Bestselling author Amy Griffin has initiated a defamation lawsuit against a former classmate, alleging that the woman falsely accused her of appropriating her story of sexual abuse for Griffin's upcoming memoir, 'The Tell'. The legal action, filed in a federal court in Nevada, claims the former classmate portrayed Griffin as 'a fraud and a thief' in statements published by The New York Times and in a separate lawsuit filed earlier this year.
Griffin's complaint asserts that the allegations, which suggest she took another survivor's experience and transformed it into a bestselling book, are 'false in every element'. The memoir, 'The Tell', scheduled for release in 2025 and notably selected for Oprah's Book Club, recounts Griffin's personal experience of sexual abuse by a teacher during her middle school years in Amarillo, Texas. Griffin has stated she later recovered these memories through therapy, including the use of MDMA.
The controversy first emerged after The New York Times published an article examining 'The Tell', which included claims from a former classmate who stated aspects of Griffin's narrative closely mirrored her own experiences. This led to the woman filing a lawsuit in California, which Griffin is currently seeking to have dismissed. Griffin's new lawsuit contends that her own account of abuse was documented in writing in 2020 and provided to Amarillo police in 2021, predating any alleged contact with the accuser.
Furthermore, Griffin's lawsuit directly challenges several key assertions made by the accuser. It alleges that Griffin had not communicated with the woman for over three decades and disputes claims that the two met for coffee in California in 2019. Griffin's legal team states that records and witness testimonies contradict this version of events. The woman, who filed her California lawsuit anonymously, has responded through her attorneys, accusing Griffin of attempting to intimidate her through litigation, stating, 'Despite trying to remain anonymous, Amy has now chosen to use her immense wealth and influence to try and silence me.'
Although The New York Times is not named as a defendant in Griffin's new lawsuit, the complaint is critical of the newspaper's reporting, with Griffin's attorneys suggesting the publication did not adequately scrutinise the allegations before printing them. A spokesperson for The New York Times, Danielle Rhoades Ha, has strongly refuted these claims, stating that the newspaper's reporters were solely focused on pursuing facts, conducted extensive fact-checking, and collaborated with Griffin's legal team prior to publication. The newspaper also clarified that certain allegations Griffin now disputes, such as those concerning a talent agent and the identity of a person referenced in the memoir, were never reported in its article.
Griffin is seeking damages and a court declaration affirming the falsity of the allegations that she stole another survivor's story. The legal battle now unfolds as a complex dispute between a prominent author and a former classmate, centring on competing narratives of trauma, memory, and truth, with both parties asserting that the evidence will ultimately support their respective positions.