Jessica Seinfeld On Plagiarism Charges: "It Must Have Been Hard To See How Quickly My Book Took Off"

Jessica Seinfeld continued to promote her cookbook "Deceptively Delicious" on "The View" today. She also answered Barbara Walters' question about charges of recipe plagiarism. This spring Missy Chase Lapine wrote "The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals," and some thought Jessica's recipes were eerily familiar.

When Jerry was on Letterman last month (watch here, scroll down) he mocked the charges of vegetable "plagiarism," but Jessica had yet to respond on air until today.

To paraphrase: Missy is jealous because her book didn't debut at the top of best-seller lists and get her on Oprah. And why would Jessica steal recipes, because she doesn't need the money, anyway.

Watch it:

From ABC, 11/19

Comments

[bradylord]

I don't agree with you guys. She made eye contact periodically as she was making her points. I too look away when I'm speaking, as I am visualizing what I'm saying and I'm almost compulsively honest. Her voice did not raise in pitch and her body language read as genuine to me.

As someone in advertising, I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone I've never met come up with advertising concepts that are extremely similiar to something I've done or seen elsewhere. That two women came up with the same basic idea at the same time and Jessica Seinfeld had the sellability to get the publisher's interest is just good old capitalism. The book market is flat, flat, flat these days and publishers have to make the most commercial gambles possible if they want to remain viable.

[uheardme]

I hope Missy sues the hell out of this social climbing golddigging no-talent bimbo. Half the crap in the book is unedible anyway.

[kirkland]

*Unethical Bullies* INDEED. ( as a poster below beautifully noted) . I happened to catch
Jerry Seinfield on Larry King totally lie / misrepresent the facts in this case. I thought it was incredibly pathetic and bullying- his only currency that of being Seinfield - for whatever credibility that may bring. ( ugh)
OPRAH made Jessicas book after her ghostwriter filched the material from the published in early spring sleeper which was the source of the INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY and original CONTENT and threw it together. The original book cover of Jessicas plaigerised book was identical nearly to The Sneaky Chefs book. Her editor was forced to make a change.
These immoral nouveaux poseurs make me *ill*.
Selective morality is no morality at all.
I am cheered however to see people getting very sick of the cult of celebrity and realizing that the emperor has no clothes.
Jessica is a tawdry sound bite on the cultural scheme.
It matters that The Sneaky Chef had her work filched. As absurd as talking about Jessica-once-Nina *is* --- what she has done and attempts to still do by her adamant and deceptive protests keeps the issue front and center and it becomes more vulgar every day.

[Smirk]

The first time I heard about Seinfield's book, I thought it sounded like a retread of an earlier book that included a brownie recipe fortified with ground black beans for added fiber. I don't know who the author was, but the idea of making favorite foods healthier by adding fiber, reducing sugar, or whatever is hardly new. And Mrs. Seinfield's comments and demeanor are very unappealing.

[JoanneS]

I read that NYT article too and it's fun to see her try and rewrite what happened. Her then husband, Eric N., said it was a real kick to the gut. Obviously her ghost writer ripped off the book.

[ljsfolly]

Her name is his and he is famous reason 1 why her book debuted high. The Oprah effect has as with all other pushed the book up to the top. The other book already opened the doors not opened before so it all makes sense when you look at it although it still stinks for Missy. That Jerry's wife had to come out and put Missy down for her book is sad. If she doesn't need the money well....the shoes she sent to Oprah could hace fed kids and provided healthcare to kids but Oprah gladly is dancing in them so it's a sick sad world when the rich can smash someone's face in and smile.

[PhantomAviator]

Don't get so worked up. These fake moments are designed for the Straights. It's not intended for thinking people with an ability to distiguish Sales from Information.

Get it? Sales = Info-tainment.

The View is just Inside Editon in the morning.

I'd rather listen to two yuppies converse in Starbucks about their children than put The View into my brain.

If you WATCH it, you got what you paid for.

[kellygrrrl]

It's sad that not a single media outlet has interviewed Missy, the author of the originally published book.
Just because Jessica seinfeld, whose gold-diggery puts Heather Mills to shame, has "celebrity" name power, she gets to defend and promote herself on every show.
It just stinks!

[Wayne76]

I've never been so sick of seeing the name "Jerry Seinfeld" in my whole life.

[bluesky49876]

I am a big fan of Seinfeld but the rational that "..why would Jessica steal recipes, because she doesn't need the money, anyway." is rather thin. I don't know the legal definition of plagiarism but it is not hard to imagine that Jessica Seinfeld herself or her workers did research on similar books and incorporated product of that research into the book.

The charges of plagiarism may be true or false depending upon the legal definition of plagiarism. What is interesting that the same publisher had rejected to print the recipe book by the other author. Which means that the publish company did have the book material by the other author.

[jukesgrrl]

I thought she was a handbag designer. Oh, yeah, that was Jerry's previous arm candy.

This one's a writer? Who buys these celebrity "books" anyway?? Best-seller, my ass. It'll be on the remainders table at B&N in January.

[knowledgeispower]

Yeah...um hummm... The publicity machine is churning hard on this one.
Why is it that Jessica is so hard to believe? Likely because she has had the bulk of her endeavors greased along the way, every little undertaking. She marries Seinfeld, and all of a sudden this girl is everywhere promoting any number of ventures. No one heard of her before that. Where were all her high profile accomplishments prior to Jerry? Let's be real here, no one would have paid a second's notice to to her if she wasn't married to Jerry. Why didn't "The View" have on the original author to ask her opinion of what went down? Jessica's statements are dubious at best and fails to bring up others that were involved in the publishing of the book. "The View" is only interested in ratings and fluff and anything Barbara can do for her celebrity friends to help promote them. To wit: "Heather Mills is not a very nice woman..." This at exactly same moment her cousin has begun dating McCartney. Then there's the Donald Trump accusation that he continues to standby: That Barbara made any number of disparaging comments about Rosie to him and then refused to admit it. Hence his "Barbara is a liar." As such, here's little doubt she'd happily be part of the Jessica defense team without digging deeper. Digging deep is just not Barbara's journalistic style. It's more celebrity gossip.

[Izadora]

C'omon Jessica, Missy did not bribe nobody

with 25 pair of shoes.

[NicoleAnonymous]

It's interesting that Jerry and Jessica, the unethical bullies, have been going around insulting this woman yet she hasn't said anything bad about them or made any personal attacks. Her only comment was that it seems to be a strange coincidence.

Yet Jerry calls her a "whacko" and Jessica implies she must be a loser with because Jessica is rich and has such a busy life that she doesn't have time to steal recipies from anyone.

She also told the NYT that her marriage was already over when she started her affair with Jerry and that she immediately moved out when she returned from her honeymoon. She isn't smart enough to remember interviews she gave to the media at the time when they asked if she involved with Jerry and her response was that it wasn't true and she and her husband laugh about it.

He is an arrogant, unfriendly, nasty man who hasn't accomplished anything recently and who owes much of his success to the writers on Seinfeld who provided him with funny material. She is an unethical, nasty woman obsessed with money who would leave him if he lost his money. So they deserve each other.

[labutard]

What an interesting lack of eye contact on her part.