After her empire collapsed under the weight of her racism scandal, celebrity chef Paula Deen was left at the mercy of the courts in a racial discrimination lawsuit filed against her by a former employee. CNN reports that on Monday, a judge decided to throw out the case.
U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. ruled that Deen's former employee, Lisa Jackson, was at best an "accidental victim" of the alleged racial discrimination that went on at Deen's Georgia restaurant.
Jackson was the former manager of The Lady and Sons restaurant who filed the suit, accusing Deen and her brother Bubba Hiers of violence, discrimination and racist behavior during her time working for her. Jackson alleged that Deen's "racially biased attitude prevailed throughout and pervaded defendants restaurant operations," including at Hier's Uncle Bubba's Oyster House, also located in Savannah, Ga.
According to CNN, Jackson claimed "immense personal and work related emotional and physical distress" because "employees came to her complain and for help, which she felt obligated to give but was unable to fully provide."
However, Jackson will not be receiving the compensation from Deen that she sought.
"We are pleased with the Court's ruling today that Lisa Jackson's claims of race discrimination have been dismissed," Deen's representatives said in a recent statement to CNN. "As Ms. Deen has stated before, she is confident that those who truly know how she lives her life know that she believes in equal opportunity, kindness and fairness for everyone."
A victory for Deen though it may be, it is certainly a bittersweet one, as Deen's comments during her deposition that were leaked to the press - in which she admitted to using the n-word in the past and expressed interest in having black employees play slaves at a plantation-themed wedding - sent her multi-million dollar food and media empire into a "tailspin."
Not only was she fired by the Food Network after they refused to renew her popular cooking show, Deen had her highly anticipated cookbook cancelled by publishers, and lost at least 12 huge backers, including Target, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Home Depot and J.C. Penney, all of which refused to sell her merchandise.
Since the beginning of the media scandal, Deen released two video apologies and appeared on the "Today" show to discuss what happened and ask for forgiveness from fans and critics alike.
However, Jackson's lawsuit against Deen and her brother was not the only series of accusations to come out against the celebrity chef. Deen's long-time close friend and employee Dora Charles spoke out against how she helped Deen build her empire and received low pay, false promises and suffered discrimination in return as Deen went on to become wealthy and successful.
"I'm not trying to portray that she is a bad person," Charles told the New York Times. "I'm just trying to put my story out there that she didn't treat me fairly and I was her soul sister."
Despite widespread claims against Deen, the judge in the lawsuit ultimately decided to scrap the case. "There are no allegations that defendant Hiers' racially offensive comments were either directed toward plaintiff or made with the intent to harass her," he ruled in favor of Deen's brother.
Hiers and Deen still face sexual harassment allegations from Jackson, who worked for the siblings from 2005 to 2010 until she was fired that August. Jackson maintained that Hiers subjected her to sexual harassment on "an almost daily basis," and that the restaurants were a "boy's club" that offered female employees little room to move upwards or take on "decision-making roles."
