Remember the lawsuit that started all of this? The one launched by Lisa Jackson, who is suing Paula Deen and her brother for sexual harassment and racial discrimination? Well, it sounds like Paula never used the N-word or racial slurs in her presence!
The whole reason we know that Paula’s used the word is due to her deposition stemming from the lawsuit!
Here’s what court docs say:
“Jackson’s deposition also puts the lie to her allegations regarding Paula Deen. Jackson testified that she has never heard Paula Deen make a racist remark, other than when she described what clothing she’d like the wait staff to wear at her brother’s wedding.
“However, Jackson mentioned nothing about Paula Deen ever using the N-word.”
The defendants — Paula and Bubba — now assert that because Jackson is white, she can’t sue based on racial discrimination! So Jackson filed a second amended complaint against them, alleging racial discrimination and that her nieces are bi-racial with an African-American father — which says:
“derogatory remarks regarding African Americans are even more personally offensive to Ms. Jackson than they would be to another white citizen.”
The court docs, though, refute that claim:
“Summerlin, however, flatly refuted Jackson’s claim testifying that the young child’s father was Hispanic, not African American, and that she hadn’t seen her sister’s children for years and had absolutely no relationship with them in the past five years! Jackson and her counsel know that certain allegations for her race based claims are demonstrably false, and have no support in the law, yet they have pursued those claims in a stubborn effort at the personal destruction of defendants through this litigation.”
So, what do we think about all this?? Well, it doesn’t excuse the use of racial slurs OR wanting black employees to dress as slaves for a wedding, regardless of Lisa’s skin color. Legally, though, we’re not so sure she has a case in the racial department — the sexual harassment department, though, might still have some merit.
That is, if she’s telling the truth about that in the end!
[Image via WENN.]