Embattled cooking impresario Paula Deen may have stepped in it again on Wednesday when she compared her plight to that of Michael Sam – the first openly gay player in NFL history.

Deen, whose career took a rapid nosedive after revealing she used the N-word during her lifetime, is still trying to repair her image after the transgression.

In an upcoming story to be published in People Magazine on Friday, Deen stated that she understood exactly what Sam was going through:

“I feel like ‘embattled’ or ‘disgraced’ will always follow my name. It’s like that black football player who recently came out,” Deen said in a People Magazine cover story, which hits newsstands on Friday. “He said, ‘I just want to be known as a football player. I don’t want to be known as a gay football player.’ I know exactly what he’s saying.”

Here is an example of someone who just doesn’t get it.

Hey Paula, how about dropping a “yeah, I’m trying to restore my pride” line and call it a day?

Deen has gathered $75 million to help fund a comeback that will develop from her company “Paula Deen Ventures.”

Money may not buy happiness but for Deen, it’s buying a repaired image.