Such is the case with Manigault Newman, who isn’t doing herself any favors on the believability front. The ruthless, backstabbing persona she’s cultivated since her time on The Apprentice—a ratings-friendly character she embraced fully enough to title her first book The Bitch Switch—doesn’t inspire much trust. On Today, Manigault Newman interrupted host Savannah Guthrie several times to plug Unhinged in the tackiest possible way, once accusing Guthrie of not reading the book closely enough. After writing that she’d gotten only secondhand confirmation of the N-word recording, Manigault Newman began claiming over the weekend that she’d heard the tapes herself. Given that titillating new information, one would imagine that the publisher would have pushed for an addendum, or at least updated the e-book. It did not. One would also expect someone who’d heard the alleged tapes to be able to describe them in convincing detail, a threshold Manigault Newman was unable to clear on Today.

But whether Manigault Newman is lying or telling the truth feels beside the point. Her grievances and interests are personal, not political—she’s mad she was fired and sees the Trump tell-all route as a ticket to cultural relevance. Her accusation of racism is the loss leader she’s using to get news outlets into the front door of her personal store. Manigault Newman is now promising to release recordings she’s made of phone calls from Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, tapes that supposedly indicate that Javanka was sad that Manigault Newman got fired. They sound like they’ll mean far more to Manigault Newman than to anyone else. The best currency she has right now, which she’s cashing in all over the TV news circuit, is the N-word tape she claims to have heard despite having no ability to share it.