Paula Deen Suffers Legal Setback In 'N Word' Lawsuit

EXCLUSIVE DOCS: Judge Denies Paula Deen’s Request For A Gag Order

Deen's lawyers sought a gag order in the case because according to court documents, "a protective order is necessary because Ms. Jackson and her counsel have made abundantly clear that they intend to engage in a path of personal and financial destruction because Paula Deen would not pay their pretrial settlement demand...Through her cooking and television exposure, Mrs. Deen has arguably become the face of Southern cuisine and living....For a public figure such as Mrs. Deen, even if Ms. Jackson's allegations are proven untrue, the harm resulting from the continuing mass dissemination of the allegations may never be undone."

However, Judge Louisa Abbot has now denied the gag order request and said in her written ruling, "Having considered the parties' arguments, the Court finds the litigants' concerns about potentially adverse pretrial publicity and the potential effects of damage to their reputations do not outweigh any of the constitutional principles invoked by this motion, including freedom of press and speech."

The shocking lawsuit has blockbuster allegations including one in which Jackson states that she was appointed by Deen to handle the catering and staff for Bubba's wedding in 2007, and she asked Deen what the servers should wear: "Well what I would really like is a bunch of little n***ers to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties, you know in the Shirley Temple days, they used to tap dance around," Jackson alleges Deen told her. "Now, that would be a true Southern wedding wouldn't it? But we can't do that because the media would be on me about that."