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67:. LeRoy was presented as the author of three books of fiction, which were purportedly semi-autobiographical accounts by a teenage boy of his experiences of poverty, drug use, and emotional and sexual abuse in his childhood and adolescence from rural West Virginia to California. Albert wrote these works, and communicated with people in the persona of LeRoy via phone and e-mail. Following the release of the first novel
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428:; she described her troubled history and her alleged personal experiences with abuse, abandonment, sex work, gender identity, and her need, since childhood, to create alternate personae (chiefly over the telephone) as a psychological survival mechanism, through which she could articulate her own ideas and feelings.
474:, Geoffrey Knoop's sibling. In a subsequent article, St. John published details of an interview with Geoffrey Knoop, in which Knoop confirmed that LeRoy did not exist, and that his sibling was LeRoy's public face. Knoop also admitted to St. John that Laura Albert had written the works published as LeRoy's.
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Ten short stories that form a novel about the childhood of LeRoy, torn from his foster parents at age four when his emotionally disturbed mother reclaims him and then runs away with him. She alternately clings to LeRoy and abandons him, subjecting him to patterns of abuse and exploitation she has
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said that LeRoy "co-opted my imagination for a full year of my life. It was pretty remarkable. And then you also go, 'This person isn't who they claim to be, but they still wrote this book that captured all of our imaginations, so then why does the identity of the author even matter when you're
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magazine, revealed that LeRoy was indeed a fictional creation, invented by writer Laura Albert, and that LeRoy's purported public appearances in wig and sunglasses were made by an actor. Beachy asserted that Albert had been posing as LeRoy's caretaker and spokesperson, calling herself "Speedie",
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Calling a suicide hotline in the 1990s, Albert reached Dr. Terrence Owens, a psychologist with the McAuley
Adolescent Psychiatric Program at St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco. Owens did not know her as Laura Albert at the time, but as "Jeremiah" or "Terminator". Owens is credited with
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began to make public appearances as the supposed writer. The works attracted considerable literary and celebrity attention, and the authenticity of LeRoy has been a subject of debate, even as details of the creation came to light in the 2000s.
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did it. Of course Laura took this practice further and I think that was very smart and I do not think she deserves the kind of condemnation that she got. If I had done the
Roberta thing ten years later, I would have faced the same
446:, casting doubt on the particulars of LeRoy's story. Lomax recounted his frustrated attempts to contact LeRoy by e-mail, pointed out several obvious discrepancies of fact, and cast doubt on LeRoy's existence. A few months later,
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encouraging "Jeremiah" or "Terminator" to write during their phone therapy sessions. Albert also recorded conversations without Owens' consent, and these illegally recorded phone calls made their way into the 2016 documentary
116:: a prostitute who works the truck stops in West Virginia. She can be abusive and abandoning, yet he longs for her love and tries to follow in her world, working for a pimp who specializes in "boy-girls".
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619:, examining Laura Albert's use of the literary persona JT LeRoy. Reflecting on the parallels between JT LeRoy and her own alter ego Roberta Breitmore, Hershman Leeson has commented:
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an inspiration came to him to make a 'meta-film', a triple-layered movie that would blend the novel with the lives of its real and purported authors in a project he took to calling
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Throughout the 1990s, virtually no one had ever glimpsed the reclusive author. Then, in 2001, a person wearing a wig and sunglasses began appearing in public, claiming to be LeRoy.
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The novella follows a young heroin addict who is befriended by Larry, an older man, from whom he receives an unusual pet. Illustrations are by
Australian artist
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was null and void. A jury found against Albert in the sum of $ 116,500, holding that the use of the pseudonym to sign the film rights contract was fraudulent.
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also reported that this new project "required the rights to Laura Albert's story, rights that she in no uncertain terms refused to grant".
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In June 2007 Antidote sued Laura Albert for fraud, claiming that a contract signed by Albert in LeRoy's name to make a feature film of
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In 2014 interviewer Dylan Samson on the LastLook App blog stated that "Albert had ingeniously hacked the literary establishment".
