Lauren Sánchez’s picture-book debut, “The Fly Who Flew to Space,” published last week, promises to teach early readers about “reaching for the stars.”
But the “Good Day L.A.” alum’s former yoga instructor claims her ex-student is more interested in reaching for other people’s intellectual property.
In a complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, yoga instructor Alanna Zabel, the author of seven children’s books, accused Sánchez of misappropriating a book concept she originated over a decade ago and shared with Sánchez in confidence.
Zabel says it’s a blatant rip-off, done in retaliation for her resigning as Sánchez’s yoga instructor years before. She quit because of the media personality’s “continual and outrageous acts of jealousy,” according to court documents reviewed by The Times.
The fitness instructor is suing Sánchez for theft of ideas, theft of intellectual property and intentionally inflicted emotional distress. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages —unspecified, though confirmed in a separate court document to exceed $35,000 — as well as a statement from Sánchez crediting the origin of her book to Zabel. She also requested that Sánchez pay her legal fees.
“This experience with Lauren is the straw that broke the camel’s back. She is not the first celebrity to knock off my work or run with my pitches, but she is the last,” Zabel said in a Thursday statement to The Times. “I have dedicated my life to teach people to live true to who they are, inspire children to live compassionate and honest lives, as well as having done the challenging personal work to live true to myself — by denying seductive people and situations that lack integrity. I am not motivated by money or status; I am motivated by truth.”
Zabel also said that she planned to release a new title in the coming months that would detail the ordeal with Sánchez “and other true stories from my experience as a ‘celebrity yoga instructor.’ ”
Sánchez has not responded to the litigation and could not be reached for comment Thursday.
According to the Tuesday filing, Zabel gave Sánchez private yoga lessons from 2007 to 2010, during which time the two women repeatedly discussed co-writing a children’s book via Zabel’s company, AZ I AM Inc.
Then, in 2022, “Plaintiff reached out directly to Defendant via email, text, and Instagram, sharing a specific book concept with Defendant, about a cat who flies to Mars, re-opening prior discussions,” the complaint said. Zabel also pitched the idea to Sánchez’s fiancée, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, suggesting proceeds from the book go to the Bezos Earth Fund and Bezos Academy, a network of tuition-free preschools.
Zabel received no response save for a message from Bezos’ personal assistant that he’d received her email — so she went ahead with the book project, solo publishing “Dharma Kitty Goes to Mars” later that year.
The following January, Sánchez went public with her own project, going on to publish her book last week despite a cease-and-desist order Zabel obtained in April against Sánchez’s publisher the Collective Book Studio.
“Defendant’s appropriation of Plaintiff’s book concept and her disregard for Plaintiff’s intellectual property rights resulted in significant emotional distress for Plaintiff,” the Tuesday complaint said. “The betrayal and theft caused Plaintiff severe emotional harm, impacting Plaintiff’s personal and professional objectives, reputation, and well-being.”
The filing also claims Sánchez’s book “contains over 60% of similar content and story as the book concept Plaintiff had shared with Defendant,” according to a “comparative analysis” of the two works. For example, both book covers feature a “rocket logo graphic on the chest of the main character.” (In her statement to The Times, Zabel shared a side-by-side comparison of the two books posted to the AZ I AM website.)
Outside of emotional and financial damages, Zabel also said in her filing that Sánchez had inflicted upon her significant “professional harm.” Alluding to the former entertainment reporter’s increased visibility due to her relationship with Bezos, Zabel said Sánchez’s actions “reflect a misuse of her power and fame to disregard and exploit a lesser-known creative individual.”
“By leveraging her public status and influence, Defendant was able to appropriate Plaintiff’s work without consequence, exploiting the disparity in their professional standing,” she said.
As part of a promotional push, Sánchez has recently hosted numerous dinner parties attended by celebrities such as the Kardashians.
Khloe Kardashian on Tuesday shared photos from a book release party on Instagram, lauding “The Fly Who Went to Space” as “an inspiring and imaginative story that sparks curiosity and imagination while at the same time it encourages us all to shoot for the stars.”