Jamie And Bobby Deen Defend Their Mother On CNN

Paula Deen's two sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen, appeared on CNN's New Day Tuesday morning to defend their mother in the face of recent accusations of racism and the results of those claims, including her being dropped from Food Network after 11 years and losing her endorsement deal with Smithfield Foods.

When asked what they said to people who told them their mother was a racist, the Deen brothers retorted that it "simply is not true."

The Deens, who have often appeared on their mother's television shows, were very protective of their mother, reminding viewers that she was under oath and had been asked to review "her entire life history" when she admitted to having used the "N" word. "It broke her heart to have to answer truthfully and say yes, that she had," said Bobby.

"But the important thing here is for people to know that that is not her heart, it is certainly not the home that we were raised in," Bobby continued. "Neither one of our parents ever taught us to be bigoted toward any other person for any reason, and this is so saddening to me, because our mother is one of the most good-hearted, compassionate, empathetic people that you'd ever meet."

When the show's host suggested that the scandal might be difficult for Paula Deen to recover from, as it has been derived from her own words, the Deens both emphasized her deposition does not reflect her character.

"These accusations are very hurtful to her," Bobby said. "I'm disgusted by the entire thing, because it began as extortion and it has become character assassination. Our mother is not the picture that's being painted."