Paula Deen’s sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen, adamantly denied that their mother is racist, with one son voicing concern that the claims against her amount to “extortion” and “character assassination.”
Bobby and Jamie Deen, who also have cooking shows and operate their mother’s Savannah, Ga., restaurant The Lady & Sons, appeared on CNN’s “New Day” to staunchly defend their mother.
Paula Deen testified in a May 17 deposition that she used the N-word when describing the fantasy wait staff to Lisa Jackson, a former employee who is now suing for racial and sexual harassment at Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House, which Deen owns with her brother Bubba. In 2007, the 66-year-old chef suggested that her brother’s wedding be a “plantation”-style affair, complete with middle-aged black men in white jackets and black bowties serving as waiters
“Our mother was under oath asked in a deposition to pour over her entire life and to admit whether or not she had ever heard or used this word and it broke her heart to have to answer truthfully and say, yes that she had,” Bobby Deen, 43, told CNN. “But the important thing here is for people to know that that is not her heart….”
“We were raised in a family with love and of faith and a house where God lived,” he continued. “And neither one of our parents ever taught us to be bigoted towards any other person for any reason and this is so saddening to me because our mother is one of the most compassionate, good-hearted, empathetic people that you’d ever meet.”
He added, “These accusations are very hurtful to her and it’s very sad. And frankly, I’m disgusted by the entire thing because it began as extortion and it has become character assassination.”
Jamie Deen, 45, also recalled a story about how one of his childhood heroes was African-American baseball player Hank Aaron, and how his parents taught him about the challenges Aaron faced “because of his color.”
“They told me that he’s a man of character, and the challenges that he overcame because of his color was unacceptable,” Jamie said. “This is a lesson that my mom and dad taught me when I was 7 years old, and it’s a lesson that I’ve carried throughout my life of inclusion and to treat everyone fairly and by their character and by their own merit. Under no circumstances should you ever judge anybody for any other reason.”