Thank you, Oprah. For redefining what it means to be “true.”

As I feared, what people feel is more important than what they reason. She called the Larry King Show Wednesday night, and relayed a carefully-crafted statement in between softballs:

“But the underlying message of redemption in James Frey’s memoir still resonates with me, and I know it resonates with millions of other people who have read this book.”

“What is relevant is that he was a drug addict who spent years in turmoil from the time he was 10 years old drinking and tormenting himself and his parents, and stepped out of that history to be the man that he is today and to take that message to save other people and allow them to save themselves.”

“To me, it seems to be much ado about nothing,” she added.

So, I guess it’s okay to lie as long as your story is compelling enough. (Helluvablog draws parallels to partisan political attacks that don’t have to be true, just sound bad.)

Which doesn’t bode well for us at all. Think I’m overreacting? Then please bookmark this page, and come back to comment the next time a client of yours gets libelously trashed, and you can’t refute anything because the lie “resonates” with “turmoil.”

Update:

The Associated PressNEW YORK Jan 12, 2006 — Future hardcover and paperback editions of James Frey’s disputed memoir of addiction, “A Million Little Pieces,” will include a brief author’s note that refers to the content of the book, his publisher said Thursday.

Doubleday spokeswoman Alison Rich declined to offer details about the note or to comment on why it was being added. She would not say if the note was an acknowledgment often found in memoirs but not in “A Million Little Pieces” that names and events had been altered.