"Joining the chorus of a million big skeptics, Oprah Winfrey has withdrawn her support for embattled memoirist James Frey.
Winfrey confronted the A Million Little Pieces author during a live taping of her show on Thursday, stating that she was "really embarrassed" by her initial decision to stand up for him in the face of allegations that he fabricated large chunks of his book.
"It is difficult for me to talk to you because I feel duped. I really feel duped," Winfrey said to Frey.
The Queen of Daytime catapulted A Million Little Pieces to best-seller status after she selected the so-called memoir for her book club.
Thanks in large part to Winfrey's endorsement, Frey's supposedly true tale of his struggles with addiction and stint in rehab sold 1.77 million copies last year, making it the number-two-selling book of the year behind Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
However, after an in-depth investigation by the Smoking Gun Website called major events and details of the book into question, Frey's claims of everything from the amount of time he spent behind bars to undergoing dental surgery without the benefit of Novocaine were discounted.
After finding himself at the center of a media firestorm, Frey began admitting in interviews that he had embellished elements of his tale for dramatic effect, but clung to his mantra that the book represented "the essential truth of my life."
But the staggering discrepancies between the events depicted in Frey's Pieces and the Smoking Gun's report seemed to suggest that the writer was guilty of more than mere embellishment."
Hey, I gave you a choice, this came from E-online where you have no choice...
Friday, January 27, 2006
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12 comments:
I was wondering why she all sudden pulled her support. First she was saying it was still a good book, now I guess she figured she better recant. Who knows what her PR people were telling her. ;)
I think she fears losing credibilty with her loyal fan base is drivin' the bus...
Here prior statements and her support in face of the truth were laughable anyway.
I'm not a big Oprah fan, personally. And I find it somewhat tragic that she's been so hot and cold over the whole book thing to begin with - pulling her book club so her ratings didn't suffer. She only touts what she likes to read, which means there are whole schools of great books that don't get that benefit.
But on the other hand, she encourages reading, which is more than I can say for a lot of celebrities.
But if you've been duped, don't DEFEND the guy - stand up and say you were taken in and you're more pissed off than anyone and get it right. The fact that she was initially defending him shows a stubborn person, maybe a bit self-righteous.
IMO. Anyone can be duped. Clearly Doubleday was.
Now they all get to pay for it.
Does this make me a spitter?
I think her only motivation was ratings. I mean this story is all over the place today. I The Oprah, but this whole thing is getting old.
Jaye
I meant I like The Oprah. Not, I The Oprah. Don't want the Harpo goon squad coming after me for impersonating a talk show host.
Sandra, I think its interesting that Doubleday(and many others I guess) do not fact check memoirs. But shit, almost every autobiography I've read is self serving bull. I honestly wouldn't have picked you as a spitter....
Jaye, ratings is what she lives on. I doubt the Harpo goon squad slums over here in my neck of the woods.
I'll bet the advertisers who snagged a spot for that broadcast doing the Dance of Joy today.
ARE doing the Dance of Joy...
sheesh
M.G. I bet they are. Man, controversy sure sells. Don't it?
Yeah, you'd think somebody would fact-check. Personally, I don't know anything about the guy's book (other than that it's a fraud now) and I don't want to. If I see a table of 'Oprah's book club' in the bookstore, I steer clear.
I just have this real resistance to over-promotion. And I don't think (as a consumer) Oprah's very important because I don't watch her show or have any interest in it.
Of course, if I was a bookseller, I'm sure I'd swoon at mere mention of her name.
Sandra, I agree, I don't watch Oprah either, but there is one thing undeniable; if a book is on her list/show, it sells.
Both Frye's books are still on the NYT, Amazon, and NeilsonScan bestseller lists(I checked last night). And guess whats #1, an Oprah book club book, it on the NeilsonScan 3 times, trade, mass market papaerback, and hardbound. It has to be flying off the shelves.
She's good for book sales, and maybe for book buyers that would normally not buy books. The Oprah consuming public so to speak.
The media is portraying her as being brave with the mea culpa. To me it come's off like Clinton's disengenuious revelation of truth after lying to the American public and then when they had the blue dress well, er.....
O'Reilly's another one that sells books but don't get me started...
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