NEWS: JT LeRoy Gets Killed

CULTURE: JT LeRoy Gets Killed

In the wake of the recent debate over whether or not author JT LeRoy is real or not, WWD.com reports the New York Times recently killed an article LeRoy was commissioned to write for the publication. After having penned a piece for the paper about Disneyland Paris, LeRoy was to write an article about HBO's "Deadwood." But then, New York ran "Who Is the Real JT LeRoy." The increasingly public debate over the identity of the writer seemingly gave the Times cause for concern.

Um, if I had done this with MY employer, y'know, the one cutting me checks...well, I wouldn't be getting paid.

Is this bastard writing these articles for free or something?

I of course took the headline at face value and before reading the story thought, ' well at least we know that he/she is real.'

I'm really glad that JT LeRoy is in fact not dead. I love his/ her work and believe "he" is "real" just based on all the crummy-paying work he did for NY Press back in the mid '90s.

As a freelance writer, all I have to sign is a 1040 form and sometimes a contract.

It's understandable why the Times would not have him write for them in the wake of their writers faking stories -- too bad LeRoy has to suffer from this...

Freelancers don't have the same employee / employer relationship found in other jobs.

How weird is it that JT was about to write an article on an HBO Show??

It's a shame, really sad, that he's losing work because of this.

At least Interview have said they'll keep working with him. Warhol would probably like JT whether he really exists or not.

But you have to provide some sort of proof for tax purposes, though, even if you're working under a psuedonym or anonymously...right?

JT Leroy once wrote an article about the parking situation at the McDonald's in the Haight. I'd love to hear what he (or she, or whatever) has to say about Deadwood.

Why should they care who he is? Why should anyone care who he is? If his shit is good, if it sells papers, who the hell cares? People are too goddamned nosey. Nobody wants to read shit that hasn't been written by someone just like them. Let hir stay anonymous and just take their shit at face value.

that Leroy, he's a card

well, when you consider that a lot of JT Leroy's fame and career is based on his or her back story, it does become relevant. She's never been "anonymous." not by a long shot.

If you've been burned as much by bullshit reporting as the Times has been, why the fuck are you hiring anonymous reporters anyway? Isn't that asking for another Jayson Blair?

Jt is beautiful regardless of who Jt really is...yet is it such abig deal to cause more uproar or just move on...let go of the notion that a conspiracy follows you---yr writing speaks for itself....

I like that all these discussions phrase the question "whether JT Leroy is real or not," rather than "whether JT Leroy is who he/she/it says he/she/it is."

I like the idea of those stories just appearing out of thin air. poof! there's nobody really writing them.

This sounds like turning down a strawberry icecream cone because it's flavor happens to be strawberry.

More like turning down a "surprise-flavored" ice cream cone, because its flavor might actually be rat poison.

Not that it is, just that you don't know its not. After having several bad cones where it actually was rat poison.

The plot thickens. Just like the chicken soup.

Where was that published in?

Every freelance writing job that I do, I have to give my Social Security #, but that's for taxes, not "proof."

I think that part of the accusation is that those traumatic experiences were all a lie as well and that his or her backstory was simply made up.
And he has made public appearances. In fact, I met him (if you can call saying "hello" meeting someone)at a reading (where other people read her work) and all that I'll say is: if the whole thing is an act, it's very fucking convincing.

[Edited on Dec 02, 2005 by PointBlank]