OPRAH WINFREY - WINFREY FRIES FREY

Oprah Winfrey, in a two-hour display of contrition and anger, devoted her entire program Thursday to further exposing author James Frey as a liar. Frey, whose A Million Little Pieces became a best-seller after it was praised by Winfrey on her television show, wilted in front of her as she accused him of fabricating his supposed work of non-fiction. Earlier in the program she apologized for phoning in to Larry King's television show to defend Frey, saying "I regret that phone call. ... I left the impression that the truth is not important."  Nevertheless, some writers expressed skepticism about Winfrey's about-face. Hillary Frey (presumably no relation to the author), the books editor of the online Salon magazine, observed that given the published revelations about A Million Little Pieces, "she didn't have much of a choice." She added, "It was hard to avoid thinking that Frey was being put on display not to set the record straight, but for a public flogging. More than once Oprah emphasized that this experience has 'embarrassed' her. Her revenge: shaming another person in front of a live studio audience. Who knew that Oprah was an 'eye for an eye' kind of lady?"

27/01/2006