'More offensive than the N word': Paula Deen's son reignites racism row after posting photo of him kissing employee 'forced' to dress up in Aunt Jemima outfit

  • Jamie Deen has re-ignited the accusations of racism that surround the family a year on from the scandal which cost his mom her TV career
  • On Friday he posted a photo of him cuddling Ineata 'Jellyroll' Jones, an employee at the center of some of last year's racist accusations
  • Other employees claimed that Deen forced the woman to dress up in an Aunt Jemima-style outfit against her wishes
  • His questionable tweet comes amid a reports that his Food Network show has been dropped
  • Last week his mom launched The Paula Deen Network, a show to be made available to digital subscribers from September

By David Mccormack

Published: 15:17 EST, 17 June 2014 | Updated: 19:42 EST, 17 June 2014

Just as Paula Deen is attempting to rebuild her sullied reputation in the wake of last year’s N-word scandal, son Jamie has re-ignited the accusations of racism that surround the family.

Amid reports that the Food Network has cancelled his own cooking show, Jamie posted a photo on Twitter on Friday of him smooching with an older African-American woman.

The image was captioned ‘Don’t tell [my wife] Brooke. #jellyroll #sugar’.

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Amid reports that the Food Network has cancelled his own cooking show, Jamie posted this photo on Twitter on Friday of him smooching with Ineata 'Jellyroll' Jones

Amid reports that the Food Network has cancelled his own cooking show, Jamie posted this photo on Twitter on Friday of him smooching with Ineata 'Jellyroll' Jones

The woman in the photo, Ineata ‘Jellyroll’ Jones, is an employee of Paula Deen who was at the center of some of last year’s racist accusations.

In 2013, The Columbus Dispatch claimed, ‘Deen used Jones for restaurant theater. At 11 a.m., when the doors opened at [her restaurant] Lady & Sons, she stood in front and rang an iron dinner bell.’

 

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Jones was also tasked with making hoecakes at an open kitchen station in view of customers, and according to the paper, ‘Deen wanted Jones to dress in an old-style Aunt Jemima outfit.’

While Deen denied the accusation, former employee and Jones’ cousin Dora Charles said, ‘Jellyroll didn’t want to hear that. She didn’t want to do that.’

Deen was accused of forcing Ineata 'Jellyroll' Jones, pictured, to dress up in Aunt Jemima-style costume and postcards of her ringing the dinner bell were sold in many of the Deen Souvenir Shops

Deen was accused of forcing Ineata 'Jellyroll' Jones, pictured, to dress up in Aunt Jemima-style costume and postcards of her ringing the dinner bell were sold in many of the Deen Souvenir Shops

Jones did however dress up in Aunt Jemima-style costume and postcards of her ringing the dinner bell were sold in many of the Deen Souvenir Shops.

She have never spoken out to criticize her boss, but others have taken offense at the ill-advised photo posted by Jamie Deen.

One Twitter user, LaVerne Mack wrote, ‘Wow, did Paula Deen really call one of her workers Jelly Roll? I find that more offensive than the N word.’

'Jelly Roll' is most perhaps most commonly associated with the jazz musician Jelly Roll Morton, although it is also slang for a black woman’s genitalia.

Jamie’s questionable tweet comes amid a report from the New York Post that his Food Network show, Home For Dinner with Jamie Deen, will not been renewed for a third season.

Family business: Both of Paula Deen's sons Bobby, right, and Jamie, left, have entered the world of celebrity chefs

Family business: Both of Paula Deen's sons Bobby, right, and Jamie, left, have entered the world of celebrity chefs

Jamie's questionable tweet comes amid reports that his Food Network show, Home For Dinner with Jamie Deen, will not been renewed for a third season

Jamie's questionable tweet comes amid reports that his Food Network show, Home For Dinner with Jamie Deen, will not been renewed for a third season

Paula’s second son, Bobby Deen, hosts 'Not My Mama’s Meals' on the Cooking Channel. He also is working on a new show concept for the channel, a spokeswoman said.

Last June, the Food Network cancelled Paula’s two shows due to low ratings soon after it was learned that she used the N word at her Savannah, Ga., restaurant.

Paula announced on June 11 that she was returning to TV via a namesake streaming network that will launch later this year and feature her own show along with content featuring her son. She plans to charge viewers about $10 a month.

‘You can throw out your TV, now,’ gushed the fallen Food Network star.

The network will feature daily programming in an unscripted format with new recipes, episodes and cooking tools.

'You can throw away your TV, now': Deen announced last week that she'll be launching a digital cooking and entertainment network for subscribers only to stream on tablets, phones and home computers

'You can throw away your TV, now': Deen announced last week that she'll be launching a digital cooking and entertainment network for subscribers only to stream on tablets, phones and home computers

‘We're going to have so much fun being together and cooking up some wonderful new and classic dishes,’ Deen said.

‘Y'all can get my recipes, tips and cooking anytime you want — this is for you. I can't wait to crank up the oven and get cooking for the people I love: my family, my friends and my fans!’

The announcement of the digital network is the latest step in a comeback strategy Deen kicked off in February when she announced a deal with the Najafi Companies, an Arizona-based private investment firm that's putting millions into rebooting her public career.

Earlier this month the 67-year-old gave a sneak peek of her upcoming 20-city comeback speaking tour with an appearance at the opening of her Gatlinburg, Tennessee retail Paula Deen Store.

Fans were disappointed from the start, though. Deen made them wait hours outside for her to arrive and open the place.

'We're going to have so much fun being together and cooking up some wonderful new and classic dishes,' Deen said. 'Y'all can get my recipes, tips and cooking anytime you want - this is for you'

'We're going to have so much fun being together and cooking up some wonderful new and classic dishes,' Deen said. 'Y'all can get my recipes, tips and cooking anytime you want - this is for you'


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If the lady did not want to be there, she wouldn't be!

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I really don't see anything racial about this photo. Am I missing something?

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Aunt Jemima never wore a dress like that. This just silly.

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she is wearing an apron and has her hair in a bun ? She looks a little like Aunt Jemima in the face . How is that forcing her to dress like aunt jemima ? People are fishing for negative things to say about this family .

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What racism? Gonna have to call Baloney on someone's sad agenda to make life hard for this family. Her appearance bares no resemblance whatsoever with the racist caricature of Aunt Jemima and I'm kind of offended anyone would try to imply there even is.

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i do not believe the lady was forced to dress up in anything, and she looks quite happy to me

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Move on people ! They tried destroying her for a word she used and most of America used 25 years ago, it did not work then and won't work now. If she offends you ,simply turn away. Many Black performers are so anti white they make me want to vomit but I never tried to destroy them , I just refuse to buy anything associated with them. As far as an "Aunt Jemima " Outfit, all I see is a black woman in a white apron and white T shirt , which is a standard uniform of cooks everywhere! My dad baked bread, we never saw him in anything but white clothes for years. It was very weird when he dressed up in colors lol. I guess even clothes that are "White" offend some, get a life!

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Shes wearing a t shirt and an apron.....reaching aren't we?

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My father was from North Carolina and came to the UK in the 1960's. If only 10% of what he said was true about the racism towards black people in that state then it was pretty hellish. Visiting family there you can see that the racism is palpable and the attitude of some whites is unbelievably bad. Say what you like about the UK but it is almost utopia for black men like me. Racism exists but it is clear that it is unacceptable, more opportunities abound and the chances of success here are greater here than perhaps anywhere else in the world.

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I bet she doesn't even eat her own food.

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