Seinfeld, Responding to Lawsuit, Says It Was Just a Joke

Lawyers for Jerry Seinfeld insist the comic was just joking when he described "Sneaky Chef" author Missy Chase Lapine as a "wacko" for accusing his wife of plagiarism. Lapine is currently suing for trademark infringement because she says Jessica Seinfeld’s hit book about sneaking healthy food into kids’ snacks, called "Deceptively Simple," contains too many similarities to "Sneaky Chef" – and it was published by HarperCollins, who twice rejected Lapine’s pitch.

While appearing on Letterman’s TV show last October, Seinfeld declared, “I have wackos, you have wackos. And, you know, if you read history, many of the three-name people do become assassins. Mark David Chapman. And you know, James Earl Ray. So that's my concern.” On E! he dismissed Lapine as a "nut job like the guy I went to college with who claimed I stole the whole TV series from him." In response, Lapine added a defamation lawsuit against Jerry to the mix.

In papers filed in Manhattan Federal Court, Seinfeld’s lawyers brush off the comments as “overstatements of opinion for comic effect” and point out that “the idea of sneaking healthy foods into a child's diet is not original.” But Jerry should know by now that words can hurt; after all, in Seinfeld episode 169 his own lawyers fired off a Cease & Desist letter to shut down Sally Weaver’s hit one-woman show Jerry Seinfeld is the Devil.

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By John Del Signore in News on February 26, 2008 2:51 PM

Comments [rss]

Dave Hogarty

Jerry is indisputably hilarious, and I will be referencing his shows until I go to my grave. Claiming comedic license to cover for your wife's lack of creativity is pretty sad though. Pay up and rub a little tarnish off your sterling Jerry. It's not like your wife has anything to speak of. You'll both come out looking better by burying this problem in money.

malasagna

oh man I almost killed myself when he came out as a "bee" on the oscars...crash and burn seinfeld, crash and burn.....

Nick S

he should have gotten Michael Richards to pitch in his opinion on her.

"FUCKING FORK UP YOUR ASS!"

Lilitu

Paper Boy, the fact that the show is popular doesn't mean that everyone in the world believes Jerry Seinfeld (who wasn't the show's only writer, anyway) is funny. I don't. I also never understood the sitcom's appeal. "Jerry Seinfeld isn't funny" is a perfectly valid statement of opinion.

Spirit of 76

Yes, the show ages well. Pity the same can't be said about Jerry. It's only been ten years, but he's gone from a thin, youngish looking man to almost like Jerry Lewis.

tien

credit whoever you want, but that show is still damn funny.

babyhitler

man, I remember I loved everyone on seinfeld except seinfeld. George was the funniest cause he was so greedy and jewy.

Muscley Armed Paper Boy

Seinfeld the man might be a jerk, but stop with "he's not funny."

The finale of "Seinfeld" drew in 75 million viewers and was one of the highest rated sitcoms ever. The syndication rights sold for $500 million (hoo hoo, robin). The DVD boxsets continue to fly off the shelves in record numbers.

The show is kind of popular, even 15 years later.

poopmast

Nobody ever gives larry david for seinfeld being funny.

Peter

What's funny about the whole thing is that Missy Chase Lapine's book no doubt has sold far more copies than it would have sold had there been no controversy.

JacqueMehoff

did he mean middle names? because many in the population has a middle name.

ed_Extinct

he's right though, assassins always have three names.

Tim N.

Shame it wasn't funny, or they could have seen for themselves it was a joke.

Dan Dickinson

Jerry Seinfeld is the worst "comedian" I've ever had to listen to, and his show wasn't nearly an entertaining as people give it credit for.

This has been yet another Overstatement of Opinion for Comic Effect.