Just Desserts

Beliefnet

Home

Faiths & Prayer

Feiler Faster

Just Desserts

posted by bfeiler | 10:21pm Monday January 7, 2008

Looks like someone is going to get a sweet settlement in her future (with a bit of pureed spinach tucked inside).

An author today sued Jerry Seinfeld’s wife for allegedly plagiarizing a cookbook she wrote and also accused the comedian of defaming her as a “wacko” during an interview with David Letterman. In a federal lawsuit, Missy Chase Lapine alleges that Jessica Seinfeld “brazenly plagiarized” from her 2007 book “The Sneaky Chef” in the writing of Seinfeld’s own cookbook (both volumes focused on how to prepare healthy meals for finicky young eaters). When news stories appeared detailing similarities in the two books, Jerry Seinfeld launched a “malicious, premeditated, and knowingly false and defamatory attack” on Lapine, the complaint charges. As part of that campaign, Seinfeld went on Letterman’s show and described Lapine as “angry” and “hysterical.” He then compared her to the kind of “wackos” that had previously stalked Letterman. The comedian then added that Lapine was a “three-name woman” and “if you read history, many of the three-name people do become assassins.”

Update: The Seinfeld’s lawyer has now responded. The Seinfeld’s attorney Richard Menaker says of the claims, “Both are without merit. There’s no truth in fact or law to this claim of plagiarism. The idea for Jessica Seinfeld’s book came from her own experiences with her family out of her own kitchen.” As for the defamation claim, Menaker said, “Jerry Seinfeld is entitled to his opinions. Even though Jerry Seinfeld is a public figure, he doesn’t lose his right to free speech because of that.”

most popular

beliefnet

Goodbye!
Dear Friends and Readers, After a wonderful relationship with Beliefnet, I've moved my blog to brucefeiler.com. Please join me there, or check out my new site, councilofdads.com, where I talk regularly about faith, family, and health. Thanks for your interest. Bruce Feiler

posted 2:12:51pm Apr. 21, 2010 | read full post »

The Man Who Started It All
In WALKING THE BIBLE, he's still sitting there forever, behind a cloud of smoke, saying, "People like me don't have time to talk to people like you," then calling me at home that night to introduce me to Avner. Now, nearing 100, he has finally passed.Avraham Biran, an archaeologist of biblical site

posted 10:32:33pm Oct. 06, 2008 | read full post »

Feiler Faster in Denver -- Final Thoughts
The last of my brother's blogs. * * * I was on the floor the other day and came across a man of about forty who wore on his left breast what looked like a military medal. A small ribbon pinned to his chest with a medallion hanging from it. It was the credential that his grandfather wore at the 196

posted 9:16:57pm Aug. 30, 2008 | read full post »

Feiler Faster in Denver -- Day 3
My brother's dailiy blog from inside the hall. * * * President Carter addressed the Georgia delegation this morning. Recently, he said, he'd been interviewed by the editor of the British newspaper "The Guardian" and had been asked whether a President Obama could change America's reputation in the

posted 12:25:22pm Aug. 28, 2008 | read full post »

Feiler Faster in Denver -- Day 2
My brother's latest blog. He's the official photographer of the Georgia Delegation. * * * Considering I described myself yesterday as a pop culture moron, the funniest response I've gotten so far was, "Who's Angela Bassett?" In the wake of opening night there's been a lot of play about Carville and

posted 10:28:13am Aug. 27, 2008 | read full post »

read all»