Oprah Winfrey's Protege Exposed as Fabricator by Blogger
Jim Kouri, CPP
January 12, 2006
Best-selling author James Frey, whose nonfiction book A Million Little Pieces is all the buzz within literary and celebrity circles, is being accused of making up stories in his autobiographical study of addiction, crime and suicide.
Even America's TV guru Oprah Winfrey endorsed the book, and that endorsement alone is credited with selling over two million books for Frey.
Since Oprah's praise of Frey and his book, the man is on the road to becoming a star not only in the capital of the literary world -- New York, but also on the Left Coast. Well-known motion picture director Gus Van Sant has purchased the movie rights to Frey's bestseller. Van Sant made a name for himself by directing the acclaimed film Good Will Hunting.
Frey's second autobiography, My Friend Leonard, is also topping bestseller lists. However, this time around there are questions as to the accuracy of his stories. Some say his book is more fiction than nonfiction. And it appears that a blogger is responsible for breaking the story of Frey's alleged dishonesty.
William Bastone, the editor of TheSmokingGun.com website, claims, "[Frey's] book has a lot of stuff in it -- events and characters -- that seemed implausible. We decided to focus on those events where we thought there should be a paper trail -- court documents, law enforcement documents. What we discovered significantly calls into question things he has repeatedly claimed are [an] accurate and truthful ... rendition of events."
Frey's book was originally published in 2003. Last September, the paperback was released and selected by Winfrey when she reintroduced her book club. Her show that week was titled "The man who kept Oprah awake at night," a promotional coup few authors experience.
During Frey's appearance on Winfrey's daytime talkfest, he said, "I was a bad guy. If I was gonna write a book that was true, and I was gonna write a book that was honest, then I was gonna have to write about myself in very, very negative ways."
However, a probe by the Smoking Gun revealed numerous aspects of the memoir were inaccurate, including the three months Frey claimed to have spent in jail, according to the website.
After checking police reports and court documents, the website said that if anything, Frey may have spent a day or so in jail for a drunk driving beef.
In a 2003 interview with the Cleveland-based Plain Dealer newspaper, he stated that his publisher had "contacted the people I wrote about. All the events depicted in the book checked out as factually accurate. I changed people's names ... The only things I changed were aspects of people that might reveal their identity. Otherwise, it's all true."
But when Frey was contacted by Smoking Gun he conceded events "were embellished in the book for obvious reasons."
On bigjimindustries.com, Frey's own website, he described the investigation as "the latest attempt to discredit me."
"So let the haters hate, let the doubters doubt, I stand by my book, and my life, and I won't dignify this bullshit with any sort of further response," Frey wrote.
In a statement, his publishers Doubleday, an imprint of Random House, said: "We stand in support of our author ... and his book which has touched the lives of millions of readers."
Frey's attorney has threatened to sue thesmokinggun.com if it published its investigation. Mr. Bastone is prepared to defend himself and the investigation. In a letter published on Frey's website, he said: "Since you are now threatening legal action against us (and citing possible recoverable damages in the 'range of millions of dollars') and questioning the accuracy, thoroughness, and fairness of our reporting, you should know that we are prepared to vigorously defend our work."
Opinion among readers is divided. On one online forum some defended Frey and said the book had changed their lives. Another wrote: "He should have written 'I'm an Alcoholic, I'm an Addict, I'm a Criminal, and I'm a Liar.'"
Some aspects of Frey's memoir have raised reviewers' suspicions. A 2003 review for The Independent, which broke the story of Frey's possible deception, concluded:
"Such episodes as Frey's affair with Lilly [and] his dramatic rescue of her from a crack house ... could be prewritten for the screen. They may be true, but they seem varnished to the point of fairy tale."
A representative from Alcoholics Anonymous says he's not surprised about the allegations of dishonesty and embellishment being leveled at James Frey.
