Paula Deen claims the ex-general manager of her restaurant who is suing for sexual harassment tried to extort her by demanding more than a million bucks ... or face "ruin."

TMZ has obtained Paula's response to the lawsuit filed against her and her brother Bubba by Lisa Jackson, the former General Manager of Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House in Savannah, Georgia.

In the response, Paula included a letter from Lisa's lawyer, who wrote bluntly, Lisa would not file the lawsuit and keep everything secret if Paula forked over $1.25 million.

Lisa's lawyer adds, "If we are unable to settle, the complaint will not be quietly filed.  I am making arrangements for a press conference on the day of filing."

Paula is asking for a gag order, prohibiting everyone in the case from blabbing to the media.  In her motion for a gag order, Paula's lawyer says Lisa's strategy has been clear -- "Pay or I will ruin you."

Lisa claims Bubba engaged in a campaign of terror, subjecting her to porn, kissing and spitting on her, making racist and sexist jokes, and on and on.

Paula denies all of Lisa's allegations.  As TMZ first reported, Lisa sent Paula a letter 3 months before she quit, praising Bubba and telling Paula how much he helped her become an independent woman.

The woman suing Paula Deen and her brother Bubba for sexual harassment sent Paula a letter 3 months before she quit, praising Bubba for supporting her as a woman, giving him full credit for her success.

Lisa Jackson -- the former General Manager of Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House in Savannah, Georgia -- claims in her lawsuit Bubba was a monster, subjecting her to endless pornography, making horrible sexist jokes, kissing and spitting on her, and being extremely racist.

But Lisa says in her letter to Paula, "When I started working for Bubba, he gave me an opportunity that allowed me, over time, a freedom I have never experienced." Lisa adds, "He allowed me, for once in my life, to take care of myself, and for once, have faith in myself as a person and as a woman to know that I could do it on my own."

Lisa goes on, "I have been given opportunities that I never thought possible, all because of you and Bubba."

Lisa also describes in her letter a tortured life, where she was homeless at 15 without parents, in a rotten marriage and generally stuck.

It's ironic -- Paula Deen fired an allegedly philandering general manager of one of her restaurants because, as she put it, "If you think I have worked this hard to lose everything because of a piece of p**sy, you better think again." So Paula replaced the G.M. with a woman, and now she's suing Paula and her brother for ... sexual harassment.

Lisa Jackson worked as the G.M. for Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House in Savannah, Georgia from 2005 - 2010.  Paula's brother, Bubba Hiers, is part owner along with Paula.  Lisa claims Bubba brought "inescapable pornography" to the workplace all the time, often visiting XXX websites on the kitchen computer and failing to log off.

According to the suit, Bubba allegedly asked Lisa to bring pics of herself to work -- pics of her when she was younger -- telling her, "You have nice legs."

Bubba also told Lisa two women at the restaurant were "fat girls" and shouldn't be wearing capri pants or skirts.

And get this ... Lisa says Bubba once told another female employee who had just received dentures, "I bet your husband is going to like that."

And there's more ...  Lisa says Bubba once told a joke to the staff that described why men should have sex with women who had flat heads ... "because you can sit your beer on top of her head while she is giving you a b**w job."

And Lisa says Bubba is racist, using the N word a lot and making horrible racist jokes.

There's a lot more, including alleged violent behavior on Bubba's part and an incident where he allegedly kissed Lisa on the face and spit on her.

Lisa, who says she was forced to quit because of intolerable working conditions, is suing for unspecified damages.

We contacted Paula and Bubba's reps.  So far, no comment.

Type 2 diabetic Paula Deen is unfazed by her life-threatening disease -- practically unhinging her jaw this week on a Caribbean cruise ... to take a heart-stopping bite out of a cheeseburger.

The picture was snapped Monday on board a Celebrity cruise ship -- where the 65-year-old is currently tempting fate, hosting her annual "Party-at-Sea" vacation for 400 devoted followers. It's hard to see, but there are also fries on her plate.

The cruise left Miami on Saturday -- and it's set to visit Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten on the 7-day calorie-filled round trip.

So far, it's unclear if they serve salads.

Anthony Bourdain is putting Paula Deen ON BLAST -- mocking the butter-loving chef for poisoning Americans with unhealthy food ... and now trying to profit off of their illness.

In an ultra-transparent Twitter attack -- Bourdain wrote, "Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later."

The "Kitchen Confidential" author is presumably pissed that Deen -- who built an empire off her high-fat, high-sugar recipes -- announced she has diabetes ... and subsequently revealed she's become a paid spokeswoman for a diabetes medication.

There are reports ... Deen knew about her diabetes for years -- but continued to hock her recipes on her Food Network cooking show, while secretly negotiating the endorsement deal.

Obviously, Bourdain sees a serious conflict of interest in Deen's behavior.

And it's not the first time Bourdain went for the jugular with Paula -- just last year, he called Deen the "most dangerous person to America" who's "proud of the fact that her food is f**king bad for you."

Food Network diva Paula Deen got another ham thrown in her face ... but this time it was in the form of "Jersey Shore's" shameless ab flasher Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino.



With Snooki supervising, Paula felt up Sitch's shaved smooth chest backstage at a rehearsal for the CMT Music Awards in Nashville on Wednesday.

That's what you call a tanned ham.

Food Network chef Paula Deen says her maid cleaned her out of more than $10,000 in jewelry and other expensive stuff before she fired her and had her arrested.


According to a police report filed by Paula's husband, Michael Groover, and obtained by TMZ, Mary Alice White stole jewelry and other precious metals during a fairly long period of time -- August, 2009 to May, 2010.

Groover claims the maid did not have a sex bias ...  she stole men's and women's jewelry -- allegedly.

Groover told cops when he found some of the missing jewelry in White's possession, he and Paula fired her immediately.  Funny the way that happens ...

White was arrested on May 5 and arraigned on charges of felony theft.

Paula Deen's good name has been slandered, and she's filthy rich -- this is what TMZ has learned from a lawsuit filed by Paula Deen Enterprises.

It seems the Food Network star made a deal with Celebrity Chefs Tour to do cooking demonstrations before live audiences in various cities. Short story: Paula's company claims the $150,000 advance she was supposed to get bounced, and after waiting for full payment she walked away, claiming Celeb Chefs Tour breached the agreement.

Paula claims Celeb Chefs Tour defamed her by making it seem she bailed for no good reason.

But here's what's interesting: Aside from the $150,000 advance, Paula's deal would have guaranteed her $130,000 for each event which featured her in two culinary performances.

She wants more than a million bucks for the hassle.

Swine flew ... when somebody threw a packaged ham at an unsuspecting Paula Deen -- and it smacked her right in the face.


According to CBS Atlanta, it all went down earlier today at an event for Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless.

"You know ... sometimes charity really hurts." -- Rocky III.

UPDATE: No need to worry ... we spoke to Paula's rep, who said Paula didn't break any bones or anything and was simply shaken up by the incident.

Food Network star Paula Deen got dirty this morning on "Today" -- using her infamous spunk to get crunk!


Anyone who's ever wanted to see her do some pelvic thrusts -- and haven't we all -- won't be disappointed.

Check out all that plush gray hair on celebuchef Paula Deen ... and her 'do looks great too!



Animals were probably harmed in the making of this picture.