Paula Deen\u2019s career was permanently derailed in 2013 when she admitted during a legal deposition that she had used the N-word in the past.<\/p>\n
According to Entertainment Weekly<\/a>, the fallout cost her Food Network deals, major endorsements, and her position in the public eye. Now, a new documentary revisits the controversy, with Deen and her attorney defending her testimony.<\/p>\n COMPLEX SHOP:<\/b> Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what’s next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.<\/a><\/p>\n Canceled: The Paula Deen Story, which premiered on Saturday, September 6, at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, features interviews with both Deen and her lawyer, Bill Glass.<\/p>\n In the film, Glass argues that her admission should not have been considered damaging. \u201cIf anybody brings any sense to her comments and heard her answer and understood the context, they should not take any issue with it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n That \u201ccontext,\u201d according to Deen, was a 1987 armed robbery. She recalls being at work in a bank when a masked man put a gun to her head.<\/p>\n \u201cAll he said was, \u2018Get the big bills.\u2019 So I did that and gave it to him. And he left,\u201d she says. Deen explains that she later used the racial slur while describing the incident to her husband, not in public.<\/p>\n Glass maintains that the deposition\u2019s questioning was off base. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t, \u2018Do you use it at the restaurant?\u2019 It wasn\u2019t, \u2018Have you used it recently?\u2019 It was, \u2018Have you ever used the N-word?\u2019\u201d he explains. \u201cThere\u2019s two reasons to object to that line of questioning. One was it was directed at leverage, not truthfulness. The second reason is it had nothing to do with the claims in the case.\u201d<\/p>\n The case itself was filed by Lisa Jackson, a white manager at one of Deen\u2019s Georgia restaurants, who alleged racial bias and sexual harassment against Deen and her brother, Earl Hiers.<\/p>\n While a federal judge dismissed the racial bias portion of the suit in 2013, Deen\u2019s deposition had already become public. On page 23 of the transcript, published by celebrity.land, she confirmed, \u201cOf course,\u201d she had used the N-word.<\/p>\n In Canceled, Deen maintains that she isn\u2019t racist, and the film includes interviews with family members and associates who defend her character. At the time of the lawsuit, her spokesperson also told the New York Times that Deen believed in \u201cequal opportunity, kindness and fairness for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Tokyo Toni Posts Sultry NSFW Video Promoting Blac Chyna\u2019s Ex Derrick Milano<\/span><\/p>\n ,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The Apollo Theater, Along with 24 Other Black American Landmarks, Awarded Preservation Grants<\/span><\/p>\n ,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Jennifer Lopez Left This ‘Wednesday’ Star Decidedly Unimpressed<\/span><\/p>\n Sophie Rain Doesn’t Believe Lil Tay Made $15 Million in Two Weeks on OnlyFans<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \u2018The Long Walk\u2019 Marches Onto the Big Screen<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\nRelated News<\/h3>\n
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