Billionaire author Amy Griffin furiously denies claims she threatened NY Times journalist’s children after paper suggested her sex abuse memoir The Tell contained fabrications
A billionaire author has angrily denied claims she threatened a journalist’s children in revenge for an article suggesting her sex abuse memoir contained fabrications.
Amy Griffin, author of bestselling book The Tell, was accused of a plot against New York Times reporter Katherine Rosman over a September 2025 investigation that implied Griffin had ‘borrowed’ memories of being sexually abused by a teacher from an old schoolmate.
Griffin denies those suggestions and insists her book is accurate.
Semafor reported that the weekend after that story was published, Griffin, 49, and hedge fund billionaire husband John attended a mogul summit in Aspen, where she was allegedly heard to complain that Rosman had ‘destroyed her life.’
An attendee told Semafor that Griffin had complained about the Times making her and her children’s lives miserable and that she now planned to do the same to Rosman’s son.
A few months later, Griffin contacted a person involved in admissions at a major American university and asked them to deny applications submitted by Rosman’s two children, Semafor reported.
Billionaire author Amy Griffin slammed allegations that she threatened the children of a journalist who wrote a scathing article about her self-help memoir, saying the claims against her are ‘categorically false’
Griffin is known as a fixture of the New York City socialite scene, and her husband John Griffin is one of the richest men in the Big Apple with an estimated net worth of $12 billion
A spokesperson for Griffin refuted those allegations in a statement given to the Daily Mail and said she had made comments which had been ‘mischaracterized.’
‘Amy Griffin has never threatened Katherine Rosman’s children or taken any action to harm Ms. Rosman or her family,’ the spokesperson said.
‘These allegations are categorically false.’
Semafor reported that Rosman’s son, a student at the University of Southern California and a friend of one of Griffin’s daughters discussed the story on Snapchat after its publication in ‘heated but respectful’ terms.
Griffin’s statement said that her daugher was in a group chat and that she was ‘hurt’ by what was being discussed.
Griffin’s spokesperson continued: ‘The Times itself has since publicly stated that it never accused Mrs. Griffin of taking another woman’s story, despite the impression its original reporting created.
‘At an event shortly after publication, Mrs. Griffin was upset about the impact on her daughter and expressed those feelings in a conversation with a friend. Her words were later taken out of context and mischaracterized as a threat she never made.
‘Mrs. Griffin has never contacted anyone associated with any university or school regarding Ms. Rosman’s children.’
The New York Times said that if Semafor’s allegations against Griffin were true, they represented a ‘stunning abuse of power and influence’ against a reporter trying to do her job.
Griffin is known as a fixture of the New York City socialite scene, and her husband John Griffin is one of the richest men in the Big Apple with an estimated net worth of $12 billion.
In Griffin’s memoir The Tell, the author tells the story of undergoing MDMA-assisted psychedelic therapy to help her deal with repressed childhood memories.
Griffin denied claims that she threatened the children of New York Times reporter Katherine Rosman, pictured
This included rediscovering harrowing memories of being sexually abused by a middle school teacher in Amarillo, Texas, from the age of 12.
The book received widespread praise and Griffin was lauded for telling her agonizing story, and in 2025 the bestselling tome led her to be named as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the world.
Oprah Winfrey and Gwyneth Paltrow were among its celebrity cheerleaders.
However, one of Griffin’s former classmates, Joleene Altum, claimed that the abuse detailed in the book was ‘eerily similar’ to the abuse she endured as a child.
Altum sued Griffin for emotional distress and invasion of privacy, and Griffin then counter-sued Altum for defamation.
Amid scrutiny on the book’s background, New York Magazine reported a classmate’s disturbing recollection of the teacher which appeared to back up Griffin’s claims of childhood abuse.
Griffin, seen with morning TV show hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Savannah Guthrie, was praised for her bestselling book about MDMA therapy and overcoming childhood abuse as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the world.
Griffin is pictured onstage with Oprah Winfrey and Mariska Hargitay in March 2025. Winfrey was among stars who hailed The Tell
Griffin was named as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the world in 2025
The dueling lawsuits sparked a bitter legal feud that is still ongoing, dragging Griffin into a media firestorm that she insists is baseless.
The fallout led Access Hollywood host Billy Bush to wade into the controversy, as he claimed in his podcast last week to have had a heated confrontation with Griffin at a wedding in Hawaii.
