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  • THURSDAY JANUARY 26 2006 11:03 AM

Oprah to James Frey: On Second Thought, You Are a Lying Douchebag

Submitted by jake_lex

Edited by MissTyrios

When the news first broke that big parts of James Frey's "memoir" A Million Little Pieces might be bullshit, Oprah Winfrey, who selected the book for Oprah's Book Club, seemed to be supporting him. In an episode of Larry King Live in which the man who bears a tattoo that forms an abbreviation for "Fuck The Bullshit It's Time to Throw Down" came on with his mommy to say it's not important that what he say be completely true, Winfrey called in to offer him support and say the allegations were "much ado about nothing." Well, it appears that Oprah's had a change of heart, at least based on what she said to him on her show today.

Oprah Winfrey challenged author James Frey over his disputed memoir, asking him on a live telecast of her show Thursday to explain why he “felt the need to lie.”

“It is difficult for me to talk to you because I really feel duped ... but more importantly I feel that you betrayed millions of readers,” Winfrey said to Frey, who wrote the hugely popular “A Million Little Pieces.”

Frey, 36, appeared on CNN’s “Larry King Live” show after The Smoking Gun story appeared, and Winfrey phoned in her support for him and for the book, calling the allegations against Frey “much ado about nothing.”

“What is relevant is that he was a drug addict ... and stepped out of that history to be the man he is today and to take that message to save other people and allow them to save themselves,” Winfrey said in the surprise call two weeks ago.

But Winfrey, who has been widely criticized, even by e-mailers on her Web site, for her apparent indifference to the controversy, said Thursday that she regretted making that call.

“I left the impression that the truth is not important,” she said.

Frey acknowledged to King that he had embellished parts of the book, and he told Winfrey Thursday that the same demons that fueled his addictions caused him to mischaracterize himself.

“I made a mistake,” Frey told Winfrey on Thursday.


Apparently, the bravado in which he thundered about suing The Smoking Gun is gone.

It's been remarked at certain points that it's not really important if he told the truth in his memoir, because we all expect books to "embroider" the truth in a way. And from a purely literary sense, that's probably correct. But Frey constructed a whole persona for himself based on his story that he was a hard-ass ex-junkie who'd done hard time and turned himself around through his own manly will. He gladly let Oprah Winfrey make him the poster boy for "redemption" even though he knew that his stories were bullshit. And you can't bash him hard enough for that, in my opinion.

The other part of this whole thing has to do with Oprah Winfrey. Oprah's Book Club has been, for the most part, a very good thing for literature and reading in general. But you have to wonder about some of the selections. Is she selecting these books purely out of literary worth, or based on how well they fit into one of her crusades, in her endless quest to save the world? This episode suggests the latter, and an episode like this threatens to bring the whole thing down.

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Comments
Changes

Changes

Boston, MA
October 2005

JAN 26, 2006 11:34 AM

That’s right, “FTBSITTTD” really stands for “Forgetting to Brush Slowly Is The Trail (to) Tooth Decay.”

PointBlank

PointBlank

New York, NY
November 2004

JAN 26, 2006 11:36 AM

Lisp said:
That’s right, “FTBSITTTD” really stands for “Forgetting to Brush Slowly Is The Trail (to) Tooth Decay.”


Oh, you little thief.

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

biggrin

Changes

Changes

Boston, MA
October 2005

JAN 26, 2006 11:43 AM

PointBlank said:

Lisp said:
That’s right, “FTBSITTTD” really stands for “Forgetting to Brush Slowly Is The Trail (to) Tooth Decay.”


Oh, you little thief.

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

biggrin



Staying on subject, I agree, and think this guy should be called out. We all know that memoirs and such are embellished, but when you accept some kind of redemption-do-gooder figurehead, you should be the real thing.

Plus too:

SPOILERS! (Click to view)


EndedBen

EndedBen

Grand Rapids, MI
August 2004

JAN 26, 2006 11:46 AM

I like that tattoo kinda.

[Edited on Jan 26, 2006 by SuperNintendo]

Jordan

Jordan

SUICIDEGIRL

New York, USA

JAN 26, 2006 11:56 AM

anyone with a tat that says that should never be allowed to talk/write or basically leave thier house. puke

jake_lex

jake_lex

Lexington, KY
February 2003

JAN 26, 2006 12:20 PM

(looks like the editors were kind enough to change the typo that made it appear I was questioning Oprah's gender.)

[Edited on Jan 26, 2006 12:18PM]

MissTyrios

misstyrios

NEWSWIRE

Allston, MA

JAN 26, 2006 12:31 PM

jake_lex said:
(looks like the editors were kind enough to change the typo that made it appear I was questioning Oprah's gender.)

[Edited on Jan 26, 2006 12:18PM]



I don't know what you're talking about. wink

jake_lex

jake_lex

Lexington, KY
February 2003

JAN 26, 2006 12:32 PM

Here's a more detailed description of the show, from the Washington Post (via AP):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/26/AR2006012600946.html

This made me laugh the hardest about things, however, and underscores my point about how far he's backed off his original blustery threats against the Smoking Gun:



Asked if The Smoking Gun Web site, which first questioned the book, had accurately characterized the discrepancies, Frey said "I think most of what they wrote was pretty accurate," adding they did "a good job."



Wow, let's throw down, indeed.

EndedBen

EndedBen

Grand Rapids, MI
August 2004

JAN 26, 2006 12:35 PM

Is this book worth reading regardless? A lot of people I know (from good Christian ladies to notorious druggies) really seem to love it.

PointBlank

PointBlank

New York, NY
November 2004

JAN 26, 2006 12:37 PM

SuperNintendo said:
Is this book worth reading regardless? A lot of people I know (from good Christian ladies to notorious druggies) really seem to love it.


I think the writing is pretty damned bad, but some of the stories he tells are sort of cool and exciting. They do lose some value when you learn they're not true.

Whatever you do, don't read his next book, My Friend Leonard--just terrible.

[Edited on Jan 26, 2006 by PointBlank]

alpha_hazard

alpha_hazard

Fort Collins, CO
April 2004

JAN 26, 2006 12:43 PM

The cute chick that sits next to me in Environmental Psych is reading this book...now I've got a conversation started...Thanks Jake_Lex, Oprah, and This Frey guy for making some big news out of dashing people's own hopes for redeaming themselves without admitting they are powerless.

SomethingStupid

SomethingStupid

North Hollywood, CA
March 2004

JAN 26, 2006 12:54 PM

SuperNintendo said:
Is this book worth reading regardless? A lot of people I know (from good Christian ladies to notorious druggies) really seem to love it.


It seems so laden in this macho prose that it comes across as utterly pathetic if you know it's fiction.

LyloniJade

LyloniJade

Madison, WI
May 2004

JAN 26, 2006 02:40 PM

poor schumck.

shacolwal

shacolwal

Waite Park, MN
February 2004

JAN 26, 2006 03:51 PM

This isn't the first time Ophrah has had "trouble" with her book club. Remember "The Corrections " and author Johnathan Franzen? His response to her promtion of his book got her to stop the book club entirely for awhile. I think she should just avoid authors with the initials "JF".

StickyRice

StickyRice

Atlanta, GA
January 2003

JAN 26, 2006 04:20 PM

.

[Edited on Jan 26, 2006 by StickyRice]

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