Fox Squeezes O.J. for Killer Ratings

If Fox had the urge to slay its November sweeps competition regardless of good taste, here's how it would happen.

The network has announced plans to air an "unrestricted" interview with O.J. Simpson this month in which the acquitted former footballer graphically details how he would have killed Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman back in 1994—had he been so inclined.

The two-part interview, set to air Nov. 27 and Nov. 29 on Fox, will be conducted not by one of the network's go-to heavy-hitting interviewers but by publisher Judith Regan. Her namesake imprint, Regan Books—which, like Fox, is a subsidiary of News Corp.—is releasing Simpson's hypothetical tell-all on Nov. 30.

Titled O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened, the book rehashes the 12-year-old murders of Brown and Goldman.

The 59-year-old was cleared by a jury in his 1995 criminal trial and subsequently vowed to find the real killer, a pursuit that has apparently waned in recent years.

Meanwhile, he was sued by the families of the victims in civil court and in 1997 found liable for their wrongful deaths. Simpson was ordered to pay $33.5 million in restitution, a sum that has gone largely unpaid. Ronald Goldman's father, Fred, has been attempting to get a court order to force Simpson to come up with the cash.

And that was before the National Enquirer reported Simpson received $3.5 million from Regan Books for the honor of publishing his quasi confession. There's no word on how much Fox paid for the rights to broadcast the interview.

Promos airing for the two-night "no-holds-barred" extravaganza, being billed by the network as "the interview that will shake the nation," show Simpson breaking down in tears and discussing the copious amounts of blood he imagines would have been spilling from the victims had he been witnessed their demises.

Per a video clip of the interview posted on Fox's Website, Regan says to Simpson, "You wrote, 'I have never seen so much blood in my life.' "

"I don't think any two people could be murdered without everybody being covered in blood," Simpson replies.

Within hours of Fox's announcement of the special, critics—including Simpson's former sister-in-law, Denise Brown—are already unloading on the network for the stunt, and on Regan Books for potentially allowing Simpson to profit from the murders.

"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," Brown says in a statement.

She adds that she regrets Simpson's two children with Nicole "will be exposed to Simpson's inexplicable behavior." Brown concludes, "We will provide them with our love and support during this time."

Fred Goldman, meanwhile, labeled the book and Fox special "sick."

"He destroyed my son and took from my family Ron's future and life. And for that I'll hate him always and find him despicable," Goldman said in an interview with ABC News.

They also appears to be getting support from an unlikely ally: Simpson's lawyer.

In an interview with Court TV, Yale Galanter, who had previously denied reports that a book was in the works because, he claims, he was kept in the dark, spoke out against the upcoming TV special.

"You do know that I always do take the high road," he said. "So if O.J. and I would have had that discussion, I would have categorically been against doing the book, capitalizing on the book or generating any revenue from that type of book."

But while he may be against the project, he claims Simpson's two children with Nicole are nothing but supportive.

"My understanding is that the kids were behind the project 100 percent and they're okay with it," he said. "Whether that's true or not, I'm sure that eventually the children will be giving their own interviews and they can speak for themselves. My information is that they're okay with it."

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