Summary Deen apologized for what she called inappropriate, hurtful language in videos posted to YouTube.
NEW YORK (Agencies) Paula Deen says that anyone who s never sinned should pick up a rock and throw it at her.
The celebrity chef dissolved into tears during a "Today" show interview Wednesday, trying to explain she wasn t a racist despite saying in a legal deposition that she s used racial slurs in the past.
Deen told "Today" host Matt Lauer that if there s anyone in the audience who s never said anything they regretted to "please take up that stone and throw it as hard as they can and kill me."
She urged her fans not to boycott the Food Network, which dropped her last week, but said she wouldn t have fired someone in the same position.
The Paula Deen empire is taking a big hit after the TV chef was dropped by Food Network and Smithfield Foods.
Just days after Paula Deen lost her lucrative deal with Food Network, several of her other sponsors may be dropping the celebrity chef like donuts into a deep fryer.
Deen is facing a public backlash after admitting in a taped deposition to using the N word and discussing plans for a Southern plantation-style wedding with an all-black wait staff.
Food Network said they re not renewing Deen s contract when it expires at the end of the month. She s been with the network for more than a decade.
Smithfield Foods, the pork company that sold a Paula Deen branded ham, also decided to drop her as its spokesperson.
"Smithfield condemns the use of offensive and discriminatory language and behavior of any kind," the company said in a statement.
"Therefore, we are terminating our partnership with Paula Deen. Smithfield is determined to be an ethical food industry leader and it is important that our values and those of our spokespeople are properly aligned."
Food Network might have made her famous, but Smithfield was a key part of the Paula Deen brand.
"Smithfield was a key deal for her empire," Allen Salkin, author of the upcoming book From Scratch: Inside the Food Network, told PEOPLE.
"In addition to paying her handsomely as an endorser, the ham company helped her charitable image by delivering truckloads of meat to food banks in her name."
More from GlobalPost: Paula Deen: "Yes, of course" I ve used the N word
Deen apologized for what she called "inappropriate, hurtful language" in two videos posted to YouTube and asked people to please stick by her.
"I ve made plenty of mistakes along the way, but I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners – I beg for your forgiveness. Please forgive me for the mistakes that I ve made," she said.
But it may not be enough so save some other of Deen s major deals that are now hanging in the lurch.
