Defending O.J.: Why the Publisher Did It

O.J. Simpson has already been tried in the court of public opinion. Now, it's Judith Regan's turn.

After days of derisive speculation and scathing criticism directed at the founder of Regan Books, portrayed in the media's most generous light as the she-devil who both interviewed Simpson for his forthcoming TV special and funded the printing of his quasi-confession, the publishing magnate has finally come to her own defense.

Regan released an eight-page statement Friday defending her decision to publish the hypothetical tell-all O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened, denying reports that the acquitted footballer would in any way profit from the tome or use the opportunity to flaunt his not guilty verdict.

"In the past few days, since the announcement of the forthcoming book and televised interview If I Did It, it has been strange watching the media spin the story," she writes.

"They have all but called for my death for publishing his book and for interviewing him. A death, I might add, not called for when Katie Couric interviewed him; not called for when Barbara Walters had an exclusive with the Menendez brothers."

Of course, neither Couric nor Walters had the potential to profit off their interviews, as opposed to Regan, who's the puppetmaster behind the book and two-night prime-time Fox special and could make a tidy sum from the headline-generating controversy.

Still, she claims that she agreed to publish the book to reverse the "criminal injustice system" that led to Simpson's acquittal, saying "what I wanted was closure, not money."

According to Regan, she wanted to coax Simpson, whom she liberally refers to throughout her statement as "the killer," into confessing to the 1995 murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, as well as to seek closure on her own history of domestic abuse.

"I never lost my desire for his conviction," she writes. "And if Marcia Clark couldn't do it, I sure wanted to try.

" 'To publish' does not mean 'to endorse.' It means 'to make public.' I 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.

"I wanted the confession for my own selfish reasons and for the symbolism of that act."

That accounts for her motivation. The verdict's still out on Simpson's.

"I don't know why he did it—why he did the book and sat for the interview," Regan continues. "Was it his own disturbed need for attention? Did he have remorse?...When I sat face to face with the killer, I wanted him to confess, to release us all from the wound of the conviction that was lost on that fall day in October of 1995."

Regan also downplays suggestions that Simpson has the potential to profit from his hypothetical confession—the National Enquirer reported that he pocketed $3.5 million in the book deal.

"What I do know is I didn't pay him," Regan adds. "I contracted through a third party who owns the rights, and I was told the money would go to his children. That much I could live with."

To further ensure that Simpson won't see a penny from his book sales, lawyers for Ron Goldman's father, Fred, said they would take legal action to seize any profits from the pseudo-memoir to collect against the wrongful death civil judgment. In 1997, Simpson was found liable for both deaths by a jury, which ordered the footballer to pay $33.5 million to the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown. The bulk of the sum remains unpaid.

"If he's making money off [the book], then Fred Goldman is entitled to it, and we'll try to get it," attorney Peter Gelblum said. "We're making every effort to look into it and figure it out and try to get the money."

For his part, Simpson's lawyer, Yale Galanter, has lashed out at his client's decision to go ahead with the interview and publication of his book, both of which Galanter claims will reap "blood money" and are endeavors he says he was completely in the dark about.

"I definitely would not have approved this," Galanter told Newsweek. "I wouldn't have done it for a gazillion dollars."

Galanter further told the magazine that people buying the book looking for a detailed mindset or backstory on the hypothetical murders will be sorely disappointed. Of the book's seven chapters, he claims that only one deals directly with the killings.

Though even that's too much for some people.

The family of Ron Goldman has already launched a Web petition calling for a boycott of companies that are endorsing the book or interview. The site, www.Dontpayoj.com, lists the addresses and phone numbers of Fox, Harper Collings and Regan Books and claims that Simpson is "a vicious killer...who wants to glorify and benefit from his crimes. If we are to live i a remotely just society, a line of decency must be drawn."

It apparently appears to have met with some success.

Lin Broadcasting and Pappas Broadcasting, which together own nine Fox affiliates across the country, including stations in Toledo, Albuquerque, Omaha, Fresno and Providence, have announced plans to pull the two-night interview from their airwaves.

O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened, which will be marketed as a "true crime" book, is due in stores Nov. 30. Despite—or maybe because of—its controversy, it's already reached number 20 on Amazon.com's bestseller list. While a large portion of independent book shops have refused to carry the book, major chain retailers, like Barnes & Noble and Borders, will offer it and have already reported strong interest in the title. A Borders rep also said any profits will be donated to a charity helping victims of domestic violence.

The two-night TV special, If I Did It, airs Nov. 27 and 29 on Fox.