The Paula Deen racial discrimination lawsuit was a 2012 federal employment case filed by Lisa Jackson, a former general manager at a Savannah seafood restaurant co-owned by Deen and her brother, alleging sexual harassment and a racially hostile workplace. A federal judge dismissed the racial discrimination claims in August 2013 because Jackson is white and was not the target of the conduct she described, and the remaining sexual harassment claims settled days later on undisclosed terms. The lawsuit itself was not what damaged Deen; her sworn deposition testimony admitting she had used racial slurs, released publicly in June 2013, cost her an estimated $12 million in canceled television, retail, and endorsement deals.
Who Sued and What She Alleged
Lisa Jackson filed suit in 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. The named defendants included Paula Deen, Paula Deen Enterprises, The Lady & Sons, Earl W. “Bubba” Hiers (Deen’s brother), and Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House, where Jackson had worked as general manager for five years.1Deadline. Paula Deen Racial Discrimination Suit Partial Dismissal
Jackson’s complaint had two sides. She alleged sexual harassment by Hiers, who was her direct supervisor. Separately, she alleged that Hiers used racial slurs, was violent toward the predominantly Black kitchen staff, and maintained employment practices that were unfair to Black workers.2Courthouse News Service. Uncle Bubba’s Closes Suddenly The racial allegations described conduct Jackson witnessed, not conduct aimed at her, and that distinction would prove decisive.3NPR. Judge Throws Out Discrimination Claims Against Paula Deen
The Deposition That Changed Everything
Deen sat for her deposition on May 17, 2013. Asked under oath whether she had ever used the N-word, she answered, “Yes, of course.”4Eater. The Racist Paula Deen Deposition Transcript She said the clearest instance she remembered was in the 1980s, when she described a Black man who had held her at gunpoint during a bank robbery to her husband, and added she was “sure” she had used the word since.5Christian Science Monitor. Paula Deen Lawsuit: How Often Does She Use the N-Word
More damaging was her testimony about her brother’s February 2007 wedding. Deen said she wanted a “true southern plantation-style wedding” and, describing a restaurant that had inspired her, testified she would have liked “a bunch of little n—–s to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties, you know in the Shirley Temple days, they used to tap dance around.”6NBC News. Paula Deen Admits to Using N-Word in Deposition She acknowledged the servers of that era “were slaves” but said she “did not mean anything derogatory” and ultimately dropped the idea because she was “afraid that someone would misinterpret” it.5Christian Science Monitor. Paula Deen Lawsuit: How Often Does She Use the N-Word
The transcript was filed in court on June 17, 2013, and became widely public two days later.4Eater. The Racist Paula Deen Deposition Transcript Deen skipped a scheduled appearance on NBC’s Today show on June 21 and instead posted a series of video apologies. In one, she said, “I want to apologize to everybody for the wrong that I’ve done…inappropriate and hurtful language is totally, totally unacceptable…please forgive me for the mistakes that I’ve made.”7Eater. Paula Deen Apologizes for Racist Testimony in Video Statement
Other employees came forward after the deposition surfaced. Dora Charles, a longtime cook at The Lady & Sons, alleged Deen had used a racially offensive term for a Black child and had wanted another employee to dress like Aunt Jemima; Charles said she refused to ring a dinner bell in front of the restaurant because of its association with slavery.8Hollywood Reporter. Paula Deen’s Longtime Cook Reveals Workplace Conditions Deen’s publicity team characterized Charles’s account as being about money rather than race. Not every former employee agreed with Jackson’s allegations either; Chris Lanier, a former server at Uncle Bubba’s, told a local station he did not believe them, pointing out that the restaurant’s general manager and kitchen manager were both Black.9WTOC. Uncle Bubba’s Employee Speaks Out on Allegations
Why the Judge Dismissed the Race Claims
On August 12, 2013, U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. dismissed the racial discrimination claims. His reasoning turned on standing. Jackson is white, and the racially offensive conduct she described was directed at Black employees. Judge Moore wrote that “there are no allegations that defendant Hiers’s racially offensive comments were either directed toward plaintiff or made with the intent to harass her,” calling Jackson “at best, an accidental victim of the alleged racial discrimination.”10ABC News. Judge Dismisses Racial Discrimination Claims Against Paula Deen
Moore applied the “zone of interests” test drawn from the Supreme Court’s decision in Thompson v. North American Stainless, which construes Title VII standing narrowly. A plaintiff who is not herself the target of racial discrimination, he concluded, does not fall within the interests the statute protects. “Workplace harmony,” he wrote, “is not an interest sought to be protected” by federal racial discrimination law.11Courthouse News Service. Racial Bias Claims Against Paula Deen Unravel Jackson’s sexual harassment claims, which alleged conduct aimed at her directly, survived.12Reuters. TV Chef Paula Deen Wins Partial Victory in Discrimination Lawsuit
How the Case Ended
Eleven days after the racial claims were thrown out, the sexual harassment claims settled. A filing signed August 23, 2013, in U.S. District Court in Savannah stated the settlement was reached “without any award of costs or fees to any party,” and the case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning Jackson could not refile.13ABC News. Paula Deen, Lisa Jackson Reach Settlement14Today. All Claims Dismissed Against Paula Deen in Employee Lawsuit The financial terms were never disclosed.
