Author Amy Griffin has filed a defamation lawsuit against a former classmate who accused her of using another woman’s experiences of sexual abuse in her bestselling memoir, The Tell.
The lawsuit argues that the allegations made by the former classmate are completely false and have damaged Griffin’s reputation. According to the filing, Griffin maintains that the abuse story detailed in her memoir is based on her own experiences and was documented years before the accusations surfaced.
Published in 2025, The Tell became a major success and was selected for Oprah’s Book Club. In the memoir, Griffin recounts being sexually abused by a teacher while attending middle school in Amarillo, Texas. She also describes how she later recovered memories of the trauma during therapy sessions involving MDMA-assisted treatment.
The controversy began after a former classmate claimed that several incidents described in the book closely resembled her own experiences. The woman later filed a separate lawsuit, alleging that Griffin had used details from her story without permission.In her latest court filing, Griffin points to written accounts from 2020 and a 2021 interview with law enforcement as evidence that her version of events existed long before she was accused of obtaining information from the woman.
The lawsuit also disputes several claims made by the former classmate, including allegations that the two maintained contact in recent years and met for a coffee conversation that inspired portions of the memoir. Griffin argues that no such meeting took place and says available evidence contradicts the woman’s account.
Meanwhile, the former classmate has maintained that her allegations are truthful and says she intends to present evidence supporting her claims in court. She has also spoken about the emotional impact of reading what she believes were details of her own traumatic experiences in Griffin’s book.The legal battle adds another chapter to the controversy surrounding The Tell, with both sides standing firmly behind their versions of events as the dispute moves through the courts.
