Remember when James Frey dared to f&ck with the Almighty Opes? Remember the wrath she rained down on his embellishing ass when she found out his book was a work of fiction rather than a memoir?
I don’t agree with what James Frey did (I repeat…he was WRONG) but I was even more disgusted by the public beating she subjected him to by inviting him onto her show to atone for his sins. Turns out, Oprah herself may not have been entirely truthful in handling that situation either. That was the day I renounced from her Church. That was the day I turned away from her gospel. The way she stood on her pulpit and incited her congregation, the stones they threw for a full hour without reprieve… there was the opportunity for a different kind of message that day. And the Mighty Opes chose to go a more mob crazy route.
But then again, she is Oprah. She commands a flock of millions. She is NEVER wrong.
As for James Frey – he’s about to release a new book, he is precluded from revealing the circumstances surrounding the scandal due to a non disclosure agreement he signed with his former publishers but Vanity Fair has just published an intriguing article about the debacle, questioning the role of an entire industry behind the A Million Little Pieces fallout and also Oprah’s treatment of the issue once it broke.
When asked to comment about allegations that she convinced Frey into appearing on her show for the public flogging under false pretenses, Oprah offered this statement to the magazine:
“Once again, the truth is not being served here. In 22 years of doing this show, I have never said to anyone, ‘I know it was rough, but it’s just business.’ This was beyond business. This was about the trust I share with the audience who faithfully supports the Book Club and buys the books I recommend; and based on that trust, I thought we were owed an explanation about the truth of this memoir.”
The truth? The trust?
How is truth served on her show when John Travolta’s heterosexuality and his marriage are constantly held up as legitimate to her lambs for the purposes of profit?
How is trust served on her show when she attacks ex drug addict authors (have you met an addict who isn’t a liar???) but befriends, defends, and rescues radical religious freaks who follow a cult disguised in a church that undermines programs helping those with mental health issues and discounts the work of those who are truly suffering from a myriad of psychological problems?
How is it that she can offer her implied support, via its superstar spokesperson, to an organisation that ruthlessly persecutes and punishes its detractors all while still claiming to be a bastion of compassion?
Oh wait. I know how.
Because again… Oprah is NEVER wrong.
Don’t ask, don’t question, don’t bother, don’t dare.
F*cking with Oprah brings worse retribution than f&cking with Xenu.
Praise Oprah, ah-Winfrey.
Click here to read the Vanity Fair article.
Thanks Heather.
