I feel like everyone knows who Jeff Bezos is (his name is basically synonymous with Amazon). And if you know who he is, then you might also recognize his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, a media personality and former news reporter.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sanchez has decided to try her hand at being a published author. And recently she has been promoting her new children's book, The Fly Who Flew to Space. However, it seems that the media personality has recently been sued over that book.
According to Page Six, Lauren Sanchez's former yoga teacher has actually filed a complaint alleging that the concept of her children's book is stolen from discussions and conversations they have had over the years. Specifically, Alanna Zabel is claiming that she had spoken to the other woman about a children's book concept about a cat flying to Mars with a tentative title of Dharma Kitty Goes to Mars.
Lauren Sanchez's former yoga teacher is suing her over concept theft revolving around her new children's book
In the suit against Sanchez, Zabel also shared that she had actually reached out to Jeff Bezos in regards to potentially, "giving proceeds of sales from the book to Bezos Earth Fund and Bezos Academy." While she does not confirm whether or not she was able to get in touch with Bezos, there is a claim that an assistant did say her message had been received.
Of course, whether or not she did in fact connect with Jeff Bezos is not nearly as important as the basis for this lawsuit against Lauren Sanchez.
"The actions of defendant constitute intentional infliction of emotional distress as they were extreme and outrageous, carried out with the intent to harm plaintiff, driven by personal jealousy, and a personal desire to posture publicly as ‘philanthropic and caring."Alanna Zabel in her suit
Even before The Fly Who Flew to Space was released on Sept. 10, Zabel threatened Sanchez with legal action over the book. In particular when the media personality first announced that she would be releasing a book (and what the book would be about).
Throughout the lead-up to the book's publication and even since starting to really promote her new book, Lauren Sanchez has repeatedly indicated that she has a personal connection to this story. She has stated that her children's book is, "a celebration of overcoming challenges, the joy of learning, and dreaming beyond the stars."
It should be interesting to see how this suit plays out, especially in light of the fact that Zabel is suing over her concept being co-opted by someone that she claims is "driven by personal jealousy." We have no idea why she might be jealous, but it will be fascinating to learn whether or not this comes into play in the courts if it gets that far.
What do you think of this lawsuit? Are you at all surprised that this is happening?