Hasselbeck Accused of No Original Thoughts

Elisabeth Hasselbeck ripped off a woman by plagiarizing her disease material -- so claims Susan Hassett, who fired off a letter to "The View" host just before suing her.

Elisabteh Hasselbeck Click to view docs

We obtained the letter -- in which Susan claims she sent Elisabeth a book called "Living with Celiac Disease" back in April of '08. Thirteen months later, Susan says Hasselbeck published the same book with a new title: "The G Free Diet-A Gluten Free Survival Guide." Yes, the title sucks.

Susan compares chapters and lines. Here are some highlights.

Susan's Book Chapter 1: What is Celiac Disease?
Hasselbeck Chapter 2: What is Celiac Disease?

Susan's tips: "Shop in the outer isles of the supermarket."
Hasselbeck's tips: "Food in the outer isles of the supermarket."

And the comparisons go on and on.

Susan just sued Elisabeth for copyright infringement and plagiarism.

UPDATE: We've just obtained a statement from Elisabeth's people: "Neither Center Street nor Elisabeth Hasselbeck has been served with the Complain in this action. However, there is no basis for the allegations in the Complaint as published in the press. Ms. Hasselbeck worked diligently and tirelessly on her book and is disappointed in this attempt to discredit her work and her ability to bring this important message to the public."

Tags: book, elisabeth, hasselbeck, living with celiac disease, LivingWithCeliacDisease, plagiarism, susan hassett, SusanHassett

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46. Please, I hear song after song that are more similar than these two books. The woman suing is just a leftwing radical nut looking for a handout. Hey, imagine that, a liberal wanting something for free. SHOCKER!!!

Posted at 2:28PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by Tom

47. Elisabeth just proves that she never had an original thought in that pea brain of hers. She's a robot that remembers silly talking points from fox news network.

Posted at 1:55PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by whatevaman

48. @ bearcup,

Not only would I like to know what you think the other whores that Elizabeth shares the show with have "contributed to society," but I think we would all LOVE to know what you yourself have contibuted to the world.

Thanks in advance

Posted at 2:00PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by daddy

49. You couldn't be more wrong Julie Barman.

The books are similar in every way; opinions and Sue's own research has been copied. The layout is the same. The dedications are the same. The verbiage is the same. The advice is the same. The catchy phrases are the same. The comparisons are the same. There are pages after pages of similarities. Elisabeth did not give credit to Sue for the book. It goes beyond nutritional guidelines and public knowledge. There is even some direct copying.

If you have not read both books - you are not in a position to comment Julie Barman. And I happen to know that you haven’t.

Copyrighted work is protected under the law. Sue Hassett is standing up for what is right - why should some pseudo-celebrity be given a free pass if she has stolen someone’s HARD work and near-death experiences with this debilitating disease?

You have no idea what you are talking about - you are an obvious ploy to distract and distort from the truth that Sue Hassett is trying to expose.

And BTW- Sue Hassett was contacted by another author who told her it appears Elisabeth had copied her book. Sue did not ask for this. Sue wrote to ABC and was ignored. Numerous bloggers found Sue’s story and encouraged her to get a legal opinion.

Sue Hassett has a very strong case. We’ll let the judge decide if that’s all right with you.

Posted at 2:02PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by Fact Check

50. Of course she has no original thoughts. She is a Republican, after all.

Posted at 2:07PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by john

51. An isle means "a small island." It's not normally thought of as shorthand for "island." With the tremendous amount of grammatical errors you see on this site daily, it's safe to assume the errors were from the TMZ staffers, or whom ever typed the files. Depending on where the errors originally appeared. Sorry you got your hopes up BettyBoop

Posted at 2:10PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by nathan

52. I hate to tell all you Hasselbeck-Haters out there: Firstly, how ELSE would you start out a book about a specific disease? OF COURSE the first chapter is going to be an explanation of what the condition entails -- that's just basic writing sense, folks. And as for "copying" the "shop in the outer aisles of the supermarket" -- well, that is also common nutritional sense FOR EVERYONE who wants to eat more healthy -- but, I guess, especially those with celiac disease -- because the outer aisles are where stores keep the most nutritional foods: vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, etc... Any of you who have ever been on ANY kind of eating program/diet/nutritional program have been given the same advice.
Seems to me this Susan Hassett didn't corner the market here on any huge news flashes or anything and she's just trying to make a buck off someone who she knows has money and who has a daily forum to plug her book. Sounds like maybe Ms. Hassett is a little jealous because her book didn't seel very well?

Posted at 2:12PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by and...

53. It seems to me that the copying of the misspelling of "aisle," (not "isle") as pointed out by some people already, is a pretty strong argument buttressing the plagiarism argument. Even if the knowledge in the books is "common knowledge," so are most self-help books. What the judge or jury will have to decide is the extent of the copying, which seems large from the samples in the lawyers letter.

Posted at 2:12PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by Dave Stein

54. I do truly hope this has merit and she is sued!!! LOL
If she is it couldn't have happened to a better *itch!! LOL

Posted at 7:10AM on Jun 24th 2009 by Ebonydiva75

55. Why do you guys hate someone so much just because they do not have the same beliefs as you? It is a scary world when people start bashing other people just because of their different VIEWS! Don't say she is guilty when you don't know the whole story and just because she is a Republican. Just give it a little time and it will all come out if she is guilty.

Posted at 2:15PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by tonyp714

56. Sorry, but there's something extremely comical reading an article about a Conservative not having an original thought on a liberal website such as this. Oh the irony!!!!!

Posted at 2:39PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by simpson

57. It seems to me that the copying of the misspelling of "aisle," (not "isle") as pointed out by some people already, is a pretty strong argument buttressing the plagiarism argument. Even if the knowledge in the books is "common knowledge," so are most self-help books. What the judge or jury will have to decide is the extent of the copying, which seems large from the samples in the lawyers letter.

Posted at 2:20PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by Dave

58. excuse me... I meant "SELL very well" in my previous post.

Posted at 2:14PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by ...and...

59. The sky must be falling. We have liberals bashing someone for not being "original" when their President can't even tie his own shoes without reading the instructions off his teleprompter.

Posted at 3:02PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by here kitty kitty

60. Uh oh!!! Liberals coming up on the short end of the stick yet again. Looks like Susan is a headcase. She has a long and lengthy track record of suing people and accusing them of the exact same thing. As usual, kooks lose!

Posted at 3:42PM on Jun 23rd 2009 by henrythecat

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