For Oprah Winfrey, the emotional truth is enough.
Winfrey is defending James Frey's memoir, A Million Little Pieces, which is under dispute as being wildly exaggerated.
Winfrey made a surprise call Wednesday to talk show Larry King Live, where Frey was a guest.
James Frey. (AP Photo/Gino Domenico)
Winfrey, who chose the memoir for her book club last year, said the controversy was "much ado about nothing" and urged readers inspired by the book to "keep holding on."
"What is relevant is that he was a drug addict ... and stepped out of that history to be the man he is today and to take that message to save other people and allow them to save themselves," Winfrey said.
On Sunday, the Smoking Gun website published the results of a six-week investigation into the memoir and concluded Frey has "fictionalized his past to propel and sweeten the book's already melodramatic narrative."
It charged that parts of the memoir detailing Frey's brushes with the law and relationship with a high school student who died in an accident were unverifiable.
A Million Little Pieces chronicles Frey's career as a raging, destructive, drug-taking teen and young adult who pulls his life around in a rehab program.
Frey acknowledged to the Smoking Gun that he embellished parts of the book and he admitted as much to King Wednesday night.
But in his own defence, Frey said only a small percentage of his 430-page book had been challenged. Memoirs should not be held to the standards of other non-fiction books, he said.
"The essential truth of [my] drug and alcohol addiction is there. The emotional truth is there.... I think you will find people who will dispute every memoir ever written."
King and Frey discussed a specific incident in the book in which Frey claims he assaulted a police officer while under the influence of drugs. Frey refused to say whether the incident was made up.
"I hope the emotional truth of the book resonates with [readers]," he told King. "I couldn't have written it if I hadn't been through a lot of the things I talk about."
Winfrey told King she didn't care whether the incident was true. "Whether or not the car's wheels rolled up on the sidewalk or whether he hit the police officer or didn't hit the police officer is irrelevant to me."
The book's publisher, Random House, is disputing reports from Reuters news agency that it was offering refunds on the book because of the controversy.
Readers calling Random House's customer service line were told they could receive refunds if they had bought the book directly from the publishing house.
But Random House, a unit of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG issued a statement saying that such refunds were standard procedure.
Anyone wanting to return a book can take it back where they bought it with a receipt, the publishing house said in its statement.
Frey's book has sold 3.5 million copies since Winfrey endorsed it in her popular book club. It continues on the bestseller list.
Winfrey said she waited until Wednesday to talk about the book because she wanted to hear what Frey had to say. "Everyone has been asking me to release a statement, and I first wanted to hear what James had to say and I didn't want that coloured by any personal conversation that I've had," she said.
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