It’s not often a writer tells readers not to buy his book. Enter Brett Favre and New York Times best-selling author Jeff Pearlman, who penned the biography, “Gunslinger,” on the former Packers quarterback in 2016.
On Tuesday, text messages from Favre with former Mississippi Gov. Phil Grant implicated the Hall of Famer deeper in an alleged $5 million welfare scam. The details that emerged were enough to enrage Pearlman to the point of trashing Favre, himself and his own book.
“I wrote a biography of the man that was largely glowing,” Pearlman started out on Twitter. “Football heroics, overcoming obstacles, practical joker, etc. Yes, it included his grossness, addictions, treatment of women. But it was fairly positive.
“Looking at it now, if I’m being brutally honest — I’d advise people not to read it. He’s a bad guy. He doesn’t deserve the icon treatment. He doesn’t deserve acclaim. Image rehabilitation. Warm stories of grid glory. His treatment of @jennifersterger was … inexcusable.”
Sterger, the former Jets host who accused Favre of sending her inappropriate texts in 2010, also responded to the news, tweeting, “Oh.. NOWWWWW he gets in trouble for inappropriate texts.”
Pearlman was hardly done, though.
“And now—taking money that was designated to help poor people in HIS STATE, and funneling it to build (checks notes) A F–KING VOLLEYBALL ARENA (!?!?!?) is so grotesque, so monstrous,” he continued. “I don’t know how someone like that looks in the mirror. I just don’t.
“So, sincerely, don’t buy the book, don’t take it out from the library. Leave it. There are sooooo many better people worthy of your reading hours. Of your time. I prefer crumbs like Brett Favre shuffle off into the abyss, shamed by greed and selfishness.”