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Lisa Jackson, Paula Deen's accuser, speaks out

By KATE STANTON, UPI.com
(UPI Photo/Laura Cavanaugh)
(UPI Photo/Laura Cavanaugh) | License Photo

Lisa Jackson, the woman whose allegations against Paula Deen and her brother have toppled the celebrity cook's butter-worshiping empire, has finally opened up to the media in a statement to the "Today" show.

Jackson, who is white, said that her "lawsuit has never been about the n-word." Rather, it was "to address Ms. Deen’s patterns of disrespect and degradation of people that she deems to be inferior.”

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I may be a white woman, but I could no longer tolerate her abuse of power as a business owner, nor her condonation of [Deen's brother] Mr. Hier’s despicable behavior on a day-to-day basis. I am what I am, and I am a human being that cares about discrimination in the workplace. In part, in this circumstance, I have to be a voice for those who are too afraid to use theirs.

Jackson worked as a manager at Deen's restaurants in Savannah, Ga., for five years, during which time, she says, Deen and her brother Bubba Hiers committed various forms of workplace discrimination -- including habitual use of racial slurs. Jackson has also charged Hiers with assault and sexual harassment.

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Earlier Tuesday, Deen's legal team argued that Jackson could not have experienced racial discrimination alleged in the suit because she is a white woman.

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