Paula Deen's Accuser Speaks Out on Scandal

Various media outlets and her former sponsors like Home Depot and the Food Network have slammed Paula Deen for her allegedly racist behavior — but one person we have yet to hear from? The person who accused Paula Deen of using derogatory language in the first place.

That is, until now. Lisa Jackson, a former manager of Deen's restaurant in Savannah, Ga., tells the press that the lawsuit that brought on the media storm is over multiple incidents of violence, discrimination, and racism. (Those incidents, Jackson claims, caused the end of Jackson's five-year employment at the restaurant.) Jackson believes that Deen and her brother Bubba Hiers have no respect for the people who work in her establishment, and Jackson hopes that the lawsuit against both may change that.

“[The lawsuit] is to address Ms. Deen’s patterns of disrespect and degradation of people that she deems to be inferior... I could no longer tolerate her abuse of power as a business owner, nor her condonation of Mr. Hier’s despicable behavior on a day-to-day basis. I am what I am, and I am a human being that cares about all races, and that is why I feel it is so important to be the voice for those who are too afraid to use theirs.”, says Jackson.

What some people may find surprising about Jackson is that she's not a minority — she's a white woman who was fed up with Deen's lack of respect for people she believes are "inferior." Whatever the outcome of the lawsuit, Jackson has stood up for her and her co-workers rights to work in a discrimination-free environment.

[Image: Today Show]