Paula Deen -- Spineless QVC Folds ... Drops Deen (Sorta)

After waiting around to see which way the wind blew ... QVC -- like a lemming -- followed the rest of Paula Deen's partners and dropped the chef in the wake of the n-word scandal.

Initially, QVC refused to take a stand -- saying they were closely monitoring the situation.

Now, after just about every company connected to Deen jumped ship ... QVC has sheepishly made its move ... announcing Paula will not appear on any upcoming broadcasts ... for now.

In fact, the head of QVC released a statement saying, "Some of you may wonder whether this is a 'forever' decision – whether we are simply ending our association with Paula. We don’t think that’s how relationships work. People deserve second chances. And we always strive to do the right thing." One question: Huh?

For her part, Paula released her own statement regarding the QVC split, saying, "As you know, I have some important things to work on right now, both personally and professionally. And so we’ve agreed that it’s best for me to step back from QVC and focus on setting things right."

Who's next?