Dumbest moments in business

The once-beloved queen of butter broke hearts this summer when she admitted using racial slurs in the past. Her confession came out during a discrimination lawsuit from a former employee.

Using the "N word" is obviously a racist, stupid move. But instead of copping to it with a heartfelt apology, Deen issued a statement simply saying that it was a "different time" in U.S. history.

Unsurprisingly, this didn't really work for most people. The next day, a visibly uncomposed Deen hastily published a 45-second video apology featuring strange, jumpy cuts. Again, this fell on deaf ears: Critics said the celebrity chef seemed insincere.

Deen and her team deleted the video within hours and posted a second apology. But take two-and-a-half did nothing to minimize the firestorm: Retailers including Wal-Mart (WMT), Target, Home Depot and J.C. Penney (JCP) vowed to stop selling her cooking products. The Food Network declined to renew her contract. Finally, Random House canceled publication of her upcoming cookbook -- even though preorders had skyrocketed.

A federal judge later threw out the discrimination lawsuit at the crux of the matter, but winning the case hardly made up for what Deen lost. -J.P.

Watch: Paula Deen loses all her sponsors