Kelley Lynch's take on Leonard, based on the 20 years she worked for him, confirms the impressions I have. Her perceptions paint a portrait few fans would recognize. In her e-mails she describes him as:
A tireless micro-manager who employs a network of spies and informers who work for money,
favours, or the sheer joy of belonging.
An insatiable gossip who, over the years, has turned against all his friends, and constantly slanders them in private.
A narcissist totally obsessed with polishing his image as a modest genius who is also an enlightened Buddhist scholar, gifted poet and songwriter.
An artist deeply envious of people above him in the music business (e.g. Bob Dylan, Phil Spector,
the Beatles etc.), and also of genuine spiritual teachers like Chogyam Trungpa.
An abusive misogynist whose current girlfriend, Anjani Thomas, regularly sees (saw) a therapistspecialized in treating combat veterans suffering from post traumatic stress.
A recovering alcoholic addicted to prescription methamphetamines and hard core internet
pornography.
A delusional megalomaniac who actually believes he "wrote the Bible" and whose secret hobby is
studying serial killers.
A tormented manic-depressive who told Lynch he sometimes locks himself up at night because of an overwhelming urge to "go out and murder people."
Add to this list: a pathological liar and thief.
...
From inside his world of shadows and paranoia, Leonard gives repetitive interviews in which he acts the role of an old-fashioned sage stranded in an era that has forgotten how to be polite and decent. He used to talk about "love" and "justice" but actually practiced secrecy, control, and blind obedience to some unknown deity. In friends and followers, he rewards loyalty and punishes honesty. In his mind, and the minds of the people he secretly works for, the end justifies the means. These were never my values, or the values I was taught to live by.
Excerpt from Ann Diamond's letter to Simon