Lisa Jackson, a former manager of Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House in Savannah, Ga.—which Paula Deen owns with her brother Bubba Hiers—filed suit against the Food Network star and her brother this week claiming sexual and racial harassment.
In her suit, Jackson said that while she worked at the restaurant, Hiers sexually harassed her and created a hostile work environment. Deen responded to the suit yesterday, claiming Jackson made the whole story up because Deen refused to pay her to keep quiet.
According to a statement by Deen’s law firm, Oliver Maner, the lawsuit Jackson filed "makes false allegations against Paula Deen and they will be proven false in court." The firm went on to say the suit was filed in a local court after Deen refused to pay the woman to "address false claims."
Jackson says in her suit that during the time she worked at Bubba’s Seafood, she repeatedly heard Hiers and Deen make racial slurs and refused to let black workers use a restroom that was open to customers and other employees. She also claims Hiers made sexual advances toward her and watched pornographic videos in an office they shared.
Jackson’s suit seeks unspecified damages.
