Paula Deen: "I beg for your forgiveness" Paula Deen has issued an apology after admitting to having used racial slurs in the past. In a video released Friday afternoon, the 66-year-old celebrity chef and Food Network star said, "I want to apologize to everybody for the wrong that I've done. "Inappropriate, hurtful language it totally, totally unacceptable," she continued. The video ends with Deen saying, "Please forgive me for the mistakes that I've made." Deen came under fire after she admitted to having used racial slurs in the past while being questioned last month in a discrimination lawsuit involving a Savannah, Ga., restaurant she owns with her brother, Earl "Bubba" Biers. "I was invited this morning to speak with Matt Lauer about a subject that has been very hurtful for a lot of people," she sad.