JT LeRoy is Alive & Well

JT LeRoy has returned. In an hour-long interview with Charlie Rose, LeRoy describes why he faked his own literary hoax. "I didn't believe in myself," he explained, tears welling behind his sunglasses. "I was going through an emotional crisis and I didn't think anyone else should have believed in me either." Critics have charged the reclusive wunderkind with drumming up rumors of his own nonexistence as a publicity stunt for Asia Argento's filming of his short story collection, The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things. "People are so cynical," LeRoy countered. "They always expect the worst from you." The film version of Heart Is Deceitful is scheduled to open in Cambridge at the Kendall Theatre in late March, although charges have recently been lodged by Boston Globe investigative reporter Kirby Brickbat that the film does not actually exist. Brickbat claims audiences who turn up for the premiere will instead be treated to the latest outing from actor Steve Guttenberg, who reportedly organized the deception in an attempt to revive his own sagging career.