Results tagged “sneakychef”

Yesterday a federal judge threw out a cookbook author's plagiarism lawsuit against Jessica Seinfeld, but left open claims of defamation against Jerry. It's outrageous, egregious, preposterous! You'll recall that back in 2007, "Sneaky Chef" author Missy Chase Lapine sued Jessica Seinfeld because her hit book "Deceptively Simple" contained striking similarities to Lapine's book—which was rejected twice by HarperCollins, the publisher that later bought Seinfeld's book and got her on Oprah to promote it. Then, appearing on Letterman, Jerry tore into Lapine on air, calling her a "wacko" and noting that "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." So Lapine slapped the comic with a defamation lawsuit, which is still pending. Lapine's lawyer, Howard Miller, told reports yesterday that his client would appeal the copyright ruling and pursue the defamation claim: "Her young daughter came home from school and said, 'Mom, what is an assassin?' That's not helpful. That can't just be excused as a joke." But maybe that's just how funny-boy Seinfeld gets his kicks—him and his good-time buddies.

The NY Times revisited the continuing saga of the the culinary lawsuit against Jessica Seinfeld and Jerry Seinfeld. Cookbook author Missy Chase Lapine has accused Mrs. Seinfeld of plagiarism, swiping ideas from her proposed cookbook about making recipes using pureed vegetables. Lapine's detailed proposal was rejected by HarperCollins, which released Seinfeld's seemingly similar cookbook six months after Lapine's was published. Her lawsuit also claims the iconic comedian defamed her, calling her a "wacko" and likening her to an "assassin" on Letterman. So far, Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook Deceptively Delicious has sold 2.4 million copies (with a big push from Oprah), while Lapine's The Sneaky Chef has sold over 200,000.

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.