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''If I Did It'' is a book by O. J. Simpson and
Pablo Fenjves Pablo F. Fenjves (; ) is an American screenwriter and ghostwriter based in Los Angeles, California. His screenwriting credits include the 1995 film ''The Affair'', '' Man on a Ledge'', released in January 2012, and a string of television movie ...
, in which Simpson puts forth a “hypothetical” description of the murders of
Nicole Brown Simpson Nicole Brown Simpson (née Brown; May 19, 1959 – June 12, 1994) was the ex-wife of the former professional American football player, O. J. Simpson, to whom she was married from 1985 to 1992. She was the mother of their two children, Sydney an ...
and Ron Goldman. Simpson's former manager, Norman Pardo, claimed that Simpson was not involved in writing the book, but rather accepted, against Pardo's advice, $600,000 from
ReganBooks ReganBooks was an American bestselling imprint or division of HarperCollins book publishing house (parent company is News Corporation), headed by editor and publisher Judith Regan, started in 1994 and ended in late 2006. During its existence, Rega ...
and
News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
to say he had written it and to conduct an interview. Simpson was acquitted of the murders in a criminal trial ( ''People v. Simpson'') but later was found financially liable in a
civil trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...
. Although the original release of the book was cancelled shortly after it was announced in November 2006, 400,000 physical copies of the original book were printed, and by June 2007, copies of it had been leaked online. The book was originally due to be published by ReganBooks, an imprint of
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
, which was headed by editor and publisher
Judith Regan Judith Regan (born August 17, 1953, in Massachusetts) is an American editor, producer, book publisher, and television and radio talk show host. She is the head of Regan Arts. Early life and education Regan grew up in Fitchburg, Massachusetts and B ...
. The television network
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
, a sister to HarperCollins via News Corporation at the time, was to also broadcast an interview special with Simpson to promote the book, ''O. J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened''. However, following objections to the special by several Fox station owners, the special was also canceled. Footage from the interview was aired for the first time during a Fox special, ''O. J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?'', in March 2018. In August 2007, a Florida bankruptcy court awarded the rights to the book to the Goldman family to partially satisfy the civil judgment. The book's title was changed to ''If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer'', and this version was published by Beaufort Books, a New York City publishing house owned by parent company Kampmann & Company/
Midpoint Trade Books Midpoint Trade Books, Inc. is a Sales, Marketing, and Distribution Company founded by Eric M. Kampmann and Chris Bell in 1996. Midpoint represents over 250 independent publishers across the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Australia, and ...
. Comments were added to the original manuscript by the Goldman family, Fenjves, and journalist
Dominick Dunne Dominick John Dunne (October 29, 1925 – August 26, 2009) was an American writer, investigative journalist, and producer. He began his career in film and television as a producer of the pioneering gay film '' The Boys in the Band'' (1970) and ...
. The new cover design printed the word "If" greatly reduced in size compared with the other words, and placed inside the word "I", so unless looked at very closely, the title of the book appears to read "I Did It: Confessions of the Killer".


Authorship

Pablo Fenjves Pablo F. Fenjves (; ) is an American screenwriter and ghostwriter based in Los Angeles, California. His screenwriting credits include the 1995 film ''The Affair'', '' Man on a Ledge'', released in January 2012, and a string of television movie ...
, a
screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...
and witness at Simpson's 1995 trial, ghostwrote Simpson's book. Fenjves stated in interviews that Simpson actively collaborated on the manuscript, and that Fenjves "knew" Simpson was "a murderer." Norman Pardo, Simpson's former manager, told ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' that the book was written by a
ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often ...
without Simpson's involvement. Rather, Simpson had accepted, against Pardo's advice, $600,000 from the publisher
ReganBooks ReganBooks was an American bestselling imprint or division of HarperCollins book publishing house (parent company is News Corporation), headed by editor and publisher Judith Regan, started in 1994 and ended in late 2006. During its existence, Rega ...
and its parent company
News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
to say he had written the book and to conduct an associated television interview on
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
. Pardo told the ''Huffington Post'' that Simpson had rationalized:
"Hey, they directly offered me $600,000 not to dispute that I rotethe book." He said, "That's cash." I said, "They're going to think you wrote it." He said, "So? Everybody thinks I'm a murderer anyway. They're not going to change their mind just because of a book."
Fenjves responded to the claim, saying the book is "based on extensive discussions with Simpson." Simpson's eldest daughter, Arnelle Simpson, testified in a deposition that she and Van Exel, president of Raffles Entertainment and Music Production, came up with the idea for the book and pitched it to her father in an attempt to make money. She testified her father thought about it and eventually agreed to the book deal. Simpson stated, "I have nothing to confess. This was an opportunity for my kids to get their financial legacy. My kids understand. I made it clear that it's blood money, but it's no different than any of the other writers who did books on this case."


