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Paula Patton hailed for epic handling of trolls who slammed her fried chicken recipe

The 'Sacrifice' star was mocked for using questionable methods while cooking her mother's fried chicken recipe

Paula Patton was hailed on social media after her response to a wave of criticism against her mother's fried chicken recipe.

The Hollywood actress had shared a 5-minute cooking video to Instagram in March. However, the clip recently resurfaced after US track and field athlete Ashley Spencer ripped the recipe in a viral TikTok video. The 'Sacrifice' star was subsequently mocked for using questionable methods while cooking her mother's fried chicken recipe. However, she appeared to take the criticism in stride.

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"I'm going to make my mom's famous fried chicken," Patton announced in the original cooking video, before explaining that the first step was to clean the chicken with cold water. Olympic bronze medalist Spencer responded on TikTok by saying, "Just cold water? That chicken ain't clean." Patton then put all-purpose flour in a ziplock bag and appeared to put batches of unseasoned chicken pieces into the bag. "You've got dirty flour and unseasoned chicken," Spencer added. "Where's the seasoning?" The actress was then seen placing the flour-coated chicken pieces into hot oil before adding the seasoning. "In the grease?" the track star asked. "Your mama did this? You're seasoning grease." 

Patton then flipped the pieces and seasoned the other side. "The spices fell off in the grease!" Spencer laughed in her video. "Look at the grease!" The final dish appeared a little pinker than the athlete's liking. "Paula, don't eat that. I think your mama is joking," she quipped.

Spencer's take on the recipe sparked a wave of jokes and criticism directed at Patton. Upon noticing the social media blow-up over the recipe, the actress responded to the renewed attention in a follow-up video on Tuesday. "I'm in Mexico with my son and I woke up and people were like, 'Did you see on Instagram and TikTok and Twitter they're talking about the way you fry chicken?' And I was like, 'Oh no, what!'" she began. "That's okay I just wanted to respond and say listen, I get it, it might look crazy, it is the way we do it. My mom taught me it, it's my mom's recipe."

Patton then explained that she had carefully washed the chicken even if the video didn't capture it completely, noting that she served the chicken at her son's school. Patton has an 11-year-old son named Julian Fuego with ex-husband Robin Thicke. "It's all good because everybody's got their own way of making things," she concluded. "And I'll take suggestions, I'll make a new kind of fried chicken, but I'm gonna always make my mom's chicken the way she did it. We put the seasoning in the oil and all that. It's just the way we do it," Patton added.

Patton's "classy" response to the criticism was lauded by many, even those who questioned her culinary prowess.

"I love how unbothered she is by the criticism. I admire her positivity and kindness. She exudes such good vibes. I can’t even be mad at her. BUT that chicken recipe still ain’t right," one Twitter user wrote.

"I love her response to the criticism. She acknowledged that her way of doing it was unconventional yet still open to improvement with a smile. She is definitely a classy lady," another added.

"I love how wholesome and sweet Paula is. Her response is so mature and gracious. And that she just casually threw her mother back under the bus is killing me. She's like, reminder, that ain't me, but I will eat it," someone else gushed.

"Paula is so sweet cause I would cussed everybody out for talking about my poorly cooked chicken," another chimed in.