Oprah was wrong about Frey!

[Briarmom]

I am completely lost as to Oprah's 'mistake' in all this. I thought she was saying her mistake was the phone call into Larry King. I was in France (or on my way to France) when that happened, so I missed the whole thing. I really don't understand why the show was about OPRAH'S mistake. That was another thing that bothered me. Why was it about her and everyone patting HER on the back? She thought the book was true. I still think the vast majority is true. What was she apologizing for?
Like I said, I was out of town. I really missed it.

 

[Tigger_Magic]

You might want to check this out -- it sort of explains the "Million Little Lies" renaming of Frey's book. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0104061jamesfrey1.html

As far as what is true in the book -- well, I suppose it's true that Frey wrote it. Beyond that...

 

[Briarmom]

I read the smoking gun report a long time ago.
The story of James being in rehab is the VAST majority of the book (don't know if you've read it or not) and that really did happen.

 

[Mom2be]

I would imagine that this was the exact role and responsibilities of her producers. Don't they do their own research to authenticate each guest's story on the show? Where is the show's responsibility in this? I feel the show is as much to blame as anyone else. Again, its about her humiliation, not the fact that he lied in his book.

I think you are letting your opinion of Oprah hinder seeing the situation. Why should Oprah and her staff have to fact check a book that has been published for the last 3 years. It is the publisher who puts the book out there for the public to read - if anyone is responsible for fact checking it is them. All Oprah does is say - I read this book, I loved it, you should read it. Why should she be held ethically responsible to make sure that the information portrayed in what is suppose to be a "true" story is true. One would think the publisher who actually produces the work would have done the fact checking for themselves.

~Amanda

 

[Mom2be]

I am completely lost as to Oprah's 'mistake' in all this. I thought she was saying her mistake was the phone call into Larry King. I was in France (or on my way to France) when that happened, so I missed the whole thing. I really don't understand why the show was about OPRAH'S mistake. That was another thing that bothered me. Why was it about her and everyone patting HER on the back? She thought the book was true. I still think the vast majority is true. What was she apologizing for?
Like I said, I was out of town. I really missed it.

she was more or less apologizing for the call she made into Larry King and for publicly stating that the truth was not what was most important. She wasn't apologizing for selecting the book, nor has she removed her book club stamp from it.

~Amanda

 

[Briarmom]

she was more or less apologizing for the call she made into Larry King and for publicly stating that the truth was not what was most important. She wasn't apologizing for selecting the book, nor has she removed her book club stamp from it.

~Amanda

That's what I thought. Thanks!

 

[Tigger_Magic]

I read the smoking gun report a long time ago.
The story of James being in rehab is the VAST majority of the book (don't know if you've read it or not) and that really did happen.

So his being in rehab happened. You can parse the book into a ten million pieces to try to determine what's true and what's a lie. For me, one lie is one too many in a book that is sold as non-fiction. It was purported to be a memoir of his life, but much of what is in the book is false. The claim that "the majority of the book is true" would be difficult to support in light of the evidence.

 

[Tigger_Magic]

I think you are letting your opinion of Oprah hinder seeing the situation. Why should Oprah and her staff have to fact check a book that has been published for the last 3 years. It is the publisher who puts the book out there for the public to read - if anyone is responsible for fact checking it is them. All Oprah does is say - I read this book, I loved it, you should read it. Why should she be held ethically responsible to make sure that the information portrayed in what is suppose to be a "true" story is true. One would think the publisher who actually produces the work would have done the fact checking for themselves.

~Amanda

This is granted, I think. Most of the concern was over her telephone call to Larry King when Frey was a guest. Oprah was somewhat over-the-top in her support of the book and it's truthfulness. That's where a number of people had a problem, because by that time the real facts about Frey's life were coming out.

 

[mickeysgal]

I think you are letting your opinion of Oprah hinder seeing the situation. Why should Oprah and her staff have to fact check a book that has been published for the last 3 years. It is the publisher who puts the book out there for the public to read - if anyone is responsible for fact checking it is them. All Oprah does is say - I read this book, I loved it, you should read it. Why should she be held ethically responsible to make sure that the information portrayed in what is suppose to be a "true" story is true. One would think the publisher who actually produces the work would have done the fact checking for themselves.

