Oprah and World Shocked that Drug Addict James Frey Lied in ‘A Million Little Pieces’
Oprah Winfrey, the publishing industry, and the world, were shocked today to learn that a drug addict lied. James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces, admitted to Winfrey today that he had lied in the book in which he recounts his years-long drug addiction and stay in rehab. I’m not actually sure which is more ironic - Oprah being shocked to learn that an addict had lied after she had boosted him to national bestseller status because she believed the book to be true, or publisher Nan Talese of Random House telling Oprah that “while the Random House legal department checks nonfiction books to make sure that no one is defamed or libeled, it does not check the truth of the assertions made in a book.”
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8 Responses to “Oprah and World Shocked that Drug Addict James Frey Lied in ‘A Million Little Pieces’”
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January 27th, 2006 at 8:53 am
What specifically did he lie about? Was the admission of lying part of his recovery?
January 27th, 2006 at 6:46 pm
Oprah is in the wrong here, she needs to calm down with the bully treatment and understand that other people may want to make a buck. The story was just that; a story and a very good one. I hope Brad Pitt will go through with the production of the movie that is in the works, we all know that this poor guy (frey) has been through enough. She can be upset but people need to realize that the world is full lies and most are in the circles of money and fame.
Besides, a memoir is defined as a partially true or fictional account of someones life so… the catagory that is written on the back of the book says clearly; memoir/literature. How is he wrong? Oprah use that money for good and buy a dictionary before you attack a poor ex-addict that was open enough to share his personal hell with the world.
Signed, concerned for our youth.
January 28th, 2006 at 11:01 am
The fact that I thought of Frey as an author as opposed to an addict made me completely blind to the irony of it. You opened my eyes and made me laugh!
Thanks!
January 29th, 2006 at 9:36 am
Oprah is doing it for her own gain, to clear her name. A non self-serving person would have more compassion for James Frey and seek to help him rather than bash him. Frey may Oprah some big bucks, she should treat him as a friend, not a scam.
January 30th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
To Jake:
It’s not just that he fictionalized parts of it, the entire thing is spun out of whole cloth. A ‘memoir’ needs at least SOME element of truth to it, typically a little revisionism is allowed. but he talks about jail stints he never did, taking drugs he may never have, talking to people that don’t exist.
The stories of jail time are the most odious, he was released on bail after a single night in the drunk tank and tries to claim months of hell-on-earth in prison, which wasn’t even an option for a teenager picked up for that offense.
The people he’s included in his ’story’ are also crying fowl, including one family whose now-dead daughter is included in his pack of lies. They claim he’s trying to claim a close relationship where none existed and in doing so tarnishes her and their name.
Most of his deepest tragedies are total fabrications, from the gut-wrenching suicide story, which never happened, to the jail stints.
I agree a memoir need not be TOTAL scholarly nonfiction (though the best are), but in this case it’s a few scant facts in a see of BS. If this is a memoir, then I’m going to make millions selling my life’s story about being the first college student to land on saturn’s moon after sneaking into a NASA cargo pod.
January 31st, 2006 at 11:16 am
To All………..
Lie? Isn’t that what ADDICTS do? They do it time and time again. Sure it should have been a “nonfictional” but think of all the people it helped. I wonder if Oprah paid James Frey and his publisher to come back to recant and clear her name? She had some blame in it too. She took the book and ran with it like if she was in a marathon. And even after the fact, when she had them recanting and she gave her apology, she still made millions on that taping alone….so why is she still so bitter? I think I’ll wait for a hand-me-down and read it now just because of all the “hype”. From what I hear, it’s a good read. Any used/unwanted copies out there? If so, contact me on my email address.
Now, if Oprah puts out “her” memoir, I doubt if it would sell as much as James Freys’ did.
February 9th, 2006 at 8:43 pm
Shocked?
I never thought Oprah was that gullible or the editor/publisher, but people never cease to amaze me with the stuff they will swallow, whole cloth, without any questioning. It couldn’t have been that hard to check facts of public record. I would have thought if some unknown addict (especially an unknown addict) came to me with a “memoir”, I’d check a few things before publishing it. After all, addicts of all types lie. And most “are nice guys” which is what they count on to keep others “helping” them OK, nothing is ever everything, but you catch my drift.
I was not surprised at all to find out this work of nonfiction was in fact fiction. Lived with someone like that so I’ve been there, done that and gotten the tee shirt so many times, I could stock the free world world with “Gotcha” tee shirt, as could my hubby, primariloy even when you hear their crap, every so often, it’s true. 100% true. So check it out with independant verification is my by word with urban myths, which includes James Frey’s version of true lies.
Oprah, however, shouldn’t have shifted the guilt to everyone else. She was duped by a player and she should have just taken her licks. Dragging him over the coals for lying is okay in my book, but he is also due some credit for “putting it over” on everyone who believed him, either through Oprah’s backing him (esp. in face of the Smoking Gun staements) or reading the book themselves. The Smoking Gun guys are due lots of credit for not just accepting his story at face value. Oprah also needs to apologize to everyone for backing him up AFTER the Smoking Gun was making noises, and on Larry King Live no less. At that point she should have sat back and said, “Hmmm, better check this guy out” before saying it doesn’t matter if it isn’t true (or not all of it is true) because of the great impact it can make in lives.
I hate lying because the liar assumes I am stupid enough to swallow it all with a nod and a smile and an “Oh, my God!”. I suspect Oprah is the same and that accounts for alot of her anger. After all, did she call Teflon Willie (Clinton) on any of his lies? Don’t think so, but then I also don’t think she publically endorsed him either. For a world wise, intelligent adult female or male to caught out in this kind of gaffe is embarrasing to them, and worse if that person defended the con man to the world.
This book may well be a great read; I’ll never know. Fiction is fiction and fact is fact. We as a whole accept “faction” way too much. If it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen. Your fantasys or enhancements or whatever doesn’t matter. You may think your life story would be so much more exciting if the sky was rainbow striped, the sun rose in the north and you were raised in the Artic by meerkats. Too bad. Call it fiction and move on.
The ironic thing about this that “Go Ask Alice” is placed in fiction when, as I understand it, it is NOT fiction, but rather a real, once living teenager’s story of her descent into drug Hell.
Done with the rant (first forum I’ve been able to vent) so I’m moving on. Mr. Frey has had much more than his fifteen minutes. And please, don’t divert this discussion into a discussion on Whether or not Clinton
lied. He was just the most public figure and most talked about example I could think of while writing.
February 9th, 2006 at 8:48 pm
Excuse the length of the above and any horrible typos. It’s hard to edit when you can’t reread the post when part of it is always off screen.
By the way, wintermute, let me know when you get your space adventure memoir published. Now THAT will be a great read!