Months after a bombshell lawsuit against socialite Amy Griffin over sexual assault claims made in her celebrity-endorsed, New York Times bestselling book The Tell sent shockwaves through the publishing industry and high-society alike, another buzzy ‘memoir’ from the same publisher is coming under scrutiny.
Belle Burden’s bestseller Strangers purports to tell a cautionary tale of a middle-aged stay-at-home mom of three left scrambling after her hedge-fund ex-husband had an affair during the pandemic, filed for divorce, and left her in financial ruin.
She and her story were celebrated with fawning interviews courtesy of Oprah Winfrey, Drew Barrymore, and more, and the rights to the book were even optioned by Netflix, with the adaptation set to be executive produced by Gwyneth Paltrow. The Academy Award-winner is also slated to star as Burden.
But a new investigative report by The New Yorker is calling many of Burden’s claims, especially the financial ones, into question.
The New Yorker Report
The granddaughter of famed socialite Babe Paley, Burden has ties to the Vanderbilt Standard Oil fortune on both sides of her family. While she tried to dismiss her inherited wealth in one media appearance as “not a ton of money,” The New Yorker uncovered she has about $67 million spread among trusts, holdings, investments, and earnings – all of which she held onto in the divorce.
As MK Media’s Maureen Callahan wrote for The Daily Mail, that is on top of the reported $3 million payout Burden got from her ex, in addition to two homes, the key to their private Martha’s Vineyard beach, and $50,000 a month (read: $600,000 a year) in child support until their youngest child turns 22.
What’s more? Callahan noted Burden’s ex-husband also covers private school tuition, doctor bills, and other heavy expenses for the kids
The Fallout
On Thursday’s show, Megyn shared that she read the book – or rather listened to the audio version – earlier this year before the controversy ensued and said she found it “interesting from a human perspective.” But something was off.
“The more I listened, the less I liked this woman,” Megyn shared. “Because if you listen to the book or read the book, what you will see is somebody who’s very much like ‘he left me.'”
Callahan joined Megyn to discuss what aspects of the alleged memoir are now under scrutiny and what it means for all the famous faces who enthusiastically propped up Burden and the book:
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Callahan by tuning in to episode 1,332 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.