‘You’re Still Relevant’: Paula Deen Tears up over Gifts from Fans amid Her Long Absence from TV

Paula Deen went through her fan mail yesterday, uncovering a few thoughtful letters and quirky gifts that she said were worthy of being in her store. "You are a blessing to all of us!" a fan commented.

"No [buttocks] shots Eddie," a longtime admirer and viewer of Paula Deen's YouTube clips had printed on a kitchen cloth that went with a custom jean apron the Savannah native tried on in a new video. Eddie is the chef's assistant. Deen promised to feature the viewer's hummingbird feeder recipe in her next video.

In response to the former Food Network host's words about not being on television anymore, one commented, "You may not be on my big TV, but you will always be in my heart! Glad I can still see you."

"Paula, I have always loved watching you cook thru the years! I will continue to watch you forever! Keep on cooking! Love to you!" someone wrote. "I love you, Paula Deen. You're still relevant. Don't think otherwise," another insisted.

Deen appreciated a fan's watercolor paintings with holiday themes, saying, "You will see these in frames at Christmas time." Another fan sent her a photo of her 10-year-old granddaughter after she baked Deen's pound cake, prompting the chef to say she's always happy when the youth is not lost to the drive-thru windows.

"Love you, Paula, you don't know how helpful you have been to me and my daughter!" an Instagram user said, adding, "We had experienced great loss years ago when we first came upon your TV show and have followed you ever since..."

Deen uploads content almost daily on her YouTube channel, with over half a million subscribers. Preorders of her latest cookbook, "Love and Best Dishes: Recipes and Stories from the Heart of Paula Deen," are open and expected to ship later this year.

Her active use of YouTube came after the Food Network dropped her in mid-2013. It came out that during a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee, she reportedly used racial epithets, condoned racist jokes, and turned a blind eye to pornography in the workplace.

The Food Network canceled Paula Deen's three shows on the channel shortly after she failed to show up for a Matt Lauer interview on "TODAY."

Instead, she posted a series of apology videos, one of which has four million views since it was uploaded on June 21, 2013, on an account not related to the chef.

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