Longtime AA member "Robert" said, "The guy admits he was an alcoholic and drug addict. Part of this addiction for the majority of addicts and boozers is that they manipulate, they spin and they lie. Even after achieving sobriety, [these] people still have a problem telling the truth. Substance addiction is a mental illness and dishonesty is just one symptom."
Even America's TV guru Oprah Winfrey endorsed the book, and that endorsement alone is credited with selling over two million books for Frey.
Since Oprah's praise of Frey and his book, the man is on the road to becoming a star not only in the capital of the literary world -- New York, but also on the Left Coast. Well-known motion picture director Gus Van Sant has purchased the movie rights to Frey's bestseller. Van Sant made a name for himself by directing the acclaimed film Good Will Hunting.
Frey's second autobiography, My Friend Leonard, is also topping bestseller lists. However, this time around there are questions as to the accuracy of his stories. Some say his book is more fiction than nonfiction. And it appears that a blogger is responsible for breaking the story of Frey's alleged dishonesty.
William Bastone, the editor of TheSmokingGun.com website, claims, "[Frey's] book has a lot of stuff in it -- events and characters -- that seemed implausible. We decided to focus on those events where we thought there should be a paper trail -- court documents, law enforcement documents. What we discovered significantly calls into question things he has repeatedly claimed are [an] accurate and truthful ... rendition of events."
Frey's book was originally published in 2003. Last September, the paperback was released and selected by Winfrey when she reintroduced her book club. Her show that week was titled "The man who kept Oprah awake at night," a promotional coup few authors experience.
During Frey's appearance on Winfrey's daytime talkfest, he said, "I was a bad guy. If I was gonna write a book that was true, and I was gonna write a book that was honest, then I was gonna have to write about myself in very, very negative ways."
However, a probe by the Smoking Gun revealed numerous aspects of the memoir were inaccurate, including the three months Frey claimed to have spent in jail, according to the website.
After checking police reports and court documents, the website said that if anything, Frey may have spent a day or so in jail for a drunk driving beef.
In a 2003 interview with the Cleveland-based Plain Dealer newspaper, he stated that his publisher had "contacted the people I wrote about. All the events depicted in the book checked out as factually accurate. I changed people's names ... The only things I changed were aspects of people that might reveal their identity. Otherwise, it's all true."
But when Frey was contacted by Smoking Gun he conceded events "were embellished in the book for obvious reasons."
On bigjimindustries.com, Frey's own website, he described the investigation as "the latest attempt to discredit me."
"So let the haters hate, let the doubters doubt, I stand by my book, and my life, and I won't dignify this bullshit with any sort of further response," Frey wrote.
In a statement, his publishers Doubleday, an imprint of Random House, said: "We stand in support of our author ... and his book which has touched the lives of millions of readers."
Frey's attorney has threatened to sue thesmokinggun.com if it published its investigation. Mr. Bastone is prepared to defend himself and the investigation. In a letter published on Frey's website, he said: "Since you are now threatening legal action against us (and citing possible recoverable damages in the 'range of millions of dollars') and questioning the accuracy, thoroughness, and fairness of our reporting, you should know that we are prepared to vigorously defend our work."
Opinion among readers is divided. On one online forum some defended Frey and said the book had changed their lives. Another wrote: "He should have written 'I'm an Alcoholic, I'm an Addict, I'm a Criminal, and I'm a Liar.'"
Some aspects of Frey's memoir have raised reviewers' suspicions. A 2003 review for The Independent, which broke the story of Frey's possible deception, concluded:
"Such episodes as Frey's affair with Lilly [and] his dramatic rescue of her from a crack house ... could be prewritten for the screen. They may be true, but they seem varnished to the point of fairy tale."
A representative from Alcoholics Anonymous says he's not surprised about the allegations of dishonesty and embellishment being leveled at James Frey.
Longtime AA member "Robert" said, "The guy admits he was an alcoholic and drug addict. Part of this addiction for the majority of addicts and boozers is that they manipulate, they spin and they lie. Even after achieving sobriety, [these] people still have a problem telling the truth. Substance addiction is a mental illness and dishonesty is just one symptom."
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