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under the false premise that LeRoy lived with Albert and her husband
Geoffrey Knoop, who used the pseudonym "Astor".
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The concept of an alter ego is not new at all. Writers have been protecting themselves in that way for centuries.
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Da Capo Best Music
Writing 2005: The Year's Finest Writing on Rock, Hip-hop, Jazz, Pop, Country & More
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In August 2005, journalist John Nova Lomax published the article "Coal Miner Mother of a Mess" in the
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reading fiction and engaging with it in a really personal way?'" That same year, Laura Albert told
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This is the woman who played the man who became a transsexual and fooled the world for six years
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reported that the
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that the person posing as LeRoy in a wig and sunglasses for six years was 25-year-old
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magazine's
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Additionally, LeRoy was credited with liner notes and biographies for musicians
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features the case of
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Albert explained the circumstances of LeRoy's existence in a 2006 interview in
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magazines, and is credited with writing reviews, articles, and interviews for
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1183:"JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst w/ Lena Dunham discuss S. #whoisStraka (2/4)"
192: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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683:"Laura Albert Versus Savannah Knoop: Who Is the Real Fake JT LeRoy?"
1100:""Judge Orders Author to Pay Film Company $ 350,000 in Legal Fees""
899:"Argento and Others Are Angry About Being in JT Leroy Documentary"
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Work credited to LeRoy was published in literary journals such as
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983:"Who is JT LeRoy? The True Identity of a Great Literary Hustler"
949:"JT LeRoy author ordered to pay triple-sized costs | Books"
615:’s 2014 exhibition "How To Disappear," she premiered her video
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At her 2007 fraud trial, Albert described LeRoy as her "veil".
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1252:"Immediate Kinship: Laura Albert on Lynn Hershman Leeson |"
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from the original on
December 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
1074:"In Writer's Trial, a Conflict Over Roles of Art and Money"
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LeRoy's work has also appeared in such anthologies as
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is narrated by a nameless boy whose mother Sarah is a
1238:"Long-lost Ukrainian uncle has left you $ 5 million"
1046:"The Unmasking of JT Leroy: In Public, He's a She"
481:, about their six-year career as an impersonator.
854:"Figure in JT LeRoy Case Says Partner Is Culprit"
551:claimed LeRoy for his inspiration in translating
1008:John Nova Lomax, "Coal Miner Mother of a Mess",
508:, when Shainberg "learned who had truly written
27:Literary persona adopted by writer Laura Albert
1270:"Interview | Lynn Hershman Leeson – KubaParis"
636:based on Savannah Knoop's memoir. Directed by
1126:Writer Testifies About Source of Nom de Plume
8:
477:In 2008, Savannah Knoop published a memoir,
357:. LeRoy is also listed as guest editor for
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1284:"Author: The JT LeRoy Story (2016) - IMDb"
1146:"Jury: novel bought by company fraudulent"
108:By turns magical and realistic, the novel
632:The story of JT LeRoy was the subject of
496:announced plans for a film adaptation of
208:Learn how and when to remove this message
1181:CuInAnotherLifeBro (November 29, 2013).
763:Bloomsbury USA Hardcover (June 9, 2001)
63:created in the 1990s by American writer
1360:Fictional characters from West Virginia
1203:. interviewmagazine.com. July 10, 2013.
759:The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
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123:The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things
1216:"5 Questions for Writer, Laura Albert"
897:Moynihan, Colin (September 11, 2016).
810:by Martina Testa. Fazio Editore 2003.
1164:"The 'Sunny' side of Taiyo Matsumoto"
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611:As part of the artist and filmmaker
479:Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT LeRoy
190:adding citations to reliable sources
158:Contributions to other written works
1044:Warren St. John (January 9, 2006).
831:. Da Capo Press (October 30, 2005)
681:What to Stream Now (June 2, 2008).
665:(2015) directed by Marjorie Sturm.
