Why Is George Stella Mad At Me Over This?

The world's most famous low-carb chef has a beef with Jimmy Moore?

When you talk about the most influential names in the world of low-carb, nobody will argue that television chef George Stella is near the top of the list. This amazing man has done more to share the message of livin' la vida low-carb with our culture than just about anyone aside from the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins because lives are being changed for the better as a result of what he is doing.

To say I'm a fan of the star of the hit Food Network television show "Low-Carb And Lovin' It" would be an understatement. I had nothing but great things to say about his "Eating Stella Style" book and even wrote a feature blog post on his fantastic "Stella Style" web site. My relationship with the Stella family has been one of mutual respect for our respective weight loss successes following a low-carb lifestyle and we had exchanged several very friendly e-mails.

But that all quickly changed when I wrote this recent post.

What did I type in that post that would have George Stella so mad at me? Well, it appears the subject of that particular blog post, Kelley Keener's inspiring low-carb weight loss success story, was already appearing on the "Stella Style" web site. Actually, I had no idea it was there until well after I had written my blog post.

Let me back up for a moment and tell you how I got Kelley's story.

One of my faithful blog readers here at "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" is a lady named Kay Witt, the loving and proud mother of Kelley. Kay had been telling me about Kelley's progress on her weight loss for a while on the "Stella Style" program and would send periodic updates with pictures for me to see. As a proud mother who was pleased to see her daughter get her weight under control at last, she was so excited to share this with me.

About three weeks ago, I received an especially enthusiastic e-mail from Kay telling me how much Kelley had changed and she sent the breathtaking before and after pictures for me to see. When I saw them, my initial reaction was, "WOW! She looks incredible!" Since I am all about encouraging people to lose weight here at my blog, I asked Kay and Kelley if I could have permission to tell her amazing story to my readers. Of course, they both immediately agreed and sent me pictures via e-mail as well as a synopsis of Kelley's story in her own words so I could write my column.

However, it seems George Stella saw my blog post featuring Kelley and it infuriated him based on some assumptions he made about it. I received an e-mail directly from him demanding that I immediately remove Kelley's story I had written from the Internet because I had essentially stolen it from his web site.

I WAS REQUIRED TO FORCIBLY REMOVE THIS QUOTE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT (DMCA) BECAUSE GEORGE STELLA COMPLAINED TO THEM ABOUT THIS POST

Well, first of all, I don't just go around trying to fill this blog with content. I have PLENTY of material to work with in the media, with new products, interviews with people in health, highlighting new blogs and web sites, etc. There is NEVER a shortage of things for me to discuss here. But I didn't seek out Kelley's story, her mom came to ME with it! What's the big deal about sharing a weight loss success story in multiple places anyway, George? Aren't we all supposed to be on the same team helping others shed the pounds and change their lives forever?

Unfortunately, Stella would have nothing of it and asked me to take down the blog story about Kelley immediately and to stop using likenesses from my site.

Why would I take something down that both Kay and Kelley have said they enjoyed very much? I put a lot of time and effort into writing that column and I don't appreciate being accused of taking anything from anyone when that story was offered to me as a possible future blog post directly from the person I wrote about. If anyone deserves an apology here, it's ME for being wrongfully accused of doing something unscrupulous and conniving. As you can see, I clearly did nothing wrong.

Interestingly, another problem Stella shared was my use of the phrase "livin' la vida low-carb" in my post about Kelley.

I WAS REQUIRED TO FORCIBLY REMOVE THIS QUOTE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT (DMCA) BECAUSE GEORGE STELLA COMPLAINED TO THEM ABOUT THIS POST

Say what? Are you SERIOUS, George? Regular readers of my blog know that I use the phrase "livin' la vida low-carb" in virtually EVERY SINGLE BLOG POST I write. It's my signature phrase which is why I had it trademarked. Just because I referred to Kelley as "livin' la vida low-carb" does not mean she followed some low-carb plan I came up with. In fact, I explain what I mean by that phrase in this blog post. It's just my way of referring to the low-carb lifestyle. Nothing more, nothing less.

Even still, I clearly attributed Kelley's weight loss to "Stella Style" in my column about her and even provided a link to Stella's web site where people could purchase more of Stella's products and services. Was this not generous enough on my part? What more should I have done? Why is George Stella making such a proverbial mountain out of a molehill here?

