Oprah Confrontation 'Very Intense'

(CBS)  Oprah Winfrey's decision to withdraw her support of author James Frey was in part triggered by an op-ed article published in the Washington Post.

In the column, Richard Cohen said Oprah was "deluded" for continuing to defend Frey's memoir "A Million Little Pieces," even after significant inaccuracies had been exposed.

When Oprah summoned Frey back to her broadcast for a public rebuke, she also invited Cohen.

He talked with

The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen about the mood on the set when Oprah came out swinging.

"It was very intense," Cohen said. "She came out, obviously, loaded for bear. She was going to make the statement that she had made a mistake and she was wrong and get back her integrity.

"She succeeded. I thought it was a courageous and smart thing to do."

Oprah's seal of approval turned Frey's book into a best seller but, for the first time, the queen of talk had to admit making a bad selection

"I feel duped," she said on her broadcast. "But more importantly, I feel that you betrayed millions of readers."

Sitting in the glare of the spotlight, Frey admitted to lying about details like the length of time he spent in jail, which turned out to be a matter of hours, rather than the 87 days he said in his book.

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