Remember that time in the mid-2000s when O.J. Simpson went on a short publicity tour to talk about how exactly he would have murdered his ex-wife, while also maintaining his innocence? And how he was going to go on national television and talk about it? Well now you’ll finally get the chance to see that long-buried interview in prime time on Fox. “Forget everything you think you know about that night, because I know the facts better than anyone,†Simpson says in the teaser. “This is one story the whole world got wrong.â€
To review, Simpson nearly released a book in 2006 called If I Did It, in which he detailed how he would have killed Ron Goldman and his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, if he had indeed committed the crime. Ahead of the book’s release, Fox Network recorded and planned to air an interview between Simpson and TV host Judith Regan in which he discussed the hypothetical murder, but the special was shelved along with the book after a massive public outcry forced News Corp (the owner of both Fox and publisher HarperCollins) to admit If I Did It was in poor taste and apologize to the families of Goldman and Brown Simpson.
After the interview was shelved the tapes were locked away and forgotten about — until a few months ago, and now the very controversial conversation will air on March 11. According to The Hollywood Reporter, both of the victims’ families have sanctioned the move by Fox, and since the Goldman family previously won the rights to If I Did It in a civil suit, Simpson will not profit in any way from his strange conversation with Regan finally seeing the light of day. The Soledad O’Brien–hosted special will premiere opposite the return of American Idol.