mh67511

I am so glad they have cancelled this filth. The guy is trash and a murderer and the thought that any publisher would have even considered such nonsense is unbelievable -- guess people really will do anything for a buck.

TokyoNiGHTS

It's sad that it even had to be cancelled. By that I mean its sad that anyone would want to sign this book or agree to broadcast a program where this would happen.

And Murdoch should shut it, the only reason this was shot down was because of the backlash. If there weren't any then they wouldn't have cancelled this and never would've issued an apology to anyone since they really aren't sorry or else they never would've signed this to begin with. Did they honestly need backlash to know that most people would be offended by this concept?

Merlin_Bodhi

*does the happy dance*

Seriously it was the worst and most sleazy idea ever.

chicah

I agree, everyone knows he's guilty. An interview with him would be interesting though, too bad they cancelled that... But I agree about the book...

Lexis

I am so glad they cancelled this. I mean seriously - what a cynical ratings stunt.

-Kelly-

We all know that he did it.

UnsilentMajorty

The interview(s) itself were already taped...

Which means they will be on the net within the next month, month or two, so you can probably watch them then. This also means there will be ZERO network broadcast value once they hit the net as well which is another plus.

The whole concept is a huge slap in the face to the Goldman and Brown families and is as if O.J. is mocking them and taunting them with the fact he got away with murder. I don't know which is more sick: That O.J. may have come up with this concept, or that others in this country like the book publisher and Rupert Murdoch, were actually going to entertain the idea of going forward with such a blatant and sleazy project. Anyone who thinks this was a good idea is nothing but bootlick to me and needs their head examined.

sunnykerr

You know you're on sketchy footing when Rupert Murdorch has the moral upperground.

I cannot conceived of anything more malicious than this book and interview project. This is benefitting from one's crimes. It just is. And his children are grown now, for the love of God. This man actually wanted to put a book out there detailing, albeit through a thin veil of fiction, the exact way in which their mother lost her life.

Not to mention that, as has already been commented, it is tantamount to dancing, spitting and generally desecrating the graves of two people who died in a horrible, traumatizing for their still-living families, way.

Let them rest in peace. If he hasn't got the decency to pay for his crimes, then he should at least be made to let them rest in peace.

chicah

But still - portrait of a murderer. It's interesting, I don't doubt it's a good interview. At least let's hope it's journalistically good.

Jacob1983

I think it's great that Fox cancelled this horrible offensive book and tv interview. OJ Simpson only cares about himself and he only did this for himself and to make money. However, I do think if OJ does profit from any of this horrible idea that the victims' families should get all the money. I still think it's ridiculous that the families of the victims haven't received a dime from OJ. If it were up to me, I would make OJ work at a fast food place or grocery store and make him give his paychecks to the victims' families.

mcdreamylover

NEW YORK (AP) -- The O.J. Simpson book saga took another twist Tuesday when
his former sister-in-law, Denise Brown, accused the media company behind the
project of trying to buy her family's silence for "millions of dollars."

Simpson's book, "If I did it," was a sequel few had dared conceive, with
Simpson -- acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend but later found
liable in civil court -- describing how he would have killed them.


A spokesman for News Corp., owner of Fox Broadcasting and publisher
HarperCollins, confirmed that the company had conversations with
representatives of Nicole Brown Simpson's and Ron Goldman's families over
the past week and that the families were offered all profits from the
planned Simpson book and television show, but he denied that it was hush
money. (Watch why Fox cancelled the special )


"There were no strings attached," News Corp. spokesman Andrew Butcher said.


Denise Brown told NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that her family's response was
"Absolutely not."


"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."


Any fascination with Simpson's shocking return to public life was overcome
by revulsion and disbelief from the public.


Even News Corp's Rupert Murdoch, a media king with a famous taste for
scandal, couldn't stand it anymore. On Monday, he canceled the whole thing,
less than a week after it was announced.


"I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an
ill-considered project," Murdoch said. "We are sorry for any pain that this
has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."


"If I Did It" had been scheduled to air as a two-part interview November 27
and November 29 on Fox, with the book to follow on November 30.
HarperCollins spokeswoman Erin Crum said some copies had already been
shipped to stores but would be recalled, and all copies would be destroyed.


Simpson's attorney, Yale Galanter, told The Associated Press: "We had known
for three or four days that this was a possibility."


"There are only three possible reactions: anger, happiness or indifference.
He's totally indifferent about the fact that it's been canceled," Galanter
said.


