'I'm back!' Disgraced Paula Deen breaks down in tears as she receives a standing ovation in first appearance since scandal

After her dramatic fall from grace for making racist remarks, Paula Deen was greeted with a huge cheer when she made her first public appearance since the scandal broke.

The disgraced Food Network host was reduced to tears when she got a standing ovation on Saturday at the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show in Houston, Texas.

'These are tears of joy, y'all,' 66-year-old Deen told the audience of 1,500 supporters at the Reliant Center. 'I've said all along that the one place I'd want to make my first step back out is Texas. Y'all's hearts are as big as your state.'

Tears of joy: Paula Deen shed a tear after she got a standing ovation at the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show in Houston, Texas, on Saturday

The Southern cooking guru - who was famous for her gluttonous recipes - dabbed her eyes with a tissue as she was greeted by crowds of supporters, some of whom carried cardboard cutouts of her face stuck on sticks to create makeshift masks.

Deen was joined by her sons, Bobby and Jamie Deen, who run her Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah, Georgia.

After hosting a number of Food Network programs in the US, including Paula's Home Cooking and Paula's Best Dishes, Deen sparked public outrage after it was revealed that she had used racial slurs against former employees.

Family support: The former TV show host Deen was joined by her sons and business partners, Bobby and Jamie, on Saturday

Deen admitted in a deposition that she had used the N-word on a number of occasions, and even wanted black employees to play the part of slaves in a wedding party she was planning, according to a National Enquirer report.

While the ripples of outrage caused her to be dropped by the Food Network in June, the shocking revelations didn't put off all her African-American fans.

Sherry Carter and her daughters, Shana Randle and Michelle Sanders, who were among the audience at the cooking show on Saturday, told the Houston Chronicle that they hadn't turned against Deen.

'When I first heard about it, my feeling was, she got caught,' Carter said. 'Just about everyone I know has used the word. At least she was honest about it.'

More bawling: Bobby Deen hugged his mum as she cried on stage in front of 1,500 supporters

Many in America do not feel the same way, and Paula's comments led to her losing a lucrative book deal and other valuable endorsements.

Retailers including Walmart and Target quickly announced that they would no longer sell Deen's products and publisher Ballantine scuttled plans for an upcoming cookbook even when it was the number one seller on Amazon.

On August 12, a federal judge dismissed the claims of racial discrimination that were brought by Lisa Jackson, who helped manage one of Deen’s restaurants in Savannah.



Calorific cooking: The Southern chef was known for making very fattening food on her show

The judge ruled that Jackson cannot claim to be a victim of racial discrimination targeting African-American workers as she is white and that she is just 'an accidental victim of the alleged racial discrimination.'

Along with the racial allegations, Deen also faced a wave of criticism over how much fat, salt and sugar she used in her cooking.



In January 2012, she revealed that she had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes three years earlier, and was then accused of being a hypocrite as she only announced the news after being paid to be a spokesperson for a high profile insulin company.

