I was Truman Capote’s friend - real reason people turned against him for exposing his 'Swan' gang's darkest secrets

CELEBRATED author Truman Capote's friend has revealed the real reason why everyone turned on him after he exposed the dark secrets of the social elite.

Capote committed social suicide when he published gossipy rumors about New York City female socialites of the 1960s who were known as his "Swans."

Author Truman Capote, seen at an undated New Year's Eve party, committed social suicide after he exposed his friends' dark secrets in his writingCredit: Getty

Socialites Jean Murray Vanderbilt (left) and Barbara 'Babe’ Paley (right), seen with Capote in 1957, are among a group of high-profile women who were known as Capote's 'Swans'Credit: Getty

Biographer and friend of Capote, Gerald Clarke, seen at a talk for his book in 2006, revealed the actual reason why everyone turned on Capote after he wrote the exposeCredit: Getty

After publishing In Cold Blood in 1965, true crime journalist Capote rocketed to fame and welcomed all the amenities that came with his success.

He started hanging on the arms of the women of society who were happy to have the lively, openly gay man wake them up from their decadent stupors.

Wealthy wives like fashion icon C. Z. Guest, model Slim Keith, and magazine editor Babe Paley were among the tastemakers and sought-after party guests.

They consistently landed on best-dressed lists, and some, like public relations executive Lee Radziwill, the younger sister of President John F. Kennedy's sister-in-law, went on to make groundbreaking career moves.

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Capote's boredom with the social elite started to inspire a new collection of writings that he shared with Clarke.

However, after reading it, Clarke said Capote's stories sounded eerily familiar.

CULT OF HATRED

Titled La Cote Basque, 1965, after a popular French restaurant, the infamous chapter follows a narrator, based on Capote, as he interacts with his Swans.

In the story, the main character hears rumors about the women who were either hidden behind thinly veiled pseudonyms or outright named.

Clarke said he tried to warn Capote against publishing the chapter and remembers telling him, "They're not going to like this very much."

However, the writer felt confident the women wouldn't understand who it was based on and published it in Esquire in 1975.

According to Clarke, the backlash could be felt immediately.

"It became a cult to hate Truman," Clarke said.

The biographer said that all of the women immediately cut Capote off and none of his relationships fully recovered.

Clarke remembers witnessing Capote's shock at how ruthlessly he was ousted from the New York City gang's inner circle.

Looking back, the biographer seems to know why the public swayed so quickly.

"They wanted to be a part of the elite set. That was it," Clarke said.

"They wanted to be approved so that they were in solidarity with the Swans."

FATAL BLOW

When asked which falling out hurt Capote the most, Clarke immediately thought of Paley.

Paley, a Vogue editor who married CBS founder William Paley, was a close friend of Capote and was known to go on extravagant trips with the author.

Throughout their friendship, Paley admitted that her husband had been cheating on her and shared how it hurt her.

Capote made sure to include Bill's philandering in his story, but Babe sided with her husband afterward and never talked to her friend again.

"Truman was in a way doing it to get her revenge on Bill," Clarke said.

"He loved Babe Paley. She was his favorite."

A few years after the story was published, Paley died from cancer, and Capote mourned not getting to spend her final moments together.

After the chapter was published, Capote's drinking and drug use started to take a dark turn.

He was known to hole up in his mansion on Long Island while his lifelong partner Jack Dunphy lived elsewhere to avoid "the anguish of watching Capote drink and take drugs," he wrote in A Memoir of My Life with Truman Capote.

Capote died at 59 from liver complications that stemmed from his drug use on August 25, 1984.