565:At a 2013 symposium with filmmaker
355:The Fourth Sex: Adolescent Extremes
651:Documentaries about LeRoy include
490:Antidote International Films, Inc.
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1350:Nonexistent people used in hoaxes
1240:. www.sfgate.com. March 10, 2014.
404:Circumstances of LeRoy's creation
359:Da Capo's Best Music Writing 2005
1144:Westfeldt, Amy (June 23, 2007).
573:in New York, actress and writer
450:, in an October 2005 article in
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1214:Samson, Dylan (June 24, 2014).
792:. Last Gasp (January 30, 2005)
177:needs additional citations for
86:Albert originally published as
1098:Feuer, Alan (August 1, 1007).
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1072:Feuer, Alan (June 22, 2007).
925:Rich, Nathaniel (Fall 2006).
806:Issue 7. Italian translation
803:McSweeney's Quarterly Concern
233:McSweeney's Quarterly Concern
132:suffered throughout her life.
460:In January 2006, journalist
1134:, Published: June 20, 2007.
343:XXX: 30 Porn-Star Portraits
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927:"Being JT LeRoy (excerpt)"
654:Author: The JT LeRoy Story
531:In art and popular culture
412:Author: The JT LeRoy Story
396:and profiled award-winner
73:, Albert's sibling-in-law
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771:Paperback (June 1, 2002)
53:Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy
464:revealed his finding in
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597:San Francisco Chronicle
485:Film option and lawsuit
1258:on September 15, 2016.
937:on September 16, 2006.
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617:The Ballad of JT LeRoy
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933:(178). Archived from
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663:The Cult of JT LeRoy
644:as Laura Albert and
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606:Rain Dove Dubilewski
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186:improve this article
48:signed by "JT LeRoy"
1226:on January 9, 2015.
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878:. December 17, 2005
860:. February 7, 2006.
657:(2016) directed by
640:, the film starred
634:a 2018 feature film
227:Zoetrope: All-Story
1355:Literary forgeries
1131:The New York Times
1105:The New York Times
1078:The New York Times
1051:The New York Times
1034:, November 2, 2008
1012:(August 25, 2005).
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858:The New York Times
594:In March 2014 the
547:In 2013 filmmaker
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518:The New York Times
506:The New York Times
500:to be directed by
494:Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
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276:of London,
198:August 2022
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1365:Alter egos
1344:Categories
669:References
648:as Knoop.
642:Laura Dern
586:Bugs Bunny
571:Doug Dorst
514:Sarah Plus
252:magazine,
114:lot lizard
90:and later
88:Terminator
1150:USA Today
987:Nymag.com
685:. Vulture
628:problems.
581:Interview
370:Liz Phair
339:Lit Riffs
313:Interview
291:Filmmaker
273:The Times
249:BlackBook
238:Memorious
151:Last Gasp
1187:Archived
1057:March 5,
960:March 5,
910:March 5,
882:March 5,
689:March 5,
453:New York
435:Exposure
301:Shout NY
92:JT LeRoy
57:JT LeRoy
18:JT Leroy
59:, is a
876:SFGate
835:
814:
796:
775:
767:
743:
661:, and
353:, and
316:, and
296:Flaunt
240:, and
140:(2005)
126:(2001)
103:(2000)
735:Sarah
708:(PDF)
560:Sunny
557:manga
525:Sarah
510:Sarah
498:Sarah
424:with
319:Vogue
110:Sarah
100:Sarah
70:Sarah
45:Sarah
1309:IMDb
1289:IMDb
1113:2016
1085:2013
1059:2017
995:2016
962:2017
912:2017
884:2017
833:ISBN
812:ISBN
794:ISBN
773:ISBN
765:ISBN
741:ISBN
720:2016
691:2017
588:."
569:and
392:and
327:The
279:Spin
258:and
562:.
555:'s
516:."
378:Ash
349:'s
337:'s
335:MTV
261:7x7
255:i-D
224:'s
188:by
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