Content

The first part of the ''If I Did It'' manuscript contains a detailed description of Simpson's early relationship and marriage with
Nicole Brown Simpson Nicole Brown Simpson (née Brown; May 19, 1959 – June 12, 1994) was the ex-wife of the former professional American football player, O. J. Simpson, to whom she was married from 1985 to 1992. She was the mother of their two children, Sydney an ...
. The latter part of the manuscript describes details of the events on June 12, 1994, and about the murders as they could have occurred if Simpson had committed them. However, Simpson's attorney said that there is "only one chapter that deals with their deaths and that chapter, in my understanding, has a disclaimer that it's complete
fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
." In Simpson's hypothetical scenario, he has an unwilling accomplice named "Charlie" who tells him to stop the murders, and whom Simpson ignores.


Publication history and TV interview


First release and its cancellation

The book was unofficially announced in the ''
National Enquirer The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tabl ...
'' in late October 2006, but this was immediately denied by Simpson's lawyer. The book was then formally announced some weeks later in mid-November 2006 for release on November 30. Intense public criticism led to the cancellation of the book's publication and a related television interview, both from divisions of News Corporation (Fox and
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
, of which ReganBooks was an imprint). According to a ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' story, all 400,000 printed copies were recalled for "pulping", except for one, locked away in a vault at News Corporation. A copy later appeared in an auction listing on
eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
in September 2007; it eventually sold for over $250,000.
James Wolcott James Wolcott (born December 10, 1952) is an American journalist, known for his critique of contemporary media. Wolcott is the cultural critic for '' Vanity Fair'' and contributes to ''The New Yorker''. He had his own blog on ''Vanity Fair'' ma ...
of '' Vanity Fair'' also obtained a "pristine hardcover" copy of the book for a review published in January 2007. The first version's cover, as released by HarperCollins, showed a photograph of Simpson with the words "I Did It" in red and the word "If" in white. The Beaufort version had the words "I Did It" in large type and the word "If" written in a tiny font and placed at the top of the "I". Neither version of the book has Simpson's name on the front cover. HarperCollins and ReganBooks had planned to publish the book on November 30, 2006. The ''National Enquirer'' made unproven claims in October 2006 that Simpson would be paid US$3.5 million for the book.
Judith Regan Judith Regan (born August 17, 1953, in Massachusetts) is an American editor, producer, book publisher, and television and radio talk show host. She is the head of Regan Arts. Early life and education Regan grew up in Fitchburg, Massachusetts and B ...
, the editor of ReganBooks and Simpson's interviewer in the planned Fox special, was quoted by the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
as saying, "This is a historic case, and I consider this his confession." In one portion of an interview to promote the book, taped before the project was canceled, Regan said to Simpson, "You wrote, 'I have never seen so much blood in my life.'" Simpson responded, "I don't think any two people could be murdered without everybody being covered in blood."