~Amanda

Yes, I absolutely agree, the publishers should have done fact checking. However, I think that with the power of endorsement that Oprah has, it also falls on her, her staff, her production company, to also check facts. If she isn't checking basic facts on this story, what other facts in other shows aren't they checking?

Lets imagine...if this book hadn't been endorsed by her and the story unfolds that he lied about the facts of this book and she then booked him as a guest of her show to explain himself, do you really think she would have been so relentless like she was? It was beyond a normal interview, it was too attacking. The looks on her face easily shows me that there was a personal edge to it. She was publically embarrassed and she didn't like it. It was primarily about her...not the fact that the book was untruthful.

 

[Mom2be]

Yes, I absolutely agree, the publishers should have done fact checking. However, I think that with the power of endorsement that Oprah has, it also falls on her, her staff, her production company, to also check facts. If she isn't checking basic facts on this story, what other facts in other shows aren't they checking?

Lets imagine...if this book hadn't been endorsed by her and the story unfolds that he lied about the facts of this book and she then booked him as a guest of her show to explain himself, do you really think she would have been so relentless like she was? It was beyond a normal interview, it was too attacking. The looks on her face easily shows me that there was a personal edge to it. She was publically embarrassed and she didn't like it. It was primarily about her...not the fact that the book was untruthful.

Well when someone lies to your face over and over and over again then yes I can see where Oprah would take it personally. I know I certainly would. This man went on her show and said yes everything in this book is true. He lied to her staff and to her - in my opinion she has every right to be pissed off.
~Amanda

 

[Daxx]

I really feel for this guy. What good comes from humiliating someone?

I feel for the guy, too. But, you know what?! He made the decision to go on Oprah. He could have said "I've done enough interviews about it and I'm done talking about it" and let it end. However, he didn't. He chose to "face the music" with Oprah. He knew what he was getting into the moment he agreed to meet Oprah after what went down after the Larry King Show and the bashing that Oprah received. He could have said no to O's people.

Matter of fact, he could have just avoided the whole thing, not gone on Larry King and could have blown it all off. Could have said "No comment" and let the publishers and/or his agent deal with it.

As for Oprah, hey ... she apologized for giving the impression that the truth doesn't matter. She was lambasted in the media for her comments on Larry King and she came out, said "Everyone in the media is right ... I made a mistake, I do believe the truth matters and I'm sorry." She could have blown the whole thing off, too ... but chose not to.

As for the book club ... James *knew* there were discrepancies. If this book hadn't been picked up by Oprah, then nobody would have ever known. But, b/c it was so publicized, so made a fuss over, someone was bound to do some research. James, knowing it wasn't fully true, could have turned down Oprah!

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Oh please, how did he know exactly how the "interview" would go?

 

[crs7568]

Well when someone lies to your face over and over and over again then yes I can see where Oprah would take it personally. I know I certainly would. This man went on her show and said yes everything in this book is true. He lied to her staff and to her - in my opinion she has every right to be pissed off.
~Amanda

The following is an excerpt from the AP and MSNBC:
"Winfrey noted that her staff had been alerted to possible discrepancies in Frey’s book, only to be assured by the publisher. She lectured Talese on her responsibilities: 'I’m trusting you, the publisher, to categorize this book whether as fiction or autobiographical or memoir.'"

As someone who could single-handedly paralyze the beef industry, I think that Oprah knows the tremendous influence she yields in our celebrity worshiping society. It is inexcusable that she had prior knowledge about potential falacies in this book but just trusted the research to someone else. It is especially important when this book is about battling addiction and could potentially harm people who may not consider seeking conventional treatment since Frey supposedly conquered his addiction with sheer willpower. Frey's book is pure male fantasy from his descriptions of a woman snorting coke off of his member, to the crack addict ***** who falls in love with him, right to his supposed rescue of her in a crack house where he is taken by staff at the rehab. The book was obviously fabricated, she had prior knowledge of the potential discrepancies in the novel, and she trusted her research to someone else. Not acceptable for someone with her influence. Yes, Frey lied to her. Hello, the man is supposedly an addict. I don't think that they are known for their honesty and integrity. She chose to overlook the facts and now she has to eat humble pie. Obviously it was not too appealing to her and so she chose to attack Frey to get her revenge. I think she looked arrogant and self-righteous. It seems to be her prevailing style.