shameful

"like a fart in a windstorm"

this little gem of an expression was something that i was accustom to hearing around the house growing up, when there was a great deal of variance in someone's stance or opinion on a given matter. while the joy of an adult saying the word 'fart' was the primary thrill associated with this saying as an adolescent, i remain a fan as it acts as a perfect label for events like oprah winfrey's reaction to the jonathan frey situation.

as you well know, mr. frey's memoir, a million little pieces, was selected as a worthy candidate for oprah's book club (i am sure steinbeck is kicking himself for dying too soon for that honor), which immediately made it a cultural flash point. frey's novel proved to be both inspiring for millions and worth millions, as it was a best-seller for some time. well, long story short...frey sorta, kinda made some of it up.

[cue public outrage]

oprah, having stamped her name across several million copies of this book and having gained considerable personal wealth from the sales of said book, was forced to come to the aid of her beleaguered author.

this is where the bullshit meter starts jumping off the charts. in an interview with larry king, oprah took the position that frey's alleged lying was "...much ado about nothing".

this marked an abrupt reversal from the cozy chat two weeks ago on "larry king live," when winfrey phoned in to support frey and label alleged fabrications as "much ado about nothing". following this show of support, winfrey was besieged with angry emails and calls directed at her and her opinion of frey's artistic license, which brings us to that fart in the windstorm. in what was a disgusting display of arrogance and grand-standing, oprah decided to dress-down frey for the better part of her thursday show. while repeatedly belittling frey, oprah made no mention of any responsibility on her or her book club's part for their part in this debacle. she no longer was of the opinion that emotional truth mattered more than the facts, as she had stated on larry king. her interrogation was in my opinion, simply a case of hanging a marginal talent that she had created out to dry, before he tarnished her pristine reputation. the fact is that with the scads of money that are attached to promoting a book of this magnitude and the sway that her media empire has, comes the responsibility of checking the facts presented.

as is usually the case, oprah managed rather nimbly to make herself the subject of the interview, showing a complete lack of self-awareness and personal responsibility. shameful.