Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Talk-show host Oprah Winfrey told author James Frey today that he ``betrayed millions of readers'' by fabricating and embellishing parts of his best-selling memoir ``A Million Little Pieces.''

``It is difficult for me to talk to you because I really feel duped,'' an emotional Winfrey said to Frey, who appeared with her on ``The Oprah Winfrey Show.''

The investigative Web site http://www.thesmokinggun.com reported on Jan. 8 that the author exaggerated his run-ins with police and the time he spent in jail.

``I think most of what they wrote is pretty accurate,'' Frey said on the program, which aired live in Chicago and was broadcast in most major markets in the afternoon.

Winfrey helped turn ``A Million Little Pieces'' into a publishing phenomenon when she selected the memoir about drug addiction and recovery for her book club last September. She defended Frey in a Jan. 11 call to Larry King's CNN show, calling criticism of the book ``much ado about nothing.''

Hurt Book Sales?

Today, Winfrey said she regrets the call.

``And so as I sit here today, I don't know what is truth and I don't know what isn't,'' she said on her nationally syndicated show.

Winfrey's about-face and Frey's admission could hurt sales of the book, said Peggy Hailey, a book buyer at BookPeople in Austin, Texas.

``People want to make that connection with a real person,'' she said. ``I suspect people will begin to think, `I felt for you, how dare you.'''

Asked today about his claim that he spent 87 days in jail, Frey told Winfrey that The Smoking Gun report was correct in stating that he had only been incarcerated for a few hours.

``They were right about that,'' Frey said.

Winfrey then inquired about Frey's claim that his girlfriend committed suicide the morning he was released from jail.

``And I get to the last page and Lily has hung herself . . . and I couldn't believe it,'' Winfrey said. ``I'm like gasping ? So if you weren't in jail all that time and you're telling her to hold on, why couldn't you get to her?''

Girfriend's Suicide

In a rambling response, the author said the woman had sliced her wrists, not hanged herself, but he didn't elaborate. Winfrey then wondered if one form of suicide might be considered more dramatic for a reader.

Winfrey then asked Frey why he lied about the incident and Frey replied that he ``altered'' all of the characters, mostly to ``protect them.''

Given all the alterations and fabrications, Winfrey wondered why Frey didn't call it a novel.

``I don't think it is a novel,'' he said. ``I still think it's a memoir.''

Showing exasperation, Winfrey then raised her hands and said: ``I have been really embarrassed by this. ? I feel that you conned us all. Do you?''

``I don't feel like I conned you guys,'' Frey replied.

`Extreme Dentistry'

Winfrey also asked the author whether, as he wrote in the book, he underwent extreme dentistry without Novocain at a rehab center.

``I honestly have no idea,'' said a glum-looking Frey.

Winfrey said she always remembered her visits to the dentist and wondered why he didn't. The audience applauded when she interrupted the author as he talked about his struggle with the ``idea of it.''

``No, the lie of it,'' she insisted, her voice rising. ``That's a lie. It's not an idea, James, that's a lie.''

Nan Talese, a senior vice president of Doubleday, the Bertelsmann AG unit that published the hardcover edition, also appeared on the program.

Talese told Winfrey that she learned about the ``things that were in the Smoking Gun at the same time you did.'' She said she never questioned Frey about his story and that the book was vetted only to ensure ``that no one was liable.''

Fact-Checkers

Winfrey said a publisher has a responsibility to readers to accurately categorize a book as fiction or autobiography. Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen, also appearing on the program, appealed to publishers to spend $25,000 to $30,000 a year for fact-checkers.

``A fact-checker would have found out in a half an hour that some of this book didn't work,'' he said. ``The book doesn't pass the smell test.''

More than 2.1 million copies of ``A Million Little Pieces'' have been sold in the U.S. since Winfrey selected it for her book club, according to thebookstandard.com, a web site that covers the publishing industry. Only J.K. Rowling's ``Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' sold more copies in the U.S. last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Philip Boroff in New York at pboroff@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 26, 2006 18:06 EST