Everything in this book is true. I did not seek the opinions of lawyers, publishers, publicists, or agents before publishing Too Real because telling my story without restraint or legal whitewashing mattered more to me than any so-called protection they may have offered. The story in this book is my Hollywood experience completely uncensored, and I’m entitled to it. I do not fear litigation from anyone because I have only written what is true and not a word of it with any ill intent. If anyone is displeased with the way I have portrayed them, perhaps they should have behaved differently.
Separate from the facts, the opinions in the book are my own, and I’ve done my best to distinguish them from each other to avoid conflation. I’ve combined some events and conversations for the readers sake, but every major event in this book happened as described and without embellishment. If anything, I have toned down some of the events in order to remain focused on their purpose in the story. I’ve changed a couple of names, including that of TV star “Emily Foster.” If Emily wishes to come forward with her perspective, she can, but I will never share her name publicly for reasons explained best within the book itself.
I wrote a lot of dialogue for this book, but I approached it much differently than I do fiction. When I was deposed in Stutman v DiCaprio, the lawyers asked about conversations from our past and I was hesitant because I was under oath and I couldn’t possibly be sure of exactly what everyone had said. So one of the lawyers explained the legal understanding of the term “sum and substance.” He said the dialogue I provide in my sworn testimony isn’t meant to represent exact quotes but rather the spirit of the conversation and what was said by each person. The dialogue in this book represents, to the best of my ability, the spirit of the conversations I witnessed and participated in. I did my absolute best to represent each person as authentically as possible and with every respect for their character, but this is certainly a book from my perspective and that includes the dialogue I have written for all the people who appear in it.
In 2019, the New York Post published a three-part documentary series called The Curse of Don’s Plum in which I sat for a long interview. In response to the series, Leonardo DiCaprio’s publicist made a statement publicly calling me a liar and accusing me of “an effort to gain publicity and unlawful financial gain.” Both statements were deliberate lies clearly meant to damage my credibility and reputation. Leo and his representatives have never had access to my finances and could not have known anything about my sources of income. They just made up a lie and put it out in the world with impunity because they’ve got an endless flow of money and influence to fight off or buy whatever they need to escape accountability.
Their lies inspired me to write this book, and it’s been an arduous journey, but after four years of combing meticulously through my archive and digging deep into my memories, I ended up creating something much more than a candid response to a bully. I wrote a book about the tenacity of our dreams and the enormous will we possess to keep them alive, and I’m proud to share it with you now.
