Kaelin Lied Out Of Fear, Writer Says

The author of a book based on recorded interviews with Brian “Kato” Kaelin said Thursday he handed over his tapes to authorities because the former O.J. Simpson house guest lied on the witness stand.

Marc Eliot, author of “Kato Kaelin: The Whole Truth,” said Kaelin lied at Simpson’s murder trial because he was petrified of the former football player.

“I think he was filled with fear,” he said.

The book, due in stores this weekend, was compiled from 15 hours of interviews and details Kaelin’s life as a house guest with Nicole Brown Simpson and with Simpson.

“He was looking for a book, a real book that would … get him out of that male bimbo (image), to someone that actually had some depth,” Eliot said.

When Kaelin was questioned by prosecutor Marcia Clark about a book proposal, he denied it existed.

What really angered Eliot about Kaelin’s testimony was his portrayal of Simpson as a friendly, non-threatening character.

“We talk about O.J. Simpson in terms of rage, in terms of violence, in terms of jealousy, in terms of control,” Eliot said of Kaelin’s interviews. “The O.J. Simpson that he talked about on the witness stand was a man I had never heard described by Kato before.”

Eliot said he backed out of the collaboration with Kaelin because once Kaelin and his attorneys saw the manuscript, they wanted to revise it.