Oprah Winfrey finally apologized to A Million Little Pieces author James Frey for publicly humiliating him on her show after it was revealed that parts of his book were fabricated. Oprah had first put Frey’s book on his recommended list, which helped the book become a best seller, then later Oprah tore him a new one on her show. Frey’s publisher then dropped the author, and refunded unsatisfied purchasers of the book.

Frey said he was "grateful" for Oprah’s gesture.

Frey said Winfrey called him last fall to tell him "I felt I owe you an apology," and she explained that her lambasting of him sprang from her sense of feeling betrayed, according to the Vanity Fair report.

"It was a nice surprise to hear from her, and I really appreciated the call and the sentiment," he told Vanity Fair.

Angela DePaul, a spokesperson for Winfrey confirmed that the chat show host had called to apologize.

There are no immediate plans to bring Frey on the show for another episode, because the program has stopped taping new episodes for the season, Oprah’s spokesperson said.

It would seem that a real apology would include bringing Frey back on the show and apologizing to him publicly, since she humiliated him publicly. Oprah owes Frey more than a phone call, and she knows it.

The fact is A Million Little Pieces was a good book that may help a lot of people. The fact that Frey lied about some of the events in the book seems unimportant, especially when Hollywood writes fictional events into all kinds of "true stories."