O.J. Simpson's If I Did It Scandal
On Sunday Fox is airing O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?, which will include a previously unaired interview between Simpson and Judith Regan, the publisher who commissioned If I Did It, a hypothetical account of the murders of Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman.
The book and interview sparked serious controversy when they were announced; the victims' families condemned them, the Goldmans established an online petition to boycott them, and at least a dozen Fox affiliates refused to air the interview.
The publisher canceled the book's release and firing Regan, and Fox scrapped plans to air the interview. Both companies were owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
This Sunday, Fox will air O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?, a two-hour special hosted by journalist Soledad O'Brien that examines an infamous 2006 interview between Simpson and publisher Judith Regan about a hypothetical account of the June 12, 1994 murders of Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman.
The interview tapes have remained buried for more than a decade, but the controversy it sparked back in 2006 has not been forgotten. Regan set up the interview to promote If I Did It, a book by Simpson that she commissioned for her HarperCollins imprint, ReganBooks, that was set for release on November 30, 2006. The interview was scheduled to air on Fox, which like HarperCollins, was owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
When the plans for the book and TV show were announced in mid-November 2006, they were met with an immediate public outcry. Denise Brown, Nicole Brown Simpson's sister, criticized Regan for "promoting the wrongdoing of criminals" and commercializing abuse, CNN reported. "We hope Ms. Regan takes full accountability for promoting the wrongdoing of criminals and leveraging this forum and the actions of Simpson to commercialize abuse," she added.
The family of Ron Goldman echoed that sentiment, calling the proposed interview "an all-time low for television." Fred Goldman, Ron's father, asked readers of the Los Angeles Times to "send a message to Fox that if Fox believes their viewers want this kind of trash on television, they must not think very highly of their viewers."
The Goldman family also established an online petition to boycott the show and the book.
Part of the criticism stemmed from the potential that Simpson would profit from the book sales. The former NFL star had been acquitted of the murders in 1995, but a Southern California civil court jury ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages to the families of Goldman and his ex-wife.
Christopher John Farley, the editor of the Wall Street Journal at the time, said that it hadn't "been adequately explained" how Simpson was profiting off the book. Regan, for her part, said she did not pay Simpson for the interview and book despite reports that he got as much as $3.5 million for it.
"This is an historic case, and I consider this his confession," Regan said. She added that she "made the decision to publish this book, and to sit face to face with the killer, because I wanted him, and the men who broke my heart and your hearts, to tell the truth, to confess their sins, to do penance and to amend their lives."
But Regan said that after the project was announced, media outlets "all but called for my death for publishing his book and for interviewing him."
At least a dozen Fox affiliates refused to run the interview, and others said they would air public service announcements instead of commercials during its airing.
On November 20, 2006, the pressure got too intense for News Corporation, and the plans to publish the book and broadcast the interview were canceled."I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project," Murdoch said at the time. "We are sorry for any pain this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."
The Associated Press called the result "an astonishing end to a story like no other," and noted that "a book's removal simply for objectionable content is virtually unheard of."
Following the news, Simpson said he "would like nothing better than to straighten out some things that have been mischaracterized" but said, "I think I'm legally muzzled at this point."
In the aftermath of the debacle, Regan was fired from HarperCollins, and subsequently settled a $100 million defamation lawsuit with News Corporation. The book was published by Beaufort Books in 2007, with proceeds going to the Goldman family.
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