Jerry Seinfeld, wife sued over "vegetable plagiarism"

[Brian Damage]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his wife were sued on Monday over her top-selling cookbook for kids by a rival author who complained of plagiarism and accused the star of defaming her on TV host David Letterman's show.

The suit, filed by cookbook author Missy Chase Lapine, claims Jessica Seinfeld copied her own book that explores how to sneak healthy foods into kids' diets. It also accuses the top comedian of embarking on a "slanderous attack" against Lapine on U.S. national television shows.

Jessica's Seinfeld's book, "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Getting Your Kids Eating Good Food," was published by Harper Collins in 2007 six months after Lapine's book "The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals," the suit said.

Jessica Seinfeld's book plagiarized Lapine's in concept, cover art -- including a similar picture showing hidden carrots -- style and structure, according to the lawsuit that seeks unspecified damages.

When Seinfeld appeared on Letterman's show, he said the books were published at the same time and implied Lapine was a "wacko" and celebrity stalker, comments the suit -- filed in Manhattan federal court -- described as "false."

Seinfeld also joked that Lapine accused his wife of "vegetable plagiarism" and poking fun at Lapine's name and mental condition, including contending that "if you read history, many of the three-name people do become assassins," before citing John Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman, the suit said.

The suit said the comedian later told E! News, "this woman is another kind of nut. You know, she thinks she invented vegetables. And she is accusing my wife of stealing her mashed-up carrots."

Richard Menaker, a lawyer for the Seinfelds, told Reuters "there's not truth" to Lapine's claim of plagiarism and in relation to the defamation allegations said "there's absolutely no basis for any kind of a legal claim."

The suit said Jessica Seinfeld also made statements similar to those of Lapine in her book about how the author overcame the guilt of tricking her kids into eating healthy food and how to sneak vegetables into kids' meals.

Lapine is a former publisher of "Eating Well" magazine, formerly worked at "Gourmet" magazine and teaches at The New School in New York. She said she researched her book for five years, the suit said.

[sunshinefizzy]

Do you think if Jessica was not Jerry's wife she would still get sued???

[catlover79]

No offense to anyone, but wouldn't this situation make a great episode of Seinfeld???

[Cactus Jack]

Originally Posted by catlover79

No offense to anyone, but wouldn't this situation make a great episode of Seinfeld???

I thought the same thing,

The Vegetable Plaigarism

[Schmoopie]

The thing I thought was so stupid about this is that the accuser waited so long (until Jessica's book had already become popular) to say anything. I hadn't even heard of this other woman's book before. Jerry's reference to "vegetable plagiarism" was absolutely hysterical!

The other thing is... so what? Who cares if someone else wrote the same kind of book? If both (or either) book (s) get kids to eat veggies, then what harm has it done?

Andrea

[Chocolate Moose]

the concept is not hers alone. is that what the lawsuit is all about?

[Schmoopie]

Originally Posted by Chocolate Moose

the concept is not hers alone. is that what the lawsuit is all about?

Yeah, isn't that stupid? I guess the other woman freaked when she realized that the wife of someone famous had written a cookbook based on the same idea. That would be like me writing a children's book about Halloween, and then finding out that "Oh, Jerry Seinfeld wrote one too! That's plagiarism!" Actually if I ever did anything remotely like anything Jerry or his wife has ever done, I'd be flattered.

To me, this shows what good people she and Jerry are, because she could have written the book, found out that the other woman had written one and sued her. Probably might have even won, since the Seinfeld's are so well-known.

Andrea