Jackson said afterward that she was “very pleased that this matter has been now been resolved” and added she had “assumed that all of my complaints about the workplace environment were getting to Paula Deen, but I learned during this matter that this was not the case.”13ABC News. Paula Deen, Lisa Jackson Reach Settlement Deen said she was “pleased that the judge dismissed the race claims.”15ABC 7 News. All Claims Dismissed Against Paula Deen
What It Cost Paula Deen
Winning most of the lawsuit did not save Deen’s business relationships. The Food Network announced on the same day as her video apologies that it would not renew her contract when it expired at the end of June 2013, ending an 11-year partnership.16NBC Washington. Paula Deen Begs for Forgiveness in Video Statement Within a week, Smithfield Foods terminated its partnership, a loss estimated at $1 million to $2 million in annual profit. Walmart, Target, Home Depot, J.C. Penney, Sears, and Walgreens all cut ties or phased out her products. Random House canceled her forthcoming cookbook and four other contracted titles. Caesars Entertainment removed her name from restaurants in four states. Novo Nordisk, which had a $6 million deal with Deen to promote the diabetes drug Victoza, suspended its patient education activities with her. QVC paused the relationship.17ABC News. Paula Deen’s Empire Continues to Crumble
Before the scandal, Deen’s business empire reportedly generated an estimated $17 million annually.18ABC News. Paula Deen’s Words Cost Her Empire Some estimates put her losses from canceled deals at roughly $12 million, and reports indicated her net worth dropped from $17 million to $7.5 million by 2017.19Newsweek. Paula Deen Still Thriving Years After Scandal Even after the racial discrimination claims were dismissed, former partners did not come back. Sears said it was still phasing out Deen products, and Caesars confirmed it was “moving in a different direction.”20NBC News. Partners Won’t Renew Relationships Despite Dismissal
Where Things Stand Now
Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House, the restaurant at the center of the lawsuit, closed abruptly on April 3, 2014, after a decade in operation, with employees given no advance notice.21Time. Paula Deen Uncle Bubba Restaurant Closes Bubba Hiers said the decision was made to “explore development options for the waterfront property.”22NBC News. Paula Deen Closes Restaurant at Center of Harassment Lawsuit The site later became Paula Deen’s Creek House restaurant. Hiers died at 65 of pancreatic cancer.23WJCL. Paula Deen’s Brother Savannah Restaurateur Bubba Hiers Dies at 65
Deen rebuilt slowly. In February 2014, a newly formed entity called Paula Deen Ventures received an investment of between $75 million and $100 million from the private equity firm Najafi Companies.24NPR. Paula Deen Cooks Up $75 Million Deal With Investor She competed on Season 21 of Dancing with the Stars in 2015, hosted Positively Paula in 2016, launched a YouTube channel in 2020, and published the cookbook Love and Best Dishes in 2023. She opened four locations of Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; Nashville; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Branson, Missouri. In August 2025, she closed her flagship Savannah restaurants, The Lady & Sons and The Chicken Box. A documentary titled Canceled: The Paula Deen Story was scheduled to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025.25People. Where Is Paula Deen Now As of 2024, her net worth was estimated at approximately $14 million.19Newsweek. Paula Deen Still Thriving Years After Scandal