Veteran Hollywood trade journalist Jeff Sneider has publicly accused Deadline Editor-At-Large Mike Fleming Jr. of stealing a scoop about a debut novel reportedly written with AI assistance.
Sneider, who now publishes the newsletter "The InSneider," stated on social media platform X that Fleming had "stolen my entire scoop from last night and tried to pass it off as his exclusive." He also called the alleged act "more blatant than the scandal itself."
Fleming had published an "Exclusive" report on July 30 for his Deadline column, "The Dish," detailing how a highly anticipated debut novel, reportedly sold for $2.4 million after a competitive bidding war, had faltered when questions arose about the author's use of AI. Fleming's report noted that the rights sellers, UTA and Europa Content, were no longer involved with the project.
The day prior, Sneider had published his own piece addressing the same subject matter, titled "AI Scandal Rocks Publishing World — Will Hollywood Care or Keep Pursuing the Hottest Book in Town?" However, Sneider did not name the book in his reporting.
Both journalists, in their respective reports, omitted the name of the author. Sneider's and Fleming's pieces also drew parallels between the novel's protagonist and the character Winston "The Wolf" Wolf from "Pulp Fiction."
Other journalists commented on the situation, with Roger Friedman of Showbiz 411 posting on X, "Jeff Sneider had this last night. It was his story."
This is not the first time Sneider and Fleming have been involved in a public dispute. In 2013, reports indicated a feud between the two, with Sneider accusing Fleming of misrepresenting a story as exclusive that had previously appeared in Variety. In 2014, Sneider reportedly called Fleming a "f king loser" and stated he pitied him. An Observer piece in 2016 referred to Fleming as Sneider's "nemesis."