'View' co-host Hasselbeck is accused of plagiarism
2009-06-23

Category Plagiarism People Elisabeth Hasselbeck Source (AP)

BOSTON - Elisabeth Hasselbeck, a co-host of ABC's "The View," has been accused of plagiarism.

A lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts alleges that Hasselbeck lifted "word for word" content from a book on celiac disease written by a self-published author on Cape Cod.

Hasselbeck's book, "The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide," has appeared over the past month on several best-seller lists.

Author Susan Hassett filed the lawsuit Monday, saying she sent Hasselbeck a copy of her "Living With Celiac Disease" book as a courtesy after the TV celebrity disclosed she had the illness last year.

The lawsuit says Hasselbeck's book reproduces lists of grains containing gluten along with scientific names of the grains.

Hasselbeck's book "includes dozens of paraphrased as well as word for word regurgitations of phrases" from Hassett's book, the lawsuit claims, but it doesn't cite specific examples.

The lawsuit also says the books have a similar organization and chapter format.

Hasselbeck said in a statement that the allegations are baseless and she worked "diligently and tirelessly" on the book and was disappointed by efforts to discredit her work.