Three months ago Oprah Winfrey recommended a book for her book club by James Frey called “A Million Little Pieces.”
But a six-week investigation by The Smoking Gun reveals that there may be a lot less to love about Frey’s runaway hit, which has sold more than 3.5 million copies and, thanks to Winfrey, has sat atop The New York Times nonfiction paperback best seller list for the past 15 weeks. Next to the latest Harry Potter title, Nielsen BookScan reported Friday, Frey’s book sold more copies in the U.S. in 2005–1.77 million–than any other title, with the majority of that total coming after Winfrey’s selection.
The Smoking Gun attempted to get interviews with Frey.
It was the third time since December 1 that we had spoken with Frey, who told us Friday that our second interview with him, on December 14, had left him so “rattled” that he went out and hired Los Angeles attorney Martin Singer, whose law firm handles litigation matters for A-list stars like Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Britney Spears. While saying that he had initially asked his counsel not to send us a pre-publication legal letter, Frey apparently relented late Friday night. That’s when Singer e-mailed us a five-page letter threatening a lawsuit (and the prospect of millions in damages) if we published a story stating that Frey was “a liar and/or that he fabricated or falsified background as reflected in ‘A Million Little Pieces.’”
On Saturday evening, Frey published on his web site an e-mail we sent him earlier in the day requesting a final interview. That TSG letter also detailed many topics we discussed with him in our first two interviews, both of which were off the record. We consider this preemptive strike on Frey’s part as a waiver of confidentiality and, as such, this story will include some of his remarks during those sessions, which totaled about 90 minutes. Frey explained that he was posting our letter to inform his fans of 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.”
Once that was published publicly by Frey, The Smoking Gun ran a six page story of the con: “A Million Little Lies”
Update: Oprah Winfrey re-interviewed Frey on Thursday, January 26th on her show, along with his Doubleday publisher.
Published 2 years, 7 months ago
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Proving Oprah is concerned with her own image more than anything else, destroying a probably mentally ill man (James Frey) on television is not very “Oprah- like”. The nature of a book is that it is not reality: text on a page is never “truth”. It is one limited angle of truth. Anyone who says otherwise is a naive extremist.
One question: Did you like the book or not?
I’m not sure if your question is rhetorical.:^)
We have two bookstores here, I was in one the other day and didn’t see it.
Walmart might have it, but I hardly ever go there.
New books are a huge luxury on my income. I’ve bought three in the past two years - Romeo Dallaire’s Shake Hands with the Devil and G.P. Taylor’s Shadowmancer and Wormwood. I lucked out, they were on sale.
The library is miles away, and as much as I love reading, I can’t have everything I’d like. Given what I wish I could afford to read, Frey won’t be one of them. If I stumble on his book in a used book store and I’m feeling economically reckless, yeah, I’ll pick it up.:^)
I agree with the 1st. person; That OPRAH Dear gives more of a CRAP for her damn Image than THAT of an Very Lonely, Screwed Up Guy. Who by the way seem’s like he WAS REACHING OUT to other’s who ARE or Were or Relatives, Friends Of One’s who have Passed on BECAUSE of Drug Addiction.
I HOPE, I PRAY his BOOK HELPED A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE!!! No matter HOW FALSE the BOOK is. I PRAY FOLKS WILL READ IT, AND LISTEN, AND TRY… TRY TO GET HELP With THEIR ADDICTIONS.
Is ANYONE SURE all the memoirs out there in this nation are 100% TRUE?? SERIOUSLY?!
The Guy Screwed up!! HE MADE A PRETTY BIG MISTAKE!! That he obvisionly CAN’T SEE.
Oprah SHOULD’VE MADE SURE IT WAS ON THE UP AND UP!! NOT HER PUPS’ SHE HAS WORKING FOR HER! BUT HER AND HER PUBLISIT, AND OR LAWYER’S. SHE IS MUCH TO BLAME AS THIS FREY GUY IS.
Personally I think OPRAH is getting a bit too big for her britches!!
Even when she had on That poor CEO of BARRONS? of England!! Good Grief!! Surely TO GOD that wasn’t the ONLY STORE CLOSING FOR AN EVENT!! Could She NOT go to Another STORE?!
