Frey and its publisher, Doubleday are required to provide refunds to readers who feel cheated when buying books classified as memoirs. In October 2006, a tentative legal settlement was reached. Its publishers settled a class action lawsuit filed by readers claiming they had been scammed. In the aftermath of the controversy, he got canceled by his literary agent. And the publishing company endorsed Frey's story as a non-fiction work.įrey's forgery sparked a national debate about the definition of a memoir. However, contacted staff revealed possible inaccuracies in the book. On the show Oprah confirmed that she contacted the publisher of A Million Little Pieces. When Oprah asked Frey about the most memorable incident from the book, in which Frey told of getting root canal treatment without anesthesia, Frey admitted he couldn't remember whether the dentist had used Novocain or not. 'įrey confessed to Winfrey that he had changed and embellished the details of the story, including the fact that he was only in prison for a few hours, not the 87 days described in his book. But more importantly, I feel like you betrayed millions of readers. However, two weeks later, on January 26, when Frey appeared on The Oprah Winfrey, he faced tough questions from Oprah, whose attitude has changed.Īt that time, Oprah started a live program by telling him, “It's hard for me to talk to you because I feel really cheated. Oprah Winfrey was called to the show to express support for the author. On January 11, 2006, Frey and her mother appeared on the show Larry King Live to defend A Million Little Pieces. Her biggest lie lies in the part of her criminal past and Frey's time in prison. Launching History, Tuesday, January 26, in early January 2006, The Smoking Gun website published disclosure of court records claiming police reports and interviews with various sources, which showed that Frey had faked and exaggerated the story in A Million Little Pieces. After Oprah Winfrey chose A Million Little Pieces as her hit book, the memoir rose to the bestseller list, following in the footsteps of Oprah's many previous book selections. In it, Frey graphically depicts her horrific experiences with addiction to drugs and alcohol.įrey explained that because of his addiction, he was admitted to a rehabilitation center when he was in his early 20s. The memoir contains descriptions of addiction and recovery, which was voted Oprah's Book Club of choice in September 2005.Ī Million Little Pieces, published in 2003, is James Frey's first book.

JAKARTA - On January 26, 2006, during a live daytime television talk show, Oprah Winfrey confronted writer James Frey about the fabrication of a memoir entitled A Million Little Pieces.

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