Controversial O.J. Simpson Book And Interview Cancelled
Posted November 21, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Guess we’ll never know how O.J. would have done it … if he’d done it.
News Corp. announced Monday that it had cancelled the book and TV special “If I Did It”, which centred around the murders O.J. Simpson was accused of committing in 1994. He was found not guilty in the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in what was described at the time as ‘The Trial of the Century.’
The book was supposed to be about how Simpson would have committed the murders if he’d done them. The two-part TV special – an interview with the publisher – was supposed to air next week, just ahead of the book’s Nov. 30 publication by ReganBooks. The publishing house is a division of HarperCollins, which is also owned by Murdoch’s company.
“I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project,” said Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman. “We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.”
A spokesperson for the publisher said that some copies had already been shipped to stores but would be recalled, and the books would be destroyed.
Jonathan Polak, the lawyer for Ron Goldman’s father Fred, was pleased with the decision.
“I think News Corp. finally stepped up, admitted they made a mistake and did the right thing,” he said. “This is everything we have been asking News Corp. to do for the past two weeks. We want to thank the American people for helping make this happen.”
Simpson’s lawyer, Yale Galanter, admitted he figured the cancellation might be a possibility and said his client was “indifferent” about it.
Simpson refused to comment on the situation “until I know legally where I stand.
“I would like nothing better than to straighten out some things that have been mischaracterized. But I think I’m legally muzzled at this point,” he added.
Simpson, a former football star and announcer, was acquitted in 1995 of murder but was later found liable for the deaths in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Goldmans.
Pre-sales of the book had been strong, cracking the top 20 on Amazon.com, but fell quickly when it was cancelled.
