Jamie Deen On Family's Scandal: We Never Threw A Pity Party
Jamie Deen opened up about how his family is coping with the recent scandal surround Paula Deen's lawsuit deposition.
Back in May, the celebrity chef admitted to using the "N-word" long ago while testifying during a lawsuit filed by former employee Lisa Jackson.
The lawsuit, which alleged discrimination and racism at two of Deen's restaurants, has since been dropped. Nevertheless, the backlash of the case proceedings saw Deen dropped from the Food Network as well as sponsors such as Smithfield Foods.
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While talking about his new cookbook "Jamie Deen's Good Food" this week, 46-year-old Jamie Deen emphasized the importance of food in his family.
"These are all recipes that have meant a lot to my family," he explained, according to People.com.
"Readers will get an idea of our family," Deen added. "They'll learn how we live our life and how we spend our time."
On that note, Deen addressed the scandal that swept his family and maintained that his mother was not racist-despite the fallout from the lawsuit deposition.
"My mother treats everyone by their character, no matter who they are or what their background is," he said.
As the scandal raged on and "Paula's Home Cooking" was dropped, Jamie said his family relied on one another for strength.
"We never had a huge pity party," he explained to People. "We didn't draw the curtains closed. We spent time together as a family. She spent time wither grandchildren. And when it was all done and the lawsuit was dropped, we didn't pop a bottle of champagne. We just focused on each other as a family and focused on what was important."
It was not the first time Jamie stepped up to defend his mother. Deen and his brother Bobby stanchly denied the many that accused their mother as being racist while speaking to CNN over the summer.
"Neither one of our parents ever taught us to be bigoted toward any other person for any reason," said Bobby Deen speaking to CNN's "New Day" host Chris Cuomo.
"Our mother is one of the most compassionate, good-hearted, empathetic people that you'd ever meet," he added. "These accusations are very hurtful for her, and it's very sad."
He went on to say that the numerous headlines about his mother and the lawsuit against her were contributing to "character assassination."
"I'm disgusted by the entire thing, because it began as extortion and it has become character assassination," Bobby Deen said, according to CNN.
Alternately, Jamie Deen noted all the people involved with their family's restaurant business.
"[It's] ridiculous, completely absurd to think there is an environment of racism in our business, and it's really disrespectful to the people that we work with," he said on CNN. "We have strong, educated men and women of character that have been with us for five, 10, 15, 20 years. To think they would allow themselves to be in this position is simply baloney. It's ridiculous."
