O.J. Says "I Did It" was Never Meant to Be a Confessional

It's got to be the most surreal experience I've had in a long time.

This morning, I sat on the phone, having called into WTPS-AM in Miami, waiting to talk with O.J. Simpson.

The folks at the black-oriented talk station told me they would call me, after I did an interview with them Monday on the Michael Richards mess. Instead, at about 8:15 a.m., I called them and wound up on hold, listening as O.J. dished dirt on his life, current circumstances and his feelings of persecution as the world treats him like a guy who got away with the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.

What follows are barely-edited quotes from the rambling interview, in which Simpson took questions from a complimentary, worshipful array of callers. I also got to ask about how the book deal came together and how he was paid.

On the ramifications of the $33.5-million judgement won by the Goldmans against him: "Let’s destroy two myths right now: I don’t have any bank accounts in the Bahamas. I don’t have any extra money anyplace. I don’t have the obligation to make money and take it to the Goldmans. I don’t have those obligations. If I’m owed money, and Goldman went to those person and said do you owe OJ money? Goldman has the right – just like my kids…just like DirecTV has the right to say turn that money over to me. I don’t have any obligation to take them money. That’s the law.”

On how the book project If I Did It came about: "“I was approached to do a book from a company that had 12 or 13 best-sellers last year. They presented a book – I think it was Barbara Boxer the politician and Nicole Ritchie, the way they told me those books were written, is they were fiction/fact. The names were changed but you pretty much knew who they were talking about. When I first sat down with the writer I felt that was the book I was going to do. The writer on the other hand, had a different take. He felt that he was told that it was a confession book. (Publisher) Judith Regan had told him, hired him, that it was a confession book. I said confess what? I’ve got nothing to confess. That was almost the end of the deal.

"The powers from L.A. who put the book together called Regan and everyone went back and forth, back and forth...and then by the end of the day they had come up with this (idea), its going to be his word hypothetical. I said 'I can’t sit down and tell you, if you want to do a whole book on a hypothetical.' I thought I would be able to talk about what happened with my lifestyle and what was going on with Nicole and I, the nature of her relationship with Kato...and really clear a lot of things up. They said we can do that, but we’ll put that in the front of (the book).

"So we did that until we got to the Chapter 6 -– actually, its about a half a chapter, that starts with some fictional character named Charlie showing up. Charlie came out of the fact that I’ve always felt two people had to be involved. Even though the prosecution said one, and one murderer only. I don’t think we can do anything really graphic -– knife cutting and stuff. Which they agreed to. He asked me a series of questions and then he went and wrote it. When I looked at it, by the time I saw it somebody had leaked something and the National Enquirer had said only the real murderer could know these facts. So I called the writer and said 'You did it.' We then went to clean a few things up. There were things in it that were so glaringly wrong -- I decided not to correct them, because I knew one day, you would always have somebody saying this is a real confession -– which it wasn’t. So there are some things in there and anybody who wanted to take a closer look at it will see that.”

On how he was paid: “There was a payment to me, and what was supposed  to be the largest portion of it was handled by a corporation that my kids were involved in. They do stand to have a financial windfall....C’mon guys, let’s grow up. Will everybody stop being so naïve? Of course I got paid. I spent the money on my bills. It’s gone…I have a right to earn money if I can earn money. I don’t know why everybody is so confused about this.”

On whether this project is reopening old wounds for the victims' families and the nation: "Don’t ever be led to believe this opened up old wounds. Every month, the Goldmans are on TV opening up those old wounds. My pity -- I used to feel sorry for them, but guess what? I feel sorry for the football player’s family that got shot. I feel sorry for the bodybags that I see