Author Amy Griffin, whose memoir "The Tell" recounts alleged childhood sexual abuse and MDMA-assisted therapy, is facing increasing scrutiny over the veracity of her claims and her public behavior.
Recent reports indicate Griffin confronted critic Billy Bush at a wedding this past month, with Bush describing her as "unhinged." According to the report, Griffin approached Bush, visibly agitated, stating, "You don’t know me."
Further allegations suggest Griffin may have targeted the children of New York Times reporter Katherine Rosman. Rosman's reporting investigated Griffin's allegations and their impact in her hometown of Amarillo, Texas. The New York Times piece raised ethical questions about Griffin's memoir, including the possibility that her accusations were similar to those of a former classmate. This led to a lawsuit in March 2026, with a woman suing Griffin, claiming the memoir mirrored her own experiences. Griffin subsequently countersued.
In September 2025, The New York Times reported that the teacher named in Griffin's book, whose identity was reportedly revealed locally, had not been seen since the book's publication. The report also noted that Griffin's husband, John, had made significant investments in psychedelic-assisted therapy, a detail omitted from "The Tell." Experts cited in the article suggested that MDMA-recovered memories are largely symbolic, forming the basis of Griffin's narrative. No other alleged victims of the teacher have come forward.
Griffin's book received significant praise from celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Drew Barrymore, who lauded it as a "literary masterpiece." Griffin, whose G9 fund invests in female-led companies, benefited from this A-list endorsement.
However, when The New York Times sought to investigate, Griffin reportedly did not cooperate. Instead, her legal team sent a letter to the reporters, stating that their fact-checking inquiries caused "trauma and extreme physical and emotional harm to a survivor of sexual assault."
More recently, reports surfaced that Griffin expressed anger over Rosman allegedly causing distress to her children, who are featured in "The Tell." At a summit, Griffin reportedly stated an intention to do the same to Rosman's children. Another source claimed Griffin attempted to prevent Rosman's daughter from being accepted into an American university.
A representative for Griffin denied these allegations, stating her remarks were "taken out of context and mischaracterized as a threat she never made."
The memoir details Griffin sharing her alleged assault with her then-minor children. She described telling her 10-year-old daughter that she had been "raped" multiple times, an account that left the daughter in tears. Griffin wrote that sharing this information brought her closer to her children.
In contrast, Ariel Ehrlich, son of Katherine Rosman, addressed the controversy with self-deprecating humor in a Substack post, acknowledging his own "nepo baby" status and offering support to Griffin's family. He noted his younger sister's reaction to the situation, joking it provided "new material for my [college application] supplementals."