Paula Deen dropped by Target, Home Depot, others

Former Food Network star Paula Deen may have a target on her back, but she no longer has Target in her corner: The store chain has joined Walmart, Smithfield Foods and Caesars Entertainment in severing ties with the celebrity restaurateur following revelations of her past use of racial slurs.

"We have made a decision to phase out the Paula Deen merchandise in our stores as well as on Target.com," the company said in a statement.

Us Weekly reported that Home Depot said it would no longer carry Deen-branded cookware products. And the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which makes the diabetes drug Victorza, said it was dropping Deen, a type-2 diabetes sufferer, as its spokeswoman.

"Novo Nordisk and Paula Deen have mutually agreed to suspend our patient education activities for now, while she takes time to focus her attention where it is needed," the company said in a statement.

Deen's Wednesday appearance on "Today," however, was a hit, scoring nearly 4.8 million viewers, marking the first time that the NBC show has beaten ABC's "Good Morning America" since November.