Author: The JT LeRoy Story

---

I first met JT years ago

years ago --

many years ago.

[ Cheers and applause ]

And a few years later...

you know, Sarah.

[ Laughs ]

And so I'm so excited

to be here tonight,

and I'm so excited all of you

came to celebrate his work,

his words, and his -- his, um...

just beautiful, beautiful voice.

So I just thank you

from the bottom of my heart.

And I thank JT from the bottom

of my heart and soul.

[ Laughs ]

[ Cheers and applause ]

I love you, JT.

You are an inspiration.

Thank you.

[ Cheers and applause ]

Thank you, JT!

Gross:
My guest, JT LeRoy, is

a 21-year-old writer

with two books of fiction based

on his experiences

as the son

of a truck stop prostitute.

When LeRoy was 15,

his therapist, Dr. Terry Owens,

encouraged him to write.

Although LeRoy is forthcoming

about his life,

he doesn't like to show his face

to the press

and does most of his interviews

by phone.

This is Fresh Air.

So, um, so, why do you

still feel it's so important

to keep

your identity hidden?

Leroy:
You know, I'm writing

about pretty personal stuff,

and, also,

the gender issues.

Sometimes I like to go out

as a girl.

Sometimes, I like to go out

as a boy.

So, I really never want someone

to come up to me

and say, "I know

what you really are,"

and be in that position

where they could hurt me.

Although your work is

really catching on,

some people think that

you might not really exist.

In other words, that JT LeRoy

might be a pen name,

or a hoax, or some kind

of extended performance piece.

-[ Chuckles ]

-I mean, do you run into this

a lot that people think

that this is just

some kind of hoax?

[ Answering machine beeps,

clicks ]

[ Beep ]

[ Beep ]

[ Beep ]

[ Beep ]

[ Click, whir ]

LeRoy:
Hi.

I'm JT --

Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy.

-[ Shouting indistinctly ]

-Jeremiah's from the Bible,

but I like it.

It makes me feel protected.

I was born in wild West Virginia

on Halloween.

[ Cat yowls ]

My mom is Sarah.

She had me when she was 14.

She was doing drugs

and didn't even know

how to change a diaper.

Sarah is a prostitute...

a lot lizard.

We live in cars, motels.

Every new town,

we change our names.

I can be a boy,

or I can be a girl.

But usually, we're sisters

because it's more allowed.

Sarah gets married

lots of times.

Men just love her.

She's beautiful.

I keep thinking...

if I can be

as pretty as her,

she would see

something in me.

[ Click ]

[ Telephone rings ]

Benderson:
I remember

that first call very well.

A very soft female voice said,

"May I speak

to Bruce Benderson?"

Right away,

I was very suspicious

because it sounded like

a young girl

of maybe 13 -- 12, 13, 14.

She said, "Well, I'm

a great admirer of your work."

[ Click ]

[ Click ]

So, I said, "Are you a boy?"

And she answered, "Well,

last time I checked, I was."

[ Fax machine dials,

beeps, whirs ]

On the floor, there was

an incredible

curled pile of paper.

And I sighed,

and I tore it off.

[ Paper rips ]

And I started reading it,

getting ready to throw it away.

LeRoy:
"The heroin inside

to tell you God's truth."

And I thought, "My God,

this is unbelievable.

This person is a genius."

He had given me

his telephone number,

and I immediately called

him back.

[ Telephone dials ]

[ Telephone rings ]

[ Receiver clicks ]

And then I said,

"This is amazing --

amazingly written."

[ Receiver clicks ]

LeRoy:
It was something

I always knew.

Heroin coming in balloons was

a special message to me.

Yeah, I'll smoke,

shoot the dark,

tarry clump inside.

[ Inhales deeply ]

But the balloons are

the only thing

that's really gonna save me.

The heroin inside

to tell you God's truth is

just to tide me over

until it is the time.

[ Geese honk ]

It will be a clear day --

no clouds, no wind.

Crowds will gather,

smiling and joyous.

People will surround me

and slowly attach my silvers,

my blues, my greens, my yellows.

I feel myself getting lighter

as branches of balloons spring

from every limb.

I am the Lord's outcast coming

for their redemption

whether they like it or not.

Man:
Tell me about the first

phone call you made as JT.

I would get to a point where

I would have to make a call,

and I remember calling

from the bathroom.

I was sitting on the floor

by the toilet.

[ Camera shutter clicks ]

Geoff and I had just moved in

together.

[ Camera shutter clicks ]

He was in the other room

playing guitar...

[ Guitar strumming ]

doing his music,

and I was just making calls...

[ Telephone dials ]

thinking about dying,

wanting to die.

And I called Child Crisis.

[ Telephone dials ]

It was a number

that you could call

when you were in pain.

[ Telephone ringing ]

I remember I didn't know

what was gonna come out of me.

I didn't know

who was going to bubble up.

[ Ringing continues,

receiver clicks ]

And this man answered.

Hi.

I'm Dr. Terrence Owens.

I'm the clinical director

of the Masonic Center

for Youth and Families.

He asked what my name was.

And it was "Terminator,"

which I never would have chosen

because it was a stupid name.

But that was his name.

He was 13,

turning tricks,

living on the street.

And Dr. Owens, he says,

"Why don't you call back

tomorrow?"

And I didn't know

if Terminator would,

or if he would be there

or if it would work out.

A lot of other boys

who had been through me,

they didn't...

they didn't live.

But he did, and he was there.

[ Telephone dials ]

And slowly, my life began

to revolve around talking

to Dr. Owens that next day.

[ Telephone rings ]

So it's as if my world was

underwater.

And then, for that half an hour,

Terminator would talk to him,

it was...

[ exhales sharply ]

a gasp of air,

and then I'd go under.

[ Click, whir ]

Okay, today's date is

January 8th,

and I'm Laura.

What happened was

my parents had gotten divorced

when I was in eighth grade,

and it just exploded for me.

[ Fireworks whistling, popping ]

I started dropping out

of different schools,

and my mom is going berserk.

[ Sizzling, girl screams ]

We'd had these fights,

and she'd lose control

and throw, like, heavy things.

[ Clatter ]

She was going, like, with

a different guy all the time,

a lot of sleaze bags

that would come on to me

that would, you know,

try sh*t --

Like, one would call me up

in the middle of the night

and tell me he loved me,

he wanted to be my father,

but he also wanted

to be my lover.

[ Telephone rings ]

And my mom's seeing

this sh*t, too.

She's seeing

how f***ed up it is, too.

I called up my father.

My father said,

"Well..."

I was like, you know,

"Hey, f*** you."

So, I decided, one day,

"I have to act.

I have to do something."

[ Receiver clicks,

telephone dials ]

I pick up the phone.

I dial this hotline.

[ Telephone rings ]

And it never, ever occurred

to me to call as myself.

What reaction

would there be besides,

"You're fat and ugly

and disgusting and deserve it"?

So, I introduced myself

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