If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (June 2007) |
| Author | O.J. Simpson Pablo Fenjves (ghostwriter) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Regan Books/HarperCollins, before cancellation |
Publication date | Unreleased |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Hardback |
| Pages | 240 |
| Preceded by | I Want to Tell You: My Response to Your Letters, Your Messages, Your Questions |
If I Did It is a book by O. J. Simpson, in which he puts forth a hypothetical description of the murders for which he was acquitted in a 1995 criminal trial, but found financially liable for in a civil trial. The book was announced in mid-November 2006 for a November 30 2006 release, but intense public criticism led to the cancellation of the book's publication and a related television interview, both from divisions of News Corporation (HarperCollins/Regan Books and Fox Broadcasting Company, respectively). According to a Newsweek story, all 400,000 printed copies were recalled for destruction, save for one locked away in a vault at News Corp.[1]. While the book has been almost impossible to find on the secondary market as a result, one copy did show up on eBay on January 15 2007, with a starting bid of $1500, and sold for over $65,000 fueling speculation about whether News Corp. was able to destroy all printed copies.[citation needed] James Wolcott of Vanity Fair obtained a "pristine hardcover" of the book for a review published in January 2007.[2]. The book has escaped into the free internet domain where it is available for download from a wide variety of bittorrent sites.
Contents
The first part of the If I Did It manuscript reportedly details Simpson’s early relationship with Nicole and their marriage. The latter part of the manuscript reportedly describes details of the murders, as they would have occurred had Simpson committed them. However, Simpson's attorney has 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."[3] In Simpson's hypothetical scenario, he has an unwilling accomplice named "Charlie" who tells Simpson to stop the murders.[4] In a publisher's release announcing the book, Simpson wrote,
I'm going to tell you a story you've never heard before, because no one knows this story the way I know it. It takes place on the night of June 12, 1994, and it concerns the murder of my ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her young friend, Ronald Goldman. I want you to forget everything you think you know about that night, because I know the facts better than anyone.[5]
HarperCollins Publishers had planned to publish it under their Regan Books imprint on November 30 2006. The National Enquirer reported in October 2006 that Simpson would be paid US$3.5 million for the book.[6] Publisher Judith Regan was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, "This is an historic case, and I consider this his confession."[7]
A source cited by The National Enquirer described the If I Did It's account of the double murder as "so detailed and chillingly realistic—with O.J. as the central figure—that it leaves no doubt it is a confession of what really happened."[8]
In one portion of an interview to promote the book, taped before the project was cancelled, Regan says to Simpson, "You wrote, 'I have never seen so much blood in my life.'" Simpson responds, "I don't think any two people could be murdered without everybody being covered in blood."[8]
The proposed book'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 red part is much more pronounced, with some taking that as a hint of confession. The white "If" tries to nullify this and give the cover the appearance of fiction [1][2].
Controversy
If I Did It ignited a storm of pre-publication controversy. "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. "That a person keeps wanting to bring this up seems almost nutty to me."[7]
Denise Brown, sister of murder victim Nicole Brown Simpson, said, "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."[7]
She went on to say that Simpson's
- "two children will be exposed to [his] inexplicable behavior and we will provide them with our love and support during this time. It's unfortunate that Simpson has decided to awaken a nightmare that we have painfully endured and worked so hard to move beyond."
Patricia Schroeder, president and chief executive of the Association of American Publishers, described the developments as sickening:
- "But I think it's going to stir an awful lot of debate and make the culture take a real look at itself, and that may not be unhealthy."[7]
The day after the announcement, an online boycott encouraging Americans to ignore the book commenced at OJbookBoycott.com[9] and similar boycotts began in Australia and Europe.[10] Within four days of the book's announcement, over 58,395 people had signed an online petition developed by Ronald Goldman's family, DontPayOJ.com,[11] declaring their opposition to the book.[12] The website directs boycotters to send protests to HarperCollins, ReganBooks, Fox television and all major booksellers in the United States.