He said he didn't know if Simpson was paid upfront.


Simpson was acquitted of murder in 1995 but was later found liable for the
deaths in a wrongful-death suit filed by the Goldman family. Simpson has
failed to pay the $33.5 million judgment against him in the civil case. His
NFL pension and his Florida home cannot legally be seized. He and the
families of the victims have wrangled over the money in court for years.


Ron Goldman's sister, Kim Goldman, said on CBS' "The Early Show" Tuesday
that the family would take legal action to collect any money Simpson
received from the deal. Denise Brown went farther, saying that money was
being hidden for Simpson so he didn't have to pay the civil judgment. "The
courts one day will find out who that person is," Brown said.


Simpson told the AP in a phone interview late Monday he could not comment on
the situation "until I know legally where I stand." (Watch Simpson's
spiritual counselor and prosecutor discuss his possible motives for book )


"I would like nothing better than to straighten out some things that have
been mischaracterized," he said. "But I think I'm legally muzzled at this
point."


Sensation has long been in News Corp's game, but the Simpson book drew
almost universal anger -- from those who knew Goldman and Brown, from
booksellers and advertisers, even from Fox News Channel personality Bill
O'Reilly. O'Reilly urged a boycott of any company that advertised on the
special.


A dozen Fox network affiliates said they would not air the two-part special,
and numerous stores had either declined to sell the book or had promised to
donate any profits to charity.


"I really don't think there would have been very many advertisers who would
have been willing to participate in this show," said Brad Adgate of the ad
buying firm Horizon Media.


With little advertising, Fox would miss the chance to profit from the show.
If there were no advertisers, the show wouldn't even be rated by Nielsen
Media Research -- so the number of people watching would have done nothing
to help Fox's season average, he said.


The cancellation was a stunning rebuke to ReganBooks -- a high-profile
imprint of HarperCollins -- and Judith Regan, who had labeled the book and
interview Simpson's "confession." She insisted that she had done it not for
money, but as a victim of domestic violence anxious to face down a man she
believed got away, literally, with murder. (Watch how Regan defended her
interview )


ReganBooks is known for gossipy best-sellers such as Jose Canseco's "Juiced"
and Jenna Jameson's "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star." Regan, one of
publishing's most driven and forceful personalities, did not immediately
respond to requests for an interview.


The TV special was to air on two of the final three nights of the November
sweeps, when ratings are watched closely to set local advertising rates. It
has been a particularly tough fall for Fox, which has seen none of its new
shows catch on and is waiting for the January appearances of "American Idol"
and "24."


The closest precedent for such an about-face came when CBS yanked a
miniseries about Ronald Reagan from its schedule in 2003 when complaints
were raised about its accuracy. It was seen on CBS' sister premium-cable
channel, Showtime, instead.


One Fox affiliate station manager said he wasn't going to air the special
because he was concerned that, whether or not Simpson was guilty, he'd still
be profiting from murders.


"I have my own moral compass and this was easy," said Bill Lamb, general
manager of WDRB in Louisville.


During an appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live," Fred Goldman, Ron's father,
expressed appreciation to anyone who opposed the book.


"We want to say thank you, thank you for everyone in this country who raised
their voice and stood up for the right thing," Goldman said.


Numerous books have been withdrawn over the years because of possible
plagiarism, most recently Kaavya Viswanathan's "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed,
Got Wild, and Got a Life," but removal simply for objectionable content is
exceptionally rare. In the early 1990s, Simon & Schuster canceled Bret
Easton Ellis' "American Pyscho," a graphic account of a serial killer. The
novel was released by Random House Inc., and later made into a feature film,
an improbable fate for Simpson's book.


Sales for "If I Did It," had been strong, but not sensational. It cracked
the top 20 of Amazon.com last weekend, but by Monday afternoon, at the time
its cancellation was announced, the book had fallen to No. 51.

quaist

I don't know much of this case - in Europe you didn't get to hear much of it.

Why are all of you so sure that he did it?

chicah

I don't know too much about the case either, just something I've seen on Oprah and MTV and I've read a bit about it. Don't really know much about it to be honest, except that he killed his ex-wife and got away with it.

palegreen

I'm so relieved that this book/interview isn't going to happen. I can't think of a sicker way to try to make money and exploit somebody. It should've never been a possibility in the first place.

flagpolesitta43

This has to be one of the most disgusting things I've seen in a long time. I can't even believe it was a possiblity. Just goes to show you how low people can sink.