James Frey And Nan Talese: Oprah Duped Us!

Amid the Miley Cyrus hoopla, it's easy to forget that there's a whole issue of Vanity Fair that comes out today. And one article in the magazine that is a must-read is Evgenia Peretz' interview with James Frey (supposedly the last interview he will ever give).

The article attempts to be the definitive account of how Frey went from addict to screenwriter to best selling author to public enemy, and how he picked up his million little pieces to write another novel, Bright Shiny Morning.

As Peretz details in the following excerpt, Frey and his publisher Nan Talese claim that Oprah — who went from champion to critic in a matter of weeks — duped them, tricking them to get on her show under false pretense and then attacking them as soon as the cameras began to roll:

As Talese recounted at a televised publishing conference last July, the show invited her and Frey together. Talese initially resisted. Then they were approached with a new pitch. The topic was going to be "Truth in America," and they wanted Talese on a panel with columnists Frank Rich, of The New York Times, and Richard Cohen, from The Washington Post. Given this scenario, Talese agreed. But when she and Frey arrived at Harpo Studios, in Chicago, they were told that the program was not, in fact, about Truth in America; it was about the James Frey controversy. Winfrey told Frey it would be rough, but said there would be redemption in the end. There was no redemption. From beginning to end, it was, according to Talese, "a public scourge."

Oprah, who just two weeks before had stood by the "essential truth" of Frey's story, now pounced on his every other word, while the audience booed him.

"I've struggled with the idea of it and ... " began Frey, in a typical exchange.

"No, the lie of it," snapped Oprah. "That's a lie. It's not an idea, James. That's a lie."

"I feel like I came here, and I have been honest with you," he said at the end of the hour. "I have, you know, essentially admitted to ... " "Lying," Oprah broke in....

"He felt trapped and cornered," recalls Talese today. A spokesperson for Oprah claims that "Truth in America" was always the topic for the show and that Talese had been informed of the full range of questions in the pre-interview. Talese maintained (as she still does) that memoirs have always been personal impressions, and didn't seem to realize that, for better or for worse, the game was now up. She was disgusted at the spectacle Oprah was making, appalled at her manners and at what she allegedly told Frey after the show was over: "I know it was rough, but it's just business." Winfrey denies ever making such a comment. "Once again, the truth is not being served here," she says in a statement to Vanity Fair. "In 22 years of doing this show, I have never said to anyone, 'I know it was rough, but it's just business.' This was beyond business. This was about the trust I share with the audience who faithfully supports the Book Club and buys the books I recommend; and based on that trust, I thought we were owed an explanation about the truth of this memoir."

Read the entire article online here or pick up this month's copy of Vanity Fair.

Alternatively, watch the video of the controversial Oprah appearance at Oprah's website.

Comments

[Dannydel]

Why would he go on that womans show? It's all about the 'O' and her image. He must have known that she had a hair up her ever expanding derriere because she had been duped. I would have given her a wide berth (pun intended).

[ylpatriot]

here it is in a nut shell .... first dr phil and now dr oz .....ego ego ego ego

[patmancando]

My question is, since I don't watch her, is did she throw Dr. Phil under the bus? It was around the time she introduced Dr. Phil as a "messiah miracle worker", that I stopped watching her. The only curiosity about Oprah, for me, is which end on the weight scale she is at any time in her long career. That seems to be her biggest problem! Maybe dr. oz can help her with that.

[buddydave]

I will never read an Oprah Book Club book.

[StoutHouse]

Poor criterion for your reading choices, buddydave. Oprah's coincidental selection of William Faulkner, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, Cormac McCarthy, Toni Morrison and other towering literary figures shouldn't turn you away from them. Yes, the woman picks lousy books sometimes, but sometimes she gets it exactly right.

[SuburbanMalcontent]

Oh for God's sake, give this guy a break. He's a WRITER. What he did wasn't really lying, it's called FICTION. As an aspiring writer I can understand why he did what he did. Memoirs are the hot "in" thing, and it's harder to get a work of fiction published than this style of writing. So because he desperately wanted to get his work published, he called it a "memoir." The thing is, a memoir is a personal recollection of events, not absolute fact. It's simply a story.

Now if you want to criticize his extremely poor writing style, then be my guest. It is quite awful. But this whole lying kick is absurd. Hell, I only read about 10 pages of Million Little Pieces and I knew it was a work of fiction. Anybody who thought this could actually be true is delusional. Arguing over where to place this book on store shelves rather than whether or not it is actually good writing just shows how pathetic of a society we've become. We're so obsessed "gotcha!" style analysis of any issue that as a society we fail to grasp hold of the problems that really matter. We'll crush this writer for his inconsequential lying but we allow those in power to lie us into wars and recessions without the slightest blip of outrage. 24 hr. cable news has truly destroyed the intellect of this once great nation. We're now simply a country of idiots.

