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Jeff Bezos' fiancée Lauren Sanchez has been sued by her former yoga instructor over the concept of her children's book, The fly that flew into spacewhich premiered on September 10.
In a complaint obtained by Page six, Author Alanna Zabel says she was the one who came up with the idea for the book. Zabel, who worked privately with Sanchez between 2007 and 2011, says she and the former journalist engaged in “oral and written discussions” for the book over “16 years.”
Zabel reportedly claims to have created a concept about a “cat that flies to Mars” in 2002, with the title of a children's book: Dharma Kitty goes to MarsZabel published her book under that name in March 2023. It is currently available on Amazon for $16.95.
Sanchez's book, The fly that flew into space, It centers on a fly named Flynn who pursues his dream of becoming an astronaut and heads out on a rocket. The book is also inspired by Sanchez's experience with dyslexia as a child and her love of flying.
In the complaint, Zabel claims that during those 16 years of communicating about the ideas in his book, he even contacted Bezsos to “donate proceeds from sales of the book to the Bezos Earth Fund and the Bezos Academy.”
“The defendant’s actions constitute an intentional infliction of emotional distress because they were extreme and outrageous, carried out with the intent to harm the plaintiff, and driven by personal jealousy,” Zabel said. Page six reports that he submitted the document without a lawyer.
The Independent has contacted representatives of Sánchez and Zabel for comment.
In March, Sanchez first announced she would be releasing her children’s book. “I am beyond grateful that this story holds a piece of my heart. It’s a celebration of overcoming challenges, the joy of learning, and dreaming beyond the stars. And I am so grateful to @RaleighStewart for his incredible illustrations — they are pure magic,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.
During the book's press tour, she stressed how personal the story was to her. “This book is me when I was eight years old and feeling really dumb,” she said during an appearance on Good morning America On September 10th, “And I did, I sat in the back of the class, it was quiet, so I was pushed to go on to public school.”
Sanchez later attended a community college where a teacher encouraged her to write for the school newspaper.
Although Sanchez had doubts at first, she wrote a text and gave it to her teacher, who helped her realize she had dyslexia.
“This book is for all those little kids who feel out of place. They don’t think they’re smart enough. But I’m here to tell them that everything is going to be okay,” she said.
