The controversy of "J.T. LeRoy"

[Liz]

After it came out that J.T. LeRoy was not an actual "real" person that had experienced the awful childhood in the book and not the author of the book, and it was really a scam by 40-ish woman who wanted to be published did it make you like the book less? How did it effect you, if at all? I read it years before this all came out and am interested in how people who read the book after they knew the story may have viewed it

[Tobi]

I was frustrated and felt like it amounted to cultural theft. There's plenty of trans authors out there, some who have experiences like what's written in these books. Why do all the successful "trans" novels get written by non-trans people?

The worst part of it was an interview I had heard read where J.T. LeRoy complained that the trans population wasn't supporting these books enough and trying to lean on some trans-camaraderie to sell more books.

It did make me feel a bit curious about the books, and I would like to read (or at least skim) them at some point. But I'll go for dirt-cheap used books or library copies. I don't want one cent of mine working it's way back to this fraud.

[Alie]

Yes, I did like the book less. I read it when it was first published and followed jt's career and understood all of his foibles as a result of being so damaged. That is alot of compassion wasted on someone when there are lots of suffering people out there. I also resent people that use the suffering of other people for their own financial gain or for prurient value. Now, of course, both people who perpetuated the hoax are writing their own books about it. I say, let's no one buy it or read it, even from the library. Like Tobi, let's have some princples.

[Lisa]

I started the book last night and I'm a third of the way into the book and just read this posting. I'm completely affected by finding this out! As I was reading it last night, I really felt for the kid. Wow. I don't even know if I'll finish it. This was a movie too, right?

[Kalyn]

It says it's fiction on the copy right page. You know that, right?

[Alshia]

Kalyn wrote: "It says it's fiction on the copy right page. You know that, right? "
Agreed.