[virto]

It's fiction if it's categorized as such. If, on the other hand, the author is marketing the story as something that he actually experienced, it's not "fiction"; that's called bullsh*t.

Are we really at the point at which we can't tell the difference between fact and fiction or truth and lies?

The notion that we can actually sympathize with someone who flat-out lied by making up a story about his "struggle with addiction" -- and then blame Oprah for grilling the guy after she endorsed his book, believing it was true -- is truly surreal.

[StoutHouse]

It's the small, inconsequential lies that lead eventually to the big ones, SuburbanMalcontent -- little white lies and the vapid pursuit of fame (or notoriety) at any cost that's had no small part in creating the "country of idiots" you find so reprehensible.

[dortmunder]

If only we would hold our politicians to the same standards.

[S1m0n]

As an aspiring writer, you'd be better off knowing that memoir is a species of non-fiction, not fiction.

[LaFilleEnRose]

The fact is, whether or not Oprah was forthcoming about exactly how the show would go, the guy owed Oprah for having used her in the first place. How has he managed to make himself the victim? He must be taking lessons from Hillary Clinton. Frankly, having to squirm in front of Oprah's audience after having used Oprah's audience in the way he did, is rightful penance. He should have offered to do that penance, not whine later that he didn't know he'd have to squirm a little. The next thing you know Bill Clinton will be saying the show was taped at 11 at night, he's over 50 and was just plain exhausted.

[RanTheMan]

The guy had it coming.
He went on not just national television, but the most widely viewed national daytme show in history to peddle his fraud of a book.

Oprah, as well as virtually everyone else including his publisher, were duped by this slickster and anyone that gave the bastard money deserved to see him get his ass verbally kicked in that same national venue.

I doubt that the supposed ambush actually occurred as they relate it.
But if it did....goo­d.
He deserved much worse.

[Orikinla]

Since Dr. Phil has been disgraced and his captives of millions of viewers and readers of Oprah Winfrey Show and O magazine have become wiser, the rest of the Opramania will soon burst before the eyes of the world. In fact, I believe that both Frey and his publisher and Oprah are birds of the same feather.
They are making millions of dollars from their fairy tales. But as Bishop T.D. Jakes said, "Life is not a fairy tale".

Let us separate the fact from the fiction.

[chinacatsunflower]

starting with TD Jakes ?

[noamjunior]

Oprah tricked a dishonest person to increase ratings- Ive never heard of such a thing, except maybe for every other Tv talk show and reality program since about 2002

[Blurp]

Do not F@#K with Book Club!

[beekeeper]

Uh...James did lie.

[ZimboChick]

DITTO - GO AWAY jAMES

[LeftLeanWing]

no sympathy here

[mjc]

Oprah is the new P.T. Barnum of America. In her own world she does make all the decisions and all the decisions are the right ones..., i.e., the ones that sell her show and are beyond the pale of most shows in ethics or truthfulness.

[Puller58]

I've got a better question for Oprah: If someone wrote a book and outed you and Gayle King, would you have them on your show?

[rwhiteside]

If you are trying to judge who's telling the truth here, you need look no further than the evidence before you. This question may sound corny, but: Has Oprah ever lied to us? Not that I can recall. Has James Frey? Case closed.

[Aleka4]

Hahaha!

That is the same kind of logic that convinces some intellectually challenged that Clinton is always telling the truth.

[Key]

Correction­... you mean "Clintons".

[RButler]

aleka, you never seem to add anything of value to a discussion, just snarky replies. But, hey, you can't help yourself.

[bluestatelib]

This guy would appear to have a bit of a credibility problem. Plus, his accusations are of a he-said-she-said variety. Also, he just may be trying to promote his latest work, again at Oprah's expense. She's already helped the guy rake in a heap of money over his "memoir." So what he had to go through a bit of a tongue lashing once he'd embarrassed Oprah and exposed himself as an opportunistic teller of falsehoods. Did he expect to be greeted with open arms after such deception.

[Gasparilla]

I'm not an Oprah fan, but the guy peddled a false story and used her to help spread it. She got mad and ripped into him. He can cry a river but it was his fault.

[maggieb]

Which guy do you mean, Obama???

[ShyFrost]

Amazing...­. a story that has nothing to do with the race for the president and still someone puts it in there... no offense to you, but this is really starting to get pathetic and played out. If you don't have any pertinent information or opinions to add to the discussion at hand, then move on. There is nothing for you to see here!