Jury: Laura Albert is a Fraud
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 06.25.07 | 3:48 PM ET
Sometime travel writer Laura Albert, who under the guise of JT LeRoy wrote two books and one infamous story about visiting Disneyland Paris, has been convicted of defrauding a film production company. Antidote International Films Inc. wanted to make a film based on the book “Sarah,” which was allegedly based on the real experiences of LeRoy—a person who never existed. Albert’s financial hit: $116,500. Her career hit: Still to be determined. Albert’s elaborate set-up—she wrote under the name JT LeRoy and another person portrayed him in public appearances—began unravelling in late 2005 when the New York Times, for whom she’d written her Disneyland Paris story and was reportedly going to visit Deadwood, South Dakota for a story, asked to see LeRoy’s passport and social security card.
Albert spoke out against the verdict, questioning how the judgement affects artists who want to use a pseudonym for political reasons or performance art. “This is a new, dangerous brave new world we are in,” she said, according to an AP report.
Related on World Hum:
* New York Times Kills JT LeRoy Travel Story Because JT LeRoy May Not Exist
* JT Leroy Unmasked: He’s a She
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
