Five years after blasting James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces on her television show, Oprah Winfrey interviewed the author in a two-part episode. From Frey feeling “steamrolled” to Oprah’s apology and Frey on fighting relapse, watch highlights from the episodes.
Oprah and Frey Kiss and Make Up
Time to make amends: In Part 2 of their sit-down, Oprah said she didn’t realize her now infamous interview with Frey was an “ambush” until an epiphany prompted her to call the author two years later. Frey offered his own apology for creating the “mess,” and Oprah followed suit with her own tearful mea culpa for a “lack of compassion” in the interview. Without missing a beat, Frey went in for the requisite hug.
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Did Frey Ever Relapse?
Did the media firestorm over A Million Little Pieces drive Frey back to drinking? The author told Oprah that he reached out to friends and family when he felt the urge to drink again, but never relapsed because he “wasn’t going to let that newspaper article be written.” Frey added that criticism over his book felt marginal compared to coping with the tragic loss of his son, who died at 11 days old.
Frey: I’ll Never 'Misrepresent' Again
When asked if he would go back and change the A Million Little Pieces fiasco if he could, Frey told Oprah that not only would he not change a thing, but that the entire experience was “liberating.” The author concluded the much-anticipated interview by vowing never to “misrepresent” any of his work ever again. Famous last words?
Frey on Oprah’s ‘Steamrolling’ and ‘Public Stoning’
Far from being ready to face the music when he went on the show five years ago, James Frey was frazzled by Oprah’s accusations that he lied in his memoir, A Million Little Pieces. But what exactly was going through his mind during Oprah’s public scolding? In this clip, the author talks about feeling “steamrolled” and why he owns a painting to remind him of how he was publicly stoned by one of the most powerful women in the world.
Does Oprah Have the Right to Play God?
In the weeks after the original episode aired, some critics accused Oprah of playing God and attacked her for embarrassing the author on national television. In the most charged exchange of Monday’s interview, Oprah asked Frey whether he thought she had been too hard on him. While Frey said that it was within Oprah’s “rights” to do as she pleased on her own show, he felt as though the interview was an ambush. But in the end, does any of that really matter?
One Bad, Spiraling Mistake
Frey recalls the day Oprah called him about selecting A Million Little Pieces for her book club. He never expected the book to be such an enormous success, spending 17 weeks at the top of the bestseller list. In the most emotional moment of the interview, the author explains how he missed chances to come clean about the “one bad mistake” that destroyed everything.
