As the final season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” winds down, Oprah is making a point of rebuilding bridges, so far hosting Iyanla Vanzant, Whoopi Goldberg and Rosanne Barr to publicly reconcile their differences. According to Page Six, next on her list is writer James Frey.
Oprah, in a most unforgettable manner, publicly eviscerated Frey in 2006 for generously embellishing his memoir “A Million Little Pieces.” Coining the term “A Million Little Lies,” Oprah scolded the author on air, blaming him for betraying millions of readers and making her feel “duped.”
Then, after a variety of people came to his defense, she called him privately in May of 2009 to apologize.
As with all things “Oprah,” Winfrey’s public fence mending feels warm and inspiring, yet disingenuous.
Inviting ex-foes to sit down and discuss their differences sets a powerful example in our immature, conflict-laden culture. She’s brushing the chips off her shoulders, throwing stubbornness out the window and embodying kindness, openness, and congeniality—all things we need more of.
I have not seen these sit-downs personally but one friend described her talk with Vanzant as inspiring, while others have said these episodes amount to past rivals apologizing to Oprah and affirming her dominance and wisdom. Of her conversation with Barr, Newsweek described:
Oprah claimed she was unaware of their rift, and explained that she’d invited Barr to be on the show in part because “I wanted to understand what you were talking about—because I had no idea.” As if on cue, Barr proclaimed that she now realized Winfrey had been right all along: Obama was indeed the right leader for this moment. Winfrey beamed at the affirmation of her wisdom.
However, the chief message is positive: If Oprah, who has so much wisdom, power and money is willing to apologize and spend time and energy mending her personal relationships, viewers should go away feeling that they should as well.
But at the same time, these conversations are cloaked in cynicism. By insisting they take place on air in the last moments of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” with her OWN network six months in, Winfrey is converting goodwill into ratings, cash and power. This taints her happy message.
So now Frey is going back to promote his latest book, “The Final Testament of the Holy Bible,” and as a source told New York Post, “talk about everything that’s happened over the last five years.”
I hope that Frey is thinking selfishly, as I believe Oprah is at least partially, and that this visit will help transform Oprah’s million little questions from 2006 into a million little eBook sales in 2011.
