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Late yesterday, it was announced that James Frey would be adding an author's note to future editions of his memoir A Million Little Pieces. While we doubt this note will contain an unabridged reprint of the Smoking Gun's 4,000-page exposé; on the book's repeated inaccuracies regarding Frey's "criminal" record, we're sure it'll be just enough to appease Oprah and keep our grandchildren from attacking him 50 years from now.

When we heard this "news," we just shrugged — of course he's going to add some sort of one-line disclaimer. Who cares? And as our thoughts spiraled downward into increasingly negative places, we were reminded of something a commenter wrote yesterday:

The media coverage of this is starting to be really irritating. I still don't know exactly what he did or didn't do, just that he was liarish about stuff he wrote in his book that lots of people love.

You know what? The media coverage IS really irritating. But it's also necessary, albeit for very specific reasons. Here's where we get pseudo-thoughtful...

On a big, naive level, it's about realizing that cheaters do win. You should already know that, though. On another level, this is really about books and the publishing industry. Memoirists embellish their narratives; to believe otherwise makes you a complete fucktard, especially when most authors say as much in their notes.

Frey, however, didn't have that sort of author's note — and that really doesn't matter, anyhow. What matters is Oprah: by choosing Pieces for her book club, she sent it to the top of the bestseller lists and, in effect, exposed millions of people to Frey's story. She promoted the book as something powerful that she believed to be true — and why shouldn't she? Frey swore up and down and all over her show that ever little detail was factual — and, in turn, readers read without skepticism. They were moved, touched, inspired, and now they feel duped. Sure, Frey was a crackhead and went to rehab and no doubt struggled, but was the experience half as tough and gritty as he described? If you really are as troubled as Frey claims to have been, can you get through it simply by tattooing "Hold On" across your chest? Probably not.

So, if you're fed up with FreyGate and the constant coverage, blame Oprah and her power to spread shit far and wide. We know it's hard (Oprah OHMAGAH we looooove you!), but really, most people wouldn't give half a turd about this stuff otherwise. Instead, even your mother knows about that lyin' Frey boy.

James Frey to Add Author's Note to Memoir [AP]
Earlier: Gawker's Coverage of James Frey