Harrah's Pulls the Plug on Paula Deen's Kitchen

Paula Deen's Kitchen at Harrah's Joliet Casino will be rebranded as "The Restaurant at Harrah's" in the wake of the controversy surrounding the celebrity chef.

Caesars Entertainment issued a statement Wednesday stating it would not renew its licensing agreement with Deen following her admission in a court deposition that she's used racial slurs and tolerated racial comments and jokes.

The Caesars' decision affects not only the restaurant in the downtown Joliet casino, but two others at Harrah's casinos in Mississippi and North Carolina and one at a Horseshoe Casino in Southern Indiana. 

"While we appreciate Paula's sincere apologies for statements she made in her past that she recently disclosed during a deposition given in response to a lawsuit, after thoughtful consideration of their impact, we have mutually decided that it is in the best interests of both parties to part ways at this time," Jan Jones Blackhurst, Caesars executive vice president of communications and government affairs, said in the statement.

Deen's restaurant in Joliet opened to great fanfare in April 2012, and many local fans of the business hoped it would survive the controversy.

Caesars' decision to disassociate itself from the southern chef was the latest blow for Deen, who has lost her shows on the Food Network and her endorsement deal with Smithfield Meats in the wake of the controversy. Her deal to sell cookware on QVC is being reviewed, the company said last week.