Oprah: "I feel duped." Yeah, Me Too! James Frey Lied

I wrote a couple posts (here is one - I inadvertently deleted the other one) about James Frey and A Million Little Pieces. It was a fascinating book, and one that I couldn't put down once I started reading it. Some of the things he wrote seemed unbelievable, though, and as it turns out, they were.

Today Oprah had Frey back on her show, and she wasn't very happy about how he played fast and loose with the truth. Here is one account of the show and the controversy.

· In the book, Frey runs down a cop and a wild melee ensues. The police report tells a different story.

· Frey says he spent a week in jail following a 1988 drunk driving bust. A court docket sheet refutes his claim.

· Frey invented a role for himself in a train accident that took the lives of two female high school students.

· Frey claimed he was the chief target in an FBI probe into drug activity at Denison University. A police report has him as a minor player in a minor case.

· Employees of the Hazelden rehab center dispute Frey's depiction of his treatment.

The Chicago Tribune also wrote about the show. Oprah told Frey:

"It's difficult for me to talk to you because I really feel duped," she told Frey. "I'm just wondering, why do you have to lie about that?" And so on. With Frey offering only weaselly justifications about lying being a "coping mechanism" and the like, and with Winfrey buying none of it, it was riveting.

Oprah told Frey, "I feel duped." Yeah, me too.

Here are some other blogs that share their take on the story:
Box of Rain: "A Million Little Lies"
Random Words
Conservative Posts Blog
Freakonomics Blog
Reality Bites Back
GOP Bloggers
The Political Pit Bull