Frey said Winfrey called him last fall to tell him "I felt I owe you an apology," and she explained that her lambasting of him sprang from her sense of feeling betrayed, according to the Vanity Fair report.

"It was a nice surprise to hear from her, and I really appreciated the call and the sentiment," he told Vanity Fair.

Angela DePaul, a spokeswoman for Winfrey confirmed that the chat show host had called to apologize.

There are no immediate plans to bring Frey on the show for another episode, because the program has stopped taping new episodes for the season.

Frey's latest book "Bright Shiny Morning," a work of fiction, came out last year from HarperCollins to mixed reviews and was reissued on paperback this month.

(China Daily/Agencies May 14, 2009)