Bookshops were divided as to stocking this title in their stores. Numerous independent stores, appalled by Simpson's book, said either that they will not sell it or will offer limited copies and give away the proceeds.[13] Borders Books and Waldenbooks said they will donate any profits they make from the book to charities which benefit victims of domestic violence. Borders, Inc. spokesperson Ann Binkley said, "The book will be available for sale at all Borders and Waldenbooks stores because we 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".[14]
Prior to its cancellation, If I Did It was debated in Canada as well, with several stores there saying they will only order it for customers, but not stock it.[15]
In the days following the book's announcement, preorders put it in the top 20 of Amazon.com's bestseller list, though it had fallen to #51 when the book's cancellation was announced.[16]
The proposed book outraged the Goldman family. "It's disgusting. Judith Regan is an opportunist. She's helping a murderer get his voice out there," Goldman's sister Kim Goldman told the New York Daily News.[17] According to lawyers for the family of Ron Goldman, the family plans to attempt to garnish any earnings Simpson may get from the book. Fred Goldman, Ron Goldman's father, was awarded $33.5 million by a jury in 1997 for the wrongful death of Ron Goldman though Simpson never paid this judgment due to California law that prevents pensions from being used to satisfy judgments. Of the book and television interview, Goldman says,
- "It is an all-time low for television. To imagine that a major network would put a murderer on TV to have him tell how he would murder the mother of his children and my son is beyond comprehension. It’s morally reprehensible to me... to think you are willing to give somebody airtime about how they would murder two people."[5]
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 [Simpson] arranges to have [book profits] deposited abroad," said lawyer Tom Mesereau, who successfully defended Michael Jackson in his child molestation trial in 2005. "It's one thing to enforce a judgment 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."[18]
Fox Broadcasting Company said it would air a two-part taped interview with Simpson, conducted by Judith Regan, publisher of the book. The interview was scheduled to air on November 27 2006 and November 29 2006, timed to coincide with the publication. The program would not have been a "news" show under the auspices of the Fox News unit; the broadcast network's alternative programming department, headed by Mike Darnell, would have been responsible. The network released this statement on November 15, 2006:
- "O.J. Simpson, in his own words, tells for the first time how he would have committed the murders if he were the one responsible for the crimes. In the two-part event, Simpson describes how he would have carried out the murders he has vehemently denied committing for over a decade."[19]
On November 16 2006 Judith Regan issued a statement claiming that her reason for doing 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."[20]
On November 25 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported about speculation that screenwriter Pablo Fenjves, a witness at the 1995 trial, was the ghostwriter for Simpson's book.[21]
Fox affiliate reaction
By November 19 or 20, 2006, well over a dozen Fox affiliates had either refused to carry the special or decided to air the special but devote local time to public service announcements -- this before the special was cancelled. Stations in Springfield, Missouri,[13] and Johnstown-Altoona-State College, Pennsylvania area were the first to turn down the special on November 17 2006,[22] along with two other stations in Spokane, Washington[23] and Louisville, Kentucky.[24]
The largest station group to show refusal to air the special was LIN Television with Fox affiliates in six markets:
- Mobile, Alabama
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Toledo, Ohio
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia
Pappas Telecasting was second in line, said they would pre-empt the program on their Fox stations in four markets[25] along with Fox stations in Bismarck-Minot, North Dakota.[26]:
Fox affiliates KCPQ in Seattle, Washington—owned by Tribune Company—and XETV-TV in Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego, California—owned by Mexican media giant Televisa and operated by Entravision under a Local Marketing Agreement—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 organizations to air public service announcements.[27]
Fox affiliate WRAZ in Raleigh, North Carolina, owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company was the last station to show refusal to air the special.
NBC said that it was approached to air the interview, but declined, saying, "This is not a project appropriate for our network."[28] NBC formerly employed Simpson as a football analyst.
Stations involved
Project cancellation
On November 20 2006, News Corporation issued a statement saying that the book and television special had been cancelled. In the statement, NewsCorp chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch 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."[29]
The Associated Press called the book's cancellation "an astonishing end to a story like no other," noting that a publisher withdrawing a book for its content "is virtually unheard of."[16]
The fact that the interview already exists on tape, executives at Fox and News Corporation said, means it is likely to turn up somewhere, perhaps on the Internet.[30]
On November 21, 2006, Denise Brown accused the Fox Corporation 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."[31]
Denise Brown told NBC's The Today Show 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.[31] "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.[32] HarperCollins announced December 16, 2006 that Judith Regan was fired for making anti-semitic remarks and that ReganBooks would be absorbed into the HarperCollins General Books group.
