Five years after Oprah Winfrey annihilated him on-air for fabricating aspects of his memoir, James Frey will go on her show again to talk about his new novel, “The Final Testament of the Holy Bible”, which will be released on Good Friday.
The New York Post reported Thursday that the “Million Little Pieces” author has been invited to appear on one of Oprah’s syndicated show’s final episodes.
Frey reportedly holds nothing against Winfrey, even though she publicly ripped him in 2006 for exaggerating and even making up stories in his non-fiction book, which had been placed on Winfrey’s recommended book list.
A source told Page Six, “Oprah apologized to James a couple of years ago, and he appreciated it. So he agreed to go back on her show and talk about everything that’s happened over the last five years.”
In 2009, Frey told Vanity Fair that Winfrey had picked up the phone and said sorry.
“It was a nice surprise to hear from her, and I really appreciated the call and the sentiment,” Frey said. “When I heard her say, ‘I felt I owe you an apology,’ I was very grateful. As far as I’m concerned, that part of my career is over and behind me and I’m looking forward to writing more books.”
Frey’s new work follows the Second Coming of Christ, which hae places in the Bronx projects. “A Million Little Pieces” chronicles Frey’s rehab experiences, substance abuse issues, and alcohol withdrawal, so it’s not shocking that he includes a former drunk in his new fiction work. In “The Final Testament of the Holy Bible”, the messiah is a recovered alcoholic who impregnates a prostitute. Gagosian Gallery is producing 10,000 copies of the novel, which will also be available in e-book format.
In 2006, The Smoking Gun called into question the credibility of Frey’s bestseller “A Million Little Pieces”, which reportedly fictionalized and sensationalized his criminal record and the manner in which his former girlfriend, Lilly took own her life. The story deeply upset Winfrey, who had praised Frey’s book theme of redemption, so she brought him on her show to shame him because she felt “duped.”
“I feel that you betrayed millions of readers,” Winfrey said.