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CHICAGO, Jan 26, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- TV talk host Oprah Winfrey did an about face Thursday and attacked author James Frey for lying in his book, "A Million Little Pieces."
Winfrey also apologized to her audience for her support of Frey after it was revealed major parts of his memoir -- which she turned into bestseller by making it her Book Club selection -- were fabricated.
"I gave the impression that the truth does not matter," Winfrey said during her live broadcast Thursday. "I made a mistake."
Winfrey also blasted her guest -- Frey -- for duping readers with his harrowing tale of addiction and recovery, The New York Times said.
"I feel duped," she said. "I don't know what is true and I don't know what isn't."
"Why did you lie?" she asked Frey.
Frey said the book's many fabrications were a "coping mechanism," the Times said. "I thought of myself as tougher than I was and badder than I was."
He also admitted under questioning he knew the exaggerations would help sell more books.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