Leak on the Internet
On June 19, 2007, a PDF version of the book was leaked on the Internet through various BitTorrent websites. The book is 118 double-sided pages in length. The copy contains numerous grammatical errors, leading some to question the legitimacy of the leak, but most generally attribute it to the fact that the book was scanned/encoded by an amateur. The legitimacy was "proved" since various sites reported it. [33]
References
- ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16610772/site/newsweek/print/1/displaymode/1098/
- ^ http://www.vanityfair.com/fame/features/2007/01/ojsimpson200701?currentPage=1
- ^ Associated Press (2006-11-16). "O.J. book sparks new outrage". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Evidence of Guilt?" by Mark Miller. Newsweek. 2007-01-22. pages 48-49.
- ^ a b Abcarian, Robin (2006-11-16). "Simpson to tell how he could have killed pair". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "O.J. Book: Enquirer Told You First!". National Enquirer. 2006-11-16. Retrieved 2006-11-23.
- ^ a b c d Associated Press (2006-11-16). "Publisher on O.J.: 'I consider this his confession'". CNN. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b de Moraes, Lisa (2006-11-15). "A Fox Shocker: In Depth With O.J. Simpson for A Ratings Boost". The Washington Post. pp. C01. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "OJ Book Boycott". Retrieved 2006-11-16.
- ^ Lusetich, Robert (2006-11-17). "OJ confession book boycotted". The Australian. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Former lawyers mum on Simpson's book". Mercury News. November 18, 2006.
- ^ "Online petition". Retrieved 2006-11-18.
- ^ a b Staff report. "Springfield's Fox channel station drops O.J. interview". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved 2006-11-18.
- ^ Grant, Justin (2006-11-18). "Booksellers mixed on stocking OJ Simpson book". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-11-18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Canadian retailers divided over O.J. Simpson book". CBC.ca. 2006-11-17. Retrieved 2006-11-23.
- ^ a b "OJ Simpson Book, TV special canceled". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Dailywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Francescani, Chris (2006-11-16). "Simpson in the Clear". ABC News. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ ""O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened" to Air as a Two-Part Special on Fox". Fox Broadcasting Company. 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ "Regan turns on O.J. Simpson". ABC News. 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Piccalo, Gina (November 25, 2006). Chasing the ghost of O.J.: Pablo Fenjves, a witness in Simpson's 1995 murder trial, is reportedly the author of `If I Did It.' Los Angeles Times
- ^ Danahy, Anne. "Fox channel won't air O.J.; WWCP refuses to show Simpson chat about deaths of ex-wife, friend". Centre Daily Times. Retrieved 2006-11-18.
- ^ Italie, Hillel. "Book maven not afraid of controversy; O.J. publisher takes business to new level". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
- ^ Lamb, Bill (WDRB general manager). "The O.J. Special: Fox Finally Comes Through (Station editorial)". WDRB (Channel 41), Louisville, Kentucky. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
- ^ Raines, Ben. "O.J. interview won't be shown in Mobile (additionally mentions LIN and Pappas preemptions, and KCPQ's ad plan)". Mobile Press-Register. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
- ^ Benson, Jim. "Fox Stations Kill OJ Special". Broadcasting and Cable. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
- ^ Source for XETV: More Fox Affiliates Kill O.J. Special, Jim Benson and Caroline Palmer, Broadcasting & Cable, November 20, 2006
- ^ McClam, Erin (Associated Press). "O.J. 'confesses' in what-if book". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
- ^ News Corporation (2006-11-20). "News Corporation Cancels Simpson Book and TV Special". Retrieved 2006-11-20.
- ^ "Under pressure, Newscorp Pulls Simpson Book, TV Show". New York Times. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
- ^ a b "O.J. Simpson Project Could Turn on Web". November 21, 2006.
- ^ "Simpson project was hot topic inside Fox". Los Angeles Times. November 22, 2006.
- ^ OJ "Did It" Manuscript Leaked OnlineTMZ.com. Retrieved 2007-06-20.