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USA Today; August 13, 2013

The damage has been done.

Southern celebrity chef Paula Deen's legal woes — arguably the most inflammatory of the claims against her — diminished on Monday, but is it too late to resurrect her once-flourishing career and empire?

Deen herself issued an upbeat statement after a federal judge in Savannah, Ga., threw out claims of racial discrimination made against her in a lawsuit filed by a former employee, Lisa Jackson, who is white.

"We are pleased with the court's ruling today that Lisa Jackson's claims of race discrimination have been dismissed," Elana Weiss said in a statement e-mailed to the Associated Press. "As Ms. Deen has stated before, she is confident that those who truly know how she lives her life know that she believes in equal opportunity, kindness and fairness for everyone."

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