Tayari's Blog: So Oprah Gets Tough
Posted by TayariJones on January 27, 2006 10:05 AM
Filed under
Bookshelf
Well, I have to admit that I tuned in to watch Miss Oprah give James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces, a good thrashing. (video here, thanks ed) And I will also admit that I wasn't going to tune in until I heard the report from Chicago that she wasn't going to pardon the lying scoundrel. Because, really, it sort of upset me when she called into Larry King defending him. I am not an Oprah devotee, I don't subscribe to the magazine and you all already know that I don't have a TV. But sometimes I like the idea of her, especially her commitment to truth. So, that said, I was sort of bummed when she called into Larry King and said the truth doesn't matter.
Especially when I have so many friends such as Joy Castro, Jill Nelson, and Rigoberto Gonzalez who have written fine memoirs and have stuck with the truth. Talking to Joy last week, she shared with me how difficult it was to tell the truth about her childhood, to put all that pain on paper. We talked about the possibility that people will now think that all memoir is fiction, that lying is just part of the game.
I don't know if Oprah tough-talk has reversed the damage to the genre of memoir that this scandal has wrought. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
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There are 2 comments on "So Oprah Gets Tough". If you'd like to leave a comment, click here to jump down to the comments entry form.
Comment #1, by Shalema ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.tayarijones.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
I watched, and was scared for him for having to face his lies in front of the world. I am happy that Oprah was able to acknowledge her haste in defending Frey and for asking really good questions that got to the heart of his dishonesty.
I now wonder how the book publishing world will change their practices—especially fact checking.
January 27, 2006 11:05 AM
Comment #2, by Ladylee
Bottom line? It's all about the money... He made money... The publisher made money, etcetera... And we would have never known about his lies if not for his book being chosen for the book club... I would guess this has happened before with others, but we will never know...
January 28, 2006 04:50 PM