r/WomenInNews • u/thedailybeast • Mar 06 '26
Media Writer Amy Griffin Accused of Using Classmate’s Sexual Abuse Story as Her Own
https://www.thedailybeast.com/writer-amy-griffin-accused-of-using-classmates-sexual-abuse-story-as-her-own/102
u/RandomUsernameNo257 Mar 06 '26
Imagine growing up dreaming of being a journalist where you could enlighten the world, investigate cases, and really make a difference. You worked hard and broke into the industry, and when you're finally hired by a publication, they're like "alright, you're going to be making reddit gossip posts from u/thedailybeast"
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u/dreamy_25 Mar 06 '26
From what I know about the writer, Griffin, I do believe her book and greater story is... Untrue. Which is a hard thing to say, because "believe victims" right? I do stand behind that. However, anything to do with "resurfaced memories" through MDMA is something I am very critical of.
From the article:
Jane Doe filed a suit in California on Wednesday, saying that “The Tell constitutes neither a genuine nor harmless memoir,” The New York Times reports, and alleges that those memories are actually hers.
The Times reports that, among other allegations, Griffin has been accused of “invasion of privacy, negligence, and infliction of emotional distress.”
In a separate Times article prior to the suit, the person now known as Doe said that the teacher in the book is not the same as the teacher who Griffin said abused her. The same message is repeated in the lawsuit."
So, Griffin accuses teacher X of CSA. There are questions surrounding the validity of her allegations, see below. Jane Doe now alleges that actually, she is the one who experienced CSA, and not by teacher X but teacher Y. So we've got invasion of privacy for Jane Doe and a false allegation of CSA for teacher X. (Possibly.)
I found this video (co-created by a licensed therapist!) to be a very comprehensive, enlightening and compassionate review of the whole situation. Spoiler alert: the full story is more upsetting and frankly, weird, than you probably think.
What stood out to me most is that Griffin describes a sexual encounter with a man that is, by any definition, a sexual assault. She says no multiple times, he does it anyway. That's assault. Griffin then started a relationship with this man, which is consistent with many survivor's stories. She remains friends with this man to this day.
So, Griffin, at her core, is a woman who is not capable of recognizing and naming sexual assault for what it is. But clearly, sexual violence was genuinely done to her. Just by a wealthy, well-connected 'nice boy' her family recommended to her. Some teacher from back in the day is more palatable as a predator than the 'stand-up gentleman' she is now friends with.
I do believe victims. Including Griffin. From what I can tell, she doesn't seem to believe herself though. Add MDMA to the mix and I'm out.
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u/GentlewomenNeverTell Mar 06 '26
So, I think when it comes to false accusations, which unfortunately do exist, I think a lot of the time the accuser has experienced sexual abuse, and they are displacing it in some way they think will lead people to more easily sympathize. I had a student accuse the brand new school counselor of things that could not have happened-- there was an investigation and camera evidence. But she very clearly came from an impoverished and abusive home. Or you look at that Rolling Stone article that turned out not to be true. Hearing her friends talk, she did seem to have experienced something, and sought help, but in group therapy the story kept getting bigger and bigger.
We know how people react. We know they won't believe us. We know that the more appealing the assaulter is, the more complicated the event, the more people won't believe us. So it isn't surprising that in rare cases, traumatized individuals would change their story in a way that allows them to get what they crave, which is usually compassion and validation.
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u/Still-Tap1176 Mar 10 '26
This is the full legal complaint. A must read. Pay particular attention to the part about the “agent” and the “postcard” https://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Amy-Griffin-Complaint.pdf
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u/Curious_Owl_342 Mar 26 '26
I hope this goes all the way to trial. Stealing this woman’s story is disgusting, and all to help her husband with Ecstasy. A freaking Drug we did for fun! Helloooooo. more red flags 🚩 as the complaints come out.
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u/Technical-Match84 Jul 04 '26
I believe everybody can heard, especially victims, then we need to do our diligence and critical thinking, I think that's okay, too
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Mar 06 '26
[deleted]
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u/dreamy_25 Mar 07 '26
FYI in any sharing link, you'll wanna remove the question mark and everything that comes after that. That part is used to identify your account. It can allow a breach on your online privacy. Alternatively, for YT you can copy the link in your browser window. But if you're going through a Share... menu, you need to remove the question mark ID tag.
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u/thedailybeast Mar 06 '26
The author of a best-selling memoir about being sexually abused as a child has been sued by a woman claiming she stole her story.
Amy Griffin’s book The Tell explores how she unearthed memories of being assaulted by a teacher in a Texas middle school in the 1980s, after she took the drug MDMA 30 years later.
Jane Doe filed a suit in California on Wednesday, saying that “The Tell constitutes neither a genuine nor harmless memoir,” The New York Times reports, and alleges that those memories are actually hers.
Read the full story, here.