Paula Deen, Brother Sued for Sex Harassment

Former restaurant manager says Bubba Hiers made job intolerable
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 5, 2012 3:35 PM CST
Paula Deen, Brother Sued for Sex Harassment
Paula Deen promotes 'Paula's Southern Cooking Bible' at Bookends Bookstore on October 12, 2011 in Ridgewood, NJ.   (Getty Images)

One might not associate Paula Deen with skeletons, but they appear to be tumbling out of her closet of late: Not only has the folksy, butter-slinging chef had to go public with her type 2 diabetes, but now she and her brother are facing a sexual harassment lawsuit, reports TMZ. Deen and aforementioned brother, Bubba Hiers, are being sued by Lisa Jackson, a former GM of the siblings' joint restaurant venture, Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House. Jackson claims Hiers cluttered the workplace with "inescapable pornography." Among other highlights from the suit:

  • Jackson says Hiers told her to bring pictures of herself to work, adding, "You have nice legs."
  • Hiers allegedly joked that guys should date women with flat heads, "because you can sit your beer on top of her head while she is giving you a blow job."
  • Hiers called two employees "fat girls" who shouldn't be wearing skirts or capris; Jackson claims he also frequently dropped the N-word, was violent, kissed her, and spit in her face.
  • A side note: Jackson was hired after Deen fired a philandering GM from the restaurant, allegedly telling him, "If you think I have worked this hard to lose everything because of a piece of p**sy, you better think again."
No comment from the Deen/Hiers camp. (More Paula Deen stories.)

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