JT Leroy Unmasked: He’s a She

He/she is Savannah Knoop, according to a story by Warren St. John posted this afternoon on The New York Times Web site. St. John reports that Knoop plays Leroy in public, but the author of the works attributed to him/her is still unknown. “A photograph of Ms. Knoop at a 2003 opening for a clothing store in San Francisco was discovered online,” St. John writes. “Five intimates of Mr. Leroy’s, including his literary agent, his business manager and the producer of a coming movie based on one of his books, were shown the photograph and identified Ms. Knoop as the person they have known as JT Leroy.”

Leroy has been making waves on the literary scene for years. St. John writes:

Mr. Leroy’s tale was harrowing in its details and uplifting in its arc. He was supposed to have been a young truck-stop prostitute who had escaped rural West Virginia for the dismal life of a homeless San Francisco drug addict. Rescued as a young teenager by a couple named Laura Albert and Geoffrey Knoop and treated by a psychologist, he was able to turn his terrible youth into a thriving career as a writer. JT Leroy has published three critically acclaimed works of fiction noted for their stark portrayal of child prostitution and drug use.

Along the way Mr. Leroy gained the friendship and trust of celebrities and noted writers, who supported his career financially and offered him emotional support when he declared that he was infected with H.I.V. Sales were good, and his books were published around the world. Shy and reclusive, Mr. Leroy, now 25, appeared in public often disguised beneath a wig and sunglasses.

Last September, Leroy made a splash in the travel writing world with a story about visiting Disneyland Paris for The New York Times’ T: Travel magazine. We wrote about it here, and JT even dropped us a note.

This all could make a hell of a book, JT, whoever you are.

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