A woman identified as jane doe has filed a lawsuit in los angeles superior court accusing bestselling author and venture capitalist amy griffin of using her personal experiences of childhood sexual assault in griffin's memoir the tell without permission. The book, released in 2025 and selected for oprah's book club, details griffin's recovered memories of abuse through mdma-assisted therapy. Griffin's attorney has dismissed the claims as absurd.
The lawsuit, filed in los angeles superior court, alleges that amy griffin incorporated intimate details from jane doe's traumatic experiences into the tell, which became an oprah's book club selection and received endorsements from reese witherspoon and gwyneth paltrow. Griffin's memoir describes how mdma-assisted therapy helped her recover suppressed memories of being sexually abused by an educator at her amarillo, texas middle school during the 1980s. In the book, griffin states, “i knew that these memories were real,” “my body knew what had happened to me.”
According to the court documents, the plaintiff's experiences mirror those in the memoir, including assaults at a school dance—where she wore clothing borrowed from griffin, which was later returned containing biological evidence—and in school restroom facilities. The plaintiff also sought religious forgiveness for the incident at a church youth gathering attended by griffin. The legal filing notes a 2019 meeting between the two women at a california coffee establishment after decades apart, but maintains no discussion of the assaults occurred then.
The plaintiff shared her story with a talent representative who contacted her through an unnamed source; communication ceased after questioning, and details allegedly appeared in the tell. She discovered the book only after new york times journalists contacted her during a september investigation questioning the memories' validity and revealing financial connections between griffin and endorsers. The lawsuit states that the character of claudia in the memoir appears based on the plaintiff, and charges include privacy invasion, unauthorized disclosure of personal information, negligence, and causing emotional harm. It also targets griffin's publishing companies and a ghostwriter, seeking monetary compensation to be determined in proceedings.
Griffin's attorney, thomas a. clare, responded, “we look forward to exposing these meritless claims in court, as well as the deeply flawed new york times reporting that is at the center of it.” He added that the times instigated the situation and publicized an inaccurate narrative despite warnings. A times representative, danielle rhoades ha, stated, “we’re confident in the accuracy of our reporting.”