Because of my great respect and admiration for George Stella, I decided to respond to his concerns about this misunderstanding in a return e-mail addressing his specific objections and asking for a resolution to this.

"George, I greatly admire what you have done as an ambassador for livin' la vida low-carb in the mainstream, but I think what you are asking me to do is unreasonable since I was given explicit permission by both Kelley and her mother to write about her weight loss success story and they both enjoyed what I wrote immensely. In other words, I didn't do ANYTHING wrong here and don't know why I am being chastised for it.

I will certainly honor your request if both Kelley and Kay ask me to remove her story from my blog. This situation truly saddens me, George, and I certainly hope this does not create any bad blood between you and I as a result. My intention was not to cause harm to anyone in this and I sincerely apologize if you feel that is what I have done to you in this matter. I assure you there was no malicious intent with my blog post about Kelley and that I had no idea you had her story featured at your web site prior to today. At this point, what can we do to resolve this impasse?"

By the way, Kay and Kelley asked me NOT to remove the post as George wanted because they enjoyed it very much. That's why it is staying up. Unfortunately, this didn't sit well with George Stella as you will see from his final response to me.

I WAS REQUIRED TO FORCIBLY REMOVE THIS QUOTE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT (DMCA) BECAUSE GEORGE STELLA COMPLAINED TO THEM ABOUT THIS POST

Okay, I have done as I see fit and decided NOT to remove the column, George. It's the right thing to do since that is what Kay and Kelley BOTH want. As for the profits that I make off of featuring stories on my blog, now we're getting into the nitty gritty of what this is all about. It appears that George Stella thinks I'm making a killing off of the products and services I offer at my blog. HA! Don't I wish!

For someone like Stella who has made this his career--in other words, it's how he makes his living--then I can see how he would get upset from someone taking something from his web site and making it their own. But that is clearly NOT what happened in this case as he so ardently believes.

Furthermore, it seems he didn't like the way I improved the flow of Kelley's story from the one he has posted on his web site. I'm a writer and, as such, I enjoy making stories like weight loss success come to life for others to help motivate and inspire them to do it for themselves. I didn't change anything about Kelley's story that made any part of it less truthful than the one on Stella's web site. Like I said previously, both her and her mother were THRILLED with what I had written.

So, what about this whole soap opera between me and George Stella? What do you think about it and does he have a point? Or am I doing the right thing by keeping the post about Kelley's weight loss up and running to help others who are overweight and obese to find some real encouragement and inspiration? Is there anything more I should do?

One thing I DON'T want to do is discourage people from taking advantage of the great services that George Stella is offering at his fabulous StellaStyle.com web site. Despite his false accusations against me, I have no hard feelings for George Stella because he is a wonderful man for what he has been able to accomplish in terms of weight loss success as well as television and publishing stardom. Many low-carbers love and admire him for what he has done and rightfully so. He has raised the banner high for people who are livin' la vida low-carb helping them lose weight and get healthy. Nobody can ever take that away from George Stella.

Perhaps you can get George Stella to explain why he is so mad at Jimmy Moore over this issue by sending him an e-mail at george@stellastyle.com. I'm just wondering what I COULD have done differently to prevent this squabble from ever happening in the first place. It's baffling to me and frankly I'm pretty hurt by it. Let me know if you hear back from George. Of course, I welcome George Stella to provide any additional insight into why he reacted the way he did by e-mailing me directly at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. I hope to get some answers to this mystery.

8-28-06 UPDATE: Unfortunately, rather than addressing my concerns about this, I received another e-mail from George Stella today about the way I put this issue out in the open.

I WAS REQUIRED TO FORCIBLY REMOVE THIS QUOTE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT (DMCA) BECAUSE GEORGE STELLA COMPLAINED TO THEM ABOUT THIS POST

I'm not at "peace" George because you were WRONG about the accusations you made about me and you are STILL trying to make me feel bad for what I wrote.

Like I said, I support what you do helping others overcome their weight struggles. But the way you have reacted to this issue is an even bigger problem that perhaps needs to be worked on in your own life, my friend. I wish you the best, too, because this kind of attitude is unbecoming of someone in your position. Take care!