Honey, I'm your cook, not your doctor" — instead she's complaining that people are picking on her. Don't worry, though; as she tells Roker, she's got "broad shoulders."

Video: Paula Deen on the Today Show

· Paula Deen on Diabetes Backlash [MSNBC]
· All Paula Deen Coverage on Eater [-E-]