Paula Deen may have lost her empire, but she can take solace in one fact — she's been cleared of the racial discrimination claims leveled against her.
The scandal-plagued celebrity chef, who saw her brand crumble around her like a stale crumpet earlier this year after she admitted to using the N-word, caught a break in court Monday, after U.S. District Court judge William T. Moore Jr. dismissed the racial discrimination claim brought against her by former restaurant employee Lisa Jackson.
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Deen and her brother, Earl W "Bubba" Hiers, had argued that Jackson, who is white, "lacks standing to pursue her racial discrimination claims because she does not allege that she suffered any discrimination because of her race," according to court papers obtained by TheWrap.
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Jackson still has sexual harassment claims in her lawsuit.
Jackson claims that Deen's brother Bubba Hiers created a racially hostile work environment at Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House, co-owned by Deen, and that Dean did nothing to prevent it.
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After Deen, in a deposition for the suit, admitted to using a racial slur, she was dropped by Food Network and, shortly thereafter, saw a mass exodus of business partners, with Target, Walmart, Home Depot among numerous others severing ties with Deen.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.