Paula Deen Gets Hit In The Face By Flying Ham

freddyo12

November 24, 2009

Only in Atlanta, y’all! Celebrity chef Paula Deen rolled up to Hosea Feed the Hungry & Homeless on Monday morning ready to spread a little Thanksgiving love, and she left with a story she will be telling at the dinner table for the rest of her life. Deen was on hand on behalf of Smithfield Foods to help deliver a massive donation of protein ahead of the organization’s big Thanksgiving dinner, and FreddyO was right there as the hams started flying down the relay line — literally.

Picture it: volunteers passing ham after ham hand to hand, everybody working fast to get thousands of pounds of food ready for families in need. Then one eight-pound ham got away from the line, sailed through the air, and caught Paula square in the face. The whole room froze for half a second — and then Paula did exactly what Paula does. She burst out laughing. The Food Network star took the hit like a champ, joking that the flying ham nearly knocked her cuckoo, and she calmly held ice to her nose to keep the swelling down while the crowd cracked up around her.

That is why Atlanta loves this woman. A lot of celebrities would have stormed off, demanded a manager, or turned a good deed into a bad headline. Not Paula. She shook it off, kept smiling for the cameras, and got right back to the business of giving back. And the giving was serious: Smithfield’s donation totaled some 25,000 pounds of protein for Hosea Feed the Hungry, the Atlanta institution that has been feeding this city’s hungry and homeless families for decades, especially around the holidays.

So yes, the video is hilarious — a flying ham is a flying ham — but do not miss the heart underneath the comedy. Thanksgiving in Atlanta is about neighbors feeding neighbors, and on this Monday morning Paula Deen took one for the team in the most Paula Deen way possible. Press play above and watch the moment everybody will be talking about this holiday season, then check out more FreddyO exclusives below.