I'm still spinning over the fact that JT Leroy, the much hailed writer who wrote sad, intense stories about abuse and prostitution, isn't real. I'm spinning because I met the "guy" when he came to Skylight to promote "his" work. We were all warned that he was highly protective of his identity and wore a blonde wig to conceal himself. He didn't read his work. Actors and musicians read for him. A bandmember from Nine Inch Nails was one of the readers.
JT LeRoy struck me as a damaged creature and I felt sorry for him. Now, I want to kick him, especially since part of his identity was to make people believe he was HIV positive.
7 comments:
Read Armistead Maupin's "The Night Listener" for a fictionalized version of Maupin's encounter with a boy who is widely believed to be JT's first skam under a different name. Maupin's book is brilliant and when I heard about JT and that he was most likely this previous person as well, I vowed never to read "his" books. Impersonating someone who has AIDS and who was abused is horrible.
Both literary shockers of the week leave me feeling tired and a little depressed. Is this what people need to do to be famous? Is fame worth it?
Not the first or the last. In a business that's increasingly being propelled by "personality" rather than the quality of the work, this is and won't be unusual especially when it comes to "memoir" and "non-fiction". It will be interesting to see whether Fey's publisher's justification for the artistic liberties of Fey will fly with other publishers and readers.
I am pleased to say I never heard of the fraudulent bastard(ess).
While I try to have a healthy appreciation for prankster-art, pretending you have AIDS and a screwed-up past to get famous is seriously shady. I guess now JT will discover that the flip side of fame is backlash. He'll be like the new Ashlee Simpson.
I could almost forgive this person if there were something more than a lust for fame behind the facade. (ALMOST) But JT (whom I had never heard of before) obviously wasn't looking to send a message or make a point. JT was (and is) a famewhore. That's pathetic. And am I the only one that things JT's sock puppet persona looks like Martha Plimpton?
I've heard of ghost writers , but this is ridiculous.
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