Pre-publication controversy

''If I Did It'' ignited a storm of pre-publication controversy, largely due to the perception that Simpson was trying to profit from the two deaths for which his
civil suit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...
verdict had found him liable. "This is not about being heard. This is about trying to cash in, in a pathetic way, on some notoriety," said Sara Nelson, editor-in-chief of ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
''.
Patricia Schroeder Patricia Nell Scott Schroeder (born July 30, 1940) is an American politician who represented Colorado in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Schroeder was the first female U.S. Repres ...
, president and chief executive of the
Association of American Publishers The Association of American Publishers (AAP) is the national trade association of the American book publishing industry. AAP lobbies for book, journal, and education publishers in the United States. AAP members include most of the major commercia ...
, felt that the book would "stir an awful lot of debate and make the culture take a real look at itself, and that may not be unhealthy". Denise Brown, sister of murder victim Nicole Brown Simpson, expressed her hope that the publisher would take "full accountability for promoting the wrongdoing of criminals and leveraging this forum and the actions of Simpson to commercialize abuse." She went on to say that Simpson's two children would be "exposed to isinexplicable behavior and we will provide them with our love and support during this time. It's unfortunate that .J.Simpson has decided to awaken a nightmare that we have painfully endured and worked so hard to move beyond." The proposed book also outraged the family of Ron Goldman, who criticized the publisher for "helping a murderer get his voice out there." According to lawyers for the family, they planned to attempt to garnish any earnings Simpson might get from the book. Fred Goldman, Ron's father, was awarded $33.5 million by a jury in 1997 for the
wrongful death Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, ...
of his son. However, Simpson never paid this judgment due to a
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
law that prevents
pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...
s from being used to satisfy judgments, and the fact that the bulk of his income comes from his NFL pension. Goldman described the book and television interview as "an all-time low" and "morally reprehensible to me ... to think you are willing to give somebody airtime about how they would murder two people." The day after the announcement of its publication, an online
boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
encouraged Americans to ignore the book and complain to publishers and booksellers. Similar boycotts were held in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. Within four days of the book's announcement, over 58,394 people had signed an
online petition An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...
developed by Goldman's family, DontPayOJ.com, declaring their opposition to the book. Bookshops were divided about stocking the title in their stores. Numerous independent stores said either that they would not sell it or would offer limited copies and give away the proceeds.
Borders Books Borders Group, Inc. (former NYSE ticker symbol BGP) was an American multinational book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. In its final year, the company employed about 19,500 people throughout the U.S., primarily i ...
and
Waldenbooks Waldenbooks, operated by the Walden Book Company, Inc., was an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain, from 1995 as a subsidiary of Borders Group. The chain also ran a video game and software chain under the name Waldensoftware, as well as a ...
said they would donate any profits made from the book to charities which would benefit victims of
domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
, and a Borders spokesperson said they "believe it is the right of customers to decide what they read and what to buy, but we will not discount the title or promote it". Several stores in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
said they would only order it for customers, but not stock it. In the days following the book's announcement, pre-orders put it in the top 20 of
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
's bestseller list, though it had fallen to #51 when the book's cancellation was announced. Legal experts theorized that Simpson might be able to avoid paying the Goldmans or Browns any money. "I think it's going to be difficult if impsonarranges to have ook profitsdeposited abroad," said lawyer Tom Mesereau. "It's one thing to enforce a
judgment Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle s ...
in America, and another to enforce it overseas." Mesereau said Simpson also might have profits "paid into a trust offshore or a corporation in a different name."


