Publisher says Simpson’s book is ‘his confession’

NEW YORK – O.J. Simpson created an uproar Wednesday with plans for a TV interview and book titled “If I Did It” – an account the publisher pronounced “his confession” and media executives condemned as revolting and exploitive.

Fox, which plans to air an interview with Simpson Nov. 27 and 29, said Simpson describes how he would have committed the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman, “if he were the one responsible.”

Denise Brown, Nicole Brown Simpson’s sister, lashed out at publisher Judith Regan of ReganBooks for “promoting the wrongdoing of criminals” and commercializing abuse. The book goes on sale Nov. 30.

She added: “It’s unfortunate that Simpson has decided to awaken a nightmare that we have painfully endured and worked so hard to move beyond.”

Regan refused to say what Simpson is being paid for the book but said he came to her with the idea.

“This is an historic case, and I consider this his confession,” Regan told the Associated Press.

Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of murder after a trial that became an instant cultural flashpoint and a source of racial tension. The former football star was later found liable for the deaths in a wrongful-death suit filed by the Goldman family. In the years since, he has been mocked relentlessly by late-night comedians, particularly for his vow to hunt down the real killers.

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.

The victims’ families could go after the proceeds from the book’s sales to pay off the judgment. But one legal analyst said there are ways to get around that requirement – like having proceeds not go directly to Simpson.

“Clever lawyering can get you a long way,” said Laurie Levenson, a Loyola University law school professor and former federal prosecutor who has followed the case closely.

Simpson did not return numerous calls for comment. Simpson’s own attorney, Yale Galanter, said he did not know about the book or the interview until this week.

“The book was not done through our office,” Galanter said.

He said there is “only one chapter that deals with their deaths and that chapter, in my understanding, has a disclaimer that it’s complete fiction.”

On Amazon.com on Wednesday, the 240-page book was being offered for $16.47.

Other publishers and publishing industry observers practically fell over each other to criticize ReganBooks, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, and Simpson.

Patricia Schroeder, president and chief executive of the American Association of 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,” she said.