text: QVC is the latest company to part ways with Paula Deen since the popular TV chef, restaurateur and cookbook author acknowledged using a racial slur in the past. 
   
   The company joins a growing list of other corporate entities - including Target, Home Depot and Wal-Mart - that have severed ties with the 66-year-old Deen since it was revealed that she said she had used the N-word. 
   
   On Thursday, Dean announced the news about the status of her relationship with QVC. In a statement addressed "to my customers at QVC," Deen wrote, "I want to let you know how much I value my relationship with all of you and with QVC … As you know, I have some important things to work on right now, both personally and professionally. And so we've agreed that it's best for me to step back from QVC and focus on setting things right. I am truly sorry and assure you I will work hard to earn your forgiveness." 
   
   MORE: How Much Will Paula Deen's Words Cost Her Empire? 
   
   QVC issued its own statement, in which Mike George, the president and CEO, said the company was "troubled" by Deen's statement and the allegations laid out against her in the lawsuit. 
   
   After extensive discussions with Deen and her team, the company "decided to take a pause," George's statement said. "Paula won't be appearing on any upcoming broadcasts and we will phase out her product assortment on our online sales channels over the next few months. We all think it's important, at this moment, for Paula to concentrate on responding to the allegations against her and on her path forward. 
   
   "Some of you may wonder whether this is a 'forever' decision - whether we are simply ending our association with Paula. We don't think that's how relationships work. People deserve second chances. And we always strive to do the right thing … ." 
   
   Deen herself has made several public appeals for understanding and forgiveness. 
   
   She has apologized for using the N-word -a highly offensive slur referring to blacks - and categorically denied allegations she is a racist. 
   
   Deen made the damaging admission during a deposition last month for a racial and sexual discrimination lawsuit filed against her by Lisa Jackson, a former employee of Deen's Savannah, Ga., restaurants. Her attorney has denied the allegations in the suit. 
   
   RELATED: Paula Deen Used a Slur Because 'She Was Born 60 Years Ago' 
   
   The Food Network was first to announce last week that it would not renew its contract with the folksy, self-proclaimed queen of Southern cooking. She landed her first show there in 2002. ||||| The bad news seems to never end for Paula Deen. 
   
   In the latest defection following her admission last week that she had used the N-word in the past and once planned a slavery-themed wedding, the country cooking queen's book publisher has jumped ship. 
   
   Ballantine Books canceled a deal with her for multiple books, including an upcoming cookbook that was the No.1 seller on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. 
   
   The publisher said Friday it would not release "Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up," which was scheduled for October and was the first of a five-book deal announced early last year. 
   
   Interest in it had surged as Deen, who grew up in Albany, Ga., and specializes in Southern comfort food, came under increasing attack. 
   
   Ballantine, an imprint of Random House Inc., said it decided to cancel the book's publication after "careful consideration." It had no comment beyond what was in its brief statement, spokesman Stuart Applebaum said. 
   
   Sears and KMart announced earlier Friday that they would no longer carry Paula Deen cookware or any other of her products. Target announced Thursday it was severing ties with the former TV chef, while shopping network QVC announced it was "taking a pause" in its relationship with Deen. 
   
   "After careful consideration of all available information, we have made the decision to phase out all products tied to the brand," a rep for Sears Holdings, which owns both Sears and KMart stores, told FOX411. 
   
   A Target rep said Thursday they had "made a decision to phase out the Paula Deen merchandise in our stores as well as on Target.com." 
   
   Diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk also said on Thursday the company and Deen had "mutually agreed to suspend our patient education activities for now." 
   
   These companies join Walmart and Caesars Entertainment (Wednesday), Smithfield Foods (Monday), and the Food Network (last Friday) in the list of companies no longer doing business with Deen. 
   
   But not everyone is running fast in the other direction. 
   
   The fate of her magazine “Cooking with Paula Deen” remains unknown. Its Alabama-based publisher Hoffman Media told a local news outlet that it “does not condone discrimination of any kind,” adding "we are not in a position to discuss her magazine and contract right now.” Hoffman Media did not respond to a request for further comment.; 
   
   And Deen's annual “Paula Deen Cruise” on board the “Mariner of the Seas” has been flooded with so many calls, the cruise is adding an extra departure in 2014.; 
   
   "Due to so many requests from Paula’s fans in the past we are actually planning two cruises for 2014 and look forward to both," a rep for the cruise told FOX411's Pop Tarts column. "It’s always an amazing time with Paula, her family and fans.;If she goes – we go." 
   
   Deen, 66, is also still scheduled to make appearances at the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show in Houston and Dallas in September, and in Washington, DC in November. She remains a key personality on the website with tickets to see her specifically ranging from $95 to $500. 
   
   “Paula Deen has been a friend of The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show for many years. She has apologized and we are taking her apology at her word and moving forward accordingly,” the show's rep told us. “The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show does not condone or believe in the use of derogatory slurs by anyone. This is a nation of forgiveness and second chances. In that spirit we intend to go forward with the MetroCooking Shows in Houston, Dallas and Washington, DC as planned with Paula as a presenter.”; 
   
   The Associated Press contributed to this report 
   
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target: – QVC is apparently finished "reviewing" its relationship with Paula Deen in the wake of her n-word controversy, and not surprisingly, that review did not end with good news for Deen. Deen revealed in a statement yesterday that she and QVC have "agreed that it's best for me to step back ... and focus on setting things right," ABC News reports. In its own statement, the company's CEO says QVC is "troubled" by the controversy and has "decided to take a pause" and phase out her products. But could she be back? The statement hints at as much: "People deserve second chances." Sears and Kmart are no longer carrying her products either, they announced today, according to Fox News. Click to see who else has dumped her so far.