The day started on a sour note for the Georgia-born chef and quickly turned worse. She failed to appear for an early-morning interview with NBC's Today, where she was scheduled to discuss the controversy that has erupted over a videotaped deposition last month. Deen is being sued by the former manager of a restaurant she owned with her brother.

Under sworn testimony, Deen revealed that "of course" she had used the N-word to describe black people in the past and also said she had planned a wedding party in which black waiters were to be attired as antebellum slaves. The deposition also revealed that Deen had allowed pornographic pictures to be passed around as a joke in the workplace.

Today co-host Matt Lauer mentioned Deen's no-show on the air and later, on Twitter, called the situation "very confusing".

Later in the day, Deen issued an impassioned plea for forgiveness on YouTube.

"I want to apologise to everybody for the wrong that I've done," she said in the video. "I want to learn and grow from this. ... Inappropriate hurtful language is totally, totally unacceptable. 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."