Stores DO NOT STAY OPEN or RE-OPEN For BIG WIGS!! And it is about time too!!
And what about when Katrina Ordeal, that by the way is STILL IN RUINS!! She was there with her friend Gale, to make money off of these poor folks ‘GRIEF??’ To get the Oh so “IMPORTANT RATINGS” for her Show?? My LORD!! “What has HAPPENED TO AMERICA??” “IS IT ALL ABOUT MONEY AND POWER, AND SCREW THE LITTLE PERSON WHO DOES NOT HAVE ALL OF THAT?”
I think she has forgotten what it is like to be HUMAN!! Oh, and POOR.
And I don’t understand what the BIG DEAL is about Frey’s Girl Friend? Lilly? HOW she KILLED HERSELF?? So he said she ‘HUNG’ HERSELF, BUT she REALLY SLIT HER WRIST!! Why he changed it? is all up to his way of thinking…. The poor girl is DEAD!! WHY WOULD SOMEONE CARE HOW SHE DID IT?? I THINK IT WAS LESS FRIGHTENING FOR HIM TO WRITE THAT SHE ‘HUNG’ HERSELF, FOR SLITTING ONE’S WRIST…MAN! IT’S MESSY…..AND GRUESOME….SOMETHING NOBODY CAN GET OUT OF THEIR HEADS FOREVER. Not that HANGING oneself isn’t as Horrible. But ALL that BLOOD…. Perhaps he was blocking that part out? Maybe HE’S in a world of his own, after having his OWN GIRL FRIEND OFF HERSELF! How would that make YOU FEEL?
And to DEFEND, DEFEND THIS POOR GUY ON THE “LARRY KING SHOW”, THEN TURN AROUND BECAUSE OF WHATEVER? AND
“SAY HOW EMBARRASSING IT IS FOR MISS OPRAH, THAT THIS MAN LIED TO HER, AND ALL OF US, AND THAT SHE WAS WRONG TO DEFEND HIM,” WHAT CHANGED HER MIND? HER IMAGE?
DOES SHE NOW GIVE MORE OF A DAMN ABOUT HER FREAKIN’ IMAGE THAN THAT OF A GUY WHO WROTE A BOOK, AND STRETCHED THE TRUTH ABOUT A LOT OF IT?
Does she NOT CARE that he’s Hurting TOO? Or that He’s not gotten over his girl friend yet? Or that he has an mental problem? Or that he just wanted to write a book to HELP FOLKS out there? He’s an HELL OF AN STORY TELLER! And should continue to write ‘STORIES’ Not TRUE ONES, Fiction? Non Fiction? I forget which is which? This was his FIRST BOOK! How the heck is he supposed to KNOW THE DIFFERENCE OF an Memoir or just a self help book? Some of it IS about HIS LIFE. AND SOME OF IT ISN’T OR IS STRETCHED BEYOND MEANS. It’s a damn BOOK!! Why don’t you get all bent out of shape for the People who Write: ‘HOW TO COMMIT SUICDE’? Or ‘HOW TO KILL SOMEONE”? Or “HOW TO CHANGE ONES APPEARANCE” “How to make Meth”? And WORSE ONES THAN THAT!! Books that get KIDS into CULTS, ETC; WHY THIS BOOK? THAT DOES NO HARM, NO HARM TO ANYONE.
SO HE EMBLISHED A LOT OF STUFF, SO DOES THE NATIONAL ENQUIRE, AND THE STAR.
He had ALL THESE FREAKIN PEOPLE UP THERE THURSDAY POINTING THEIR FINGER’S AT THIS GUY; FREY, AND HIS POOR PUBLISHER!! MAN! I FELT EMBARRASSEMENT, AND SORRY FOR THE BOTH OF THEM. HOW DARE SHE?
SOMEONE OUT THERE SHOULD OPEN A FEW OF OPRAH’S CLOSETS AND SEE WHAT IS REALLY, SERIOUSLY ”TRUE” ABOUT HER.
Kelly S. S.
Wanderings of a Post Modern Pilgrim has an excellent post up on addiction. Well worth the read.
http://pmpilgrim.blogspot.com/2006/01/more-demons-story-of-james-frey-and.html