Ree Drummond is known as The Pioneer Woman.
That’s the name of her popular show on The Food Network.
But some viewers now think Drummond should be referred to instead as the Racist and Wildly Inappropriate Woman, based on a few remarks she’s recently made.
The long-time celebrity chef has stirred up controversy on multiple fronts of late, starting with a very strange blog post in which she said her individuality stemmed from the fact she had a “black grandpa.”
Except she didn’t.
There’s no record of any African-American relatives on Drummond’s family tree.
“In the same bizarre post, she went on to admit that he was actually white and [claimed] she thought he was African-American most of her life because of his tan,” wrote In Touch Weekly of Ree’s initial assessment and then strange admission.
Based on this logic, Drummond must also think George Hamilton is black.
The blog post in question has since been deleted.
But those who read it or heard about it were understandably ticked off that Drummond basically compared a tan white person to a black person.
Elsewhere, Drummond penned another blog post in which she allegedly referred to her developmentally disabled brother Mike as “retarded.”
We can’t verify for certain whether or not this word was actually used in conjunction with her sibling.
If so, however… YIKES!
Finally, there’s the matter of a quip we can definitely verify – because it took place during an episode of Drummond’s Food Network program.
While serving some hot wings to a bunch of friends, Drummond joked that they were not barbecue flavored, but actually “Asian” flavored instead.
The friends stood in confused silence over this description, prompting Ree to say she was just kidding around.
But it was a random joke that did not go over well with certain fans at all.
“I was already bummed by the lack of diversity on @foodnetwork Now @thepioneerwoman & co. are on there saying they don’t trust “asian” food??” Tweeted one irate user.
Drummond has been in the national picture for a long time.
She has appeared over the years on Good Morning America, The Today Show, The View, The Chew and The Bonnie Hunt Show.
She has also been featured in Ladies’ Home Journal, Woman’s Day, People and Southern Living.
Her first cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl, was published in October 2009 and she has gone on to pen many more since then.
After taking on the host during an episode of Throwdown! With Bobby Flay in 2010, Drummond was given her own Food Network show a year later.
What do you think of the controversies cited above?
Worthy of criticism leveled against Drummond? Or much ado over mostly nothing?
