NEW YORK — Target Corp. is announcing Thursday that it is ending its relationship with celebrity cook Paula Deen as fallout builds from revelations that the Southern celebrity chef used racial slurs in the past.
The discounter, based in Minneapolis, said that it will phase out its Paula Deen-branded cookware and other items in its stores as well as on Target.com.
The company says that once the merchandise is sold out, it will not be replenishing the inventory.
The announcement comes as diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk says it and Deen have "mutually agreed to suspend our patient education activities for now."
On Wednesday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it was ending its relationship with Deen. Last week, the Food Network said that it would not renew Deen's contract.
