At the Postmodern Trial of the Century yesterday, Laura Albert, better known as JT LeRoy, took the stand. Sued by a film company that wants to nullify its option of her book, Albert is facing an uphill task: selling a totally bonkers line of defense that the white-tressed, androgynous JT LeRoy was not a deliberate contrivance but a legit alter ego. Albert tearfully testified that she began branching off into other personalities at age 3, after weathering sexual abuse (of course) and playground taunts of "Hey, Fat Albert." So what are we to make of the fact that she hired an actress to pose as JT? "He wanted his own body." Fair enough! Sadly, this still doesn't account for LeRoy's more questionable stunts — like soliciting money from prominent figures for fictional HIV treatments. Perhaps he wanted his own car?

'JT': One Wail Of Hoax Tale [NYP]
Earlier: JT LeRoy Stars in the Pomo Trial of the Century