Literary Plagiarism

Posted by Susan Whelan Jul 23, 2009

Yesterday I published a review here at Suite101 of The G-Free Diet by Elisabeth Hasselbeck, co-host of ABCs The View.

A few hours later I was sent a link to an article with details that Hasselbeck is being sued for libel by Susan Hassett, a Cape Cod author who claims that The G-Free Diet is based on her book, Living With Celiac Disease, which she self-published in 2008. She forwarded a copy of this book to Hasselbeck when she heard that the celebrity also suffered with celiac the disease.

Susan Hassett vs Elisabeth Hasselbeck

First time author Hassett has lived with debilitating symptoms from celiac disease for 20 years. She self-published a book about the disease and how she dealt with removing gluten from her own diet with the aim of helping others with celiac disease. Her book contains a large number of gluten-free recipes in addition to lifestyle tips and information about the disease itself.

Hassett is claiming that Hasselbeck’s book not only contains almost identical information in places, it also mirrors the format of her book.

For more information about the lawsuit and plagiarism allegations, visit these articles at Fox News, The View Report and Nutrition Unplugged.

For the record, I have not read Living with Celiac Disease. I have read The G-Free Diet, which I enjoyed with the one criticism that it did not contain adequate referencing, such as footnotes or a bibliography.

Celebrities Accused of Plagiarism

This situation brought to mind a similar accusation in late 2007 against Jessica Seinfeld, wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld and author of Deceptively Delicious, a cookbook containing recipes for hiding healthy foods in meals children enjoy.

Seinfeld was accused of plagiarism by Missy Chase Lepine, whose own book The Sneaky Chef was also released in 2007. In this case, plagiarism accusations centred on both the concept and the recipes. For example, both books included a recipe for chocolate brownies with spinach as an ingredient.

Plagiarism Claims

Plagiarism can be extremely difficult to prove. Criticisms about the quality of Susan Hassett’s writing have been made by some as evidence that Hasselbeck could not have copied her work, although this seems totally irrelevant to me. Others, who dislike the outspoken conservative opinions Hasselbeck expresses on The View, seem keen to assume that she is guilty based on personality alone.

The fact that Hassett has lodged a lawsuit against Hasselbeck may bring some resolution in this particular case, although that will no doubt rely on whether Hassett has the resources to pursue her claim.

When everyday people take on those in power, whether large corporations, celebrities or others with wealth and/or social standing on their side, it often seems unlikely that the less prominent and influential party will receive a fair hearing, particularly in the media.

Do you think it is possible to prove plagiarism? Many authors have faced similar accusations and claims, counterclaims and arguments often only serve to further promote sales for the more prominent individual with no definitive resolution.

Do you think Susan Hassett’s claims are reasonable or do you think that this situation is merely an unfortunate coincidence? I will be watching with interest to see how this lawsuit develops in coming months.