Fox television interview

Fox, a U.S. television network that was a sister to HarperCollins via News Corporation at the time, was to air a related, two-part, taped interview with Simpson, conducted by Regan, in which Simpson describes how he would have committed the 1994 slayings of Nicole and Goldman, "if he were the one responsible". As in the book, Simpson also mentions an unwilling accomplice named "Charlie". The interview was scheduled to air on November 27 and November 29, 2006, timed to coincide with the book's release. The program was being produced under Fox's alternative programming department, headed by
Mike Darnell Michael H. Darnell (born 1962) is an American television executive and former child actor. He is currently the president of unscripted and alternative television at Warner Bros. He spent nearly 19 years at the FOX network as president of alterna ...
, and not under the auspices of
Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
.
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
said that it was approached to air the interview, but declined, saying, "This is not a project appropriate for our network." On November 16, 2006, Regan issued a statement claiming that her reason for recording the interview and releasing the book was an attempt to find closure after having been a battered woman herself. "The men who lied and cheated and beat me – they were all there in the room," she said. "And the people who denied it, they were there, too. And though it might sound a little strange, Nicole and Ron were in my heart. And for them I wanted him to confess his sins, do penance, and to amend his life. Amen." Over a dozen Fox affiliates refused to carry the special, or decided to air it, but devote local advertising time to
public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...
s. KSFX-TV in Springfield,
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
,
WPGH-TV WPGH-TV (channel 53) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate WPNT (channel 22). Both stations share studios on ...
in Pittsburgh, and
WWCP-TV WWCP-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox affiliate for the Johnstown–Altoona, Pennsylvania, Altoona–State College, Pennsylvania, State College ...
in Johnstown- Altoona- State College,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
area were the first to turn down the special on November 17, 2006, along with
KAYU-TV KAYU-TV (channel 28) is a television station in Spokane, Washington, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Imagicomm Communications, the station has studios on South Regal Street in Spokane, and its transmitter is on Krell H ...
in
Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, and
WDRB WDRB (channel 41) is a television station in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Block Communications alongside Salem, Indiana–licensed dual CW/ MyNetworkTV affiliate WBKI (channel 58). Both ...
in
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
,
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
.
Pappas Telecasting Pappas Telecasting Companies was a diversely organized broadcasting company headquartered in Visalia, California, United States. Founded in 1971, it was one of the largest privately held broadcasting companies in the country, with its stations ...
also planned to pre-empt the program on their Fox stations in four markets along with Fox affiliates KNDX in Bismarck-
Minot Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Minot Air Force Base, Air Force base approximately north of ...
,
North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
;
KMPH-TV KMPH-TV (channel 26) is a television station licensed to Visalia, California, United States, serving the Fresno area as an affiliate of the Fox network. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Sanger-licensed CW affiliate KFRE-TV (c ...
in
Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...
;
KPTH KPTH (channel 44) is a television station in Sioux City, Iowa, United States, affiliated with Fox and CBS. It is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to Dabl affiliate KMEG (channel 14) under a shared services ...
in
Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...
,
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
;
KTVG-TV KTVG-TV, virtual channel 17 (ultra high frequency, UHF digital terrestrial television, digital channel 19), was a Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox-Network affiliate, affiliated television station city of license, licensed to Grand Island, Nebraska, ...
in
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...
, Superior and Grand Island,
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
; and
KPTM KPTM (channel 42) is a television station in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with Fox and The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to TBD outlet KXVO (channel 15) under a local marketing agreeme ...
in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
. Fox affiliates
KCPQ KCPQ (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Tacoma, Washington, United States, broadcasting the Fox network to the Seattle area. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV outlet ...
in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
—owned by
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—and
XETV XETV-TDT (channels 6 and 16) is a television station located in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, broadcasting programs from Canal 5 and NU9VE. Its terrestrial signal also covers the San Diego, California area across the international border in ...
in
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
/
Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and
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—were both reportedly undecided, but each indicated that if they aired the special, they would not sell local ad time, instead giving that time to local domestic violence groups to air public service announcements. The interview was later aired for the first time in March 2018 as ''O. J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?''.


Cancellation

On November 20, 2006, News Corporation issued a statement saying that the book and television special had been cancelled. In the statement, News Corporation chairman and CEO
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
said, "I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project. We are sorry for any pain this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown-Simpson." The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
called the book's cancellation "an astonishing end to a story like no other," noting that a publisher's withdrawing a book for its content "is virtually unheard of." On November 21, 2006, Denise Brown accused Fox of trying to stop the Goldman and Brown families from criticizing the project by offering millions of dollars for their silence surrounding the project: "They wanted to offer us millions of dollars. Millions of dollars for, like, 'Oh, I'm sorry' money. But they were still going to air the show," Brown said. "We just thought, 'Oh my God.' What they're trying to do is trying to keep us quiet, trying to make this like hush money, trying to go around the civil verdict, giving us this money to keep our mouths shut." Brown told NBC's ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...
'' that her family's response was: "Absolutely not." Fox confirmed that the Brown and Goldman families were offered profit participation deals for the projects but denies that it was hush money. "Last week, when concerns were raised by the public that we were profiting from this guy's story, we tried to work out some arrangement with the family. Never was there any suggestion of them being barred from talking about it. We would never suggest that," said News Corp spokesman Andrew Butcher.


Airing of the unaired interview

Since the interview existed on tape, executives at Fox said it was likely to turn up somewhere or be leaked. Nearly twelve years later, Fox announced that it would air a special entitled ''O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?'', on March 11, 2018. It featured footage from the interview, as well as analysis and discussion by host
Soledad O'Brien María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien (born September 19, 1966) is an American broadcast journalist and executive producer. Since 2016, O'Brien has been the host for ''Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien,'' a nationally syndicated weekly talk show ...
and experts. It aired with limited commercial time, which was used to broadcast public service announcements addressing domestic violence. In the decade-old interview, Simpson initially used (
subjunctive The subjunctive (also known as conjunctive in some languages) is a grammatical mood, a feature of the utterance that indicates the speaker's attitude towards it. Subjunctive forms of verbs are typically used to express various states of unreality ...
) phrases like "I would" and "I'd think" in his hypothetical description of the event, but later moved to using first-person (
indicative A realis mood ( abbreviated ) is a grammatical mood which is used principally to indicate that something is a statement of fact; in other words, to express what the speaker considers to be a known state of affairs, as in declarative sentences. Mos ...
) phrasing with sentences like "I remember I grabbed the knife", "I don't remember except I'm standing there", "I don't recall", and "I must have." Due to the change in phrasing, these comments were interpreted by many as being a form of
confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
, which stirred strong reactions in print media and the internet.


Republication

On August 14, 2007, it was reported that a literary agent for the Goldman family, Sharlene Martin, had made a deal to publish the book with the new subtitle "Confessions of the Killer". All of the original text was to remain intact, with the addition of "key commentary." This version of the book was released about a month later, on September 13, 2007. Some of the proceeds benefit the Ronald Lyle Goldman Justice Foundation, which was planned in 1995 to fund civil legal action against Simpson. In February 2007, a Canadian publisher, Barclay Road Inc., expressed interest in publishing the book. Barclay Road CEO Herbert Becker said that public opinion turned against the book without anybody's really knowing its contents. He said his company would look into obtaining the rights to the book.


Transfer of rights

In June 2007, a federal judge ruled that Fred Goldman, Ron Goldman's father, could pursue the publishing rights to Simpson's book. In July 2007, a federal bankruptcy judge awarded the rights to the book to the Goldman family, who receive most of the profits to help satisfy the $33.5 million wrongful death civil suit judgment against Simpson. (The Goldmans were supposed to designate 10 percent of the first $4 million in gross proceeds to be given to a court-appointed trustee.) After Goldman had won the rights to the book, he arranged to publish it under the new title ''If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer''. The Goldman family's lawyers also announced intentions to pursue new publishing, film, or TV deals in order to receive some of $33.5 million awarded to them in the civil case.


Lawsuits

Fred Goldman sued Lorraine Brooke Associates, a
shell corporation A shell corporation is a company or corporation that exists only on paper and has no office and no employees, but may have a bank account or may hold passive investments or be the registered owner of assets, such as intellectual property, or s ...
, for the publishing rights after it filed for bankruptcy. After Goldman purchased the rights from the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, Nicole's father, Louis H. Brown, sued Goldman, attempting to stop the publication and receive part of the rights, but lost.


See also

* "I Admit" (R. Kelly song)


References

{{Authority control 2007 books Cancelled books Crime books Collaborative non-fiction books O. J. Simpson murder case Obscenity controversies in literature Recalled publications Book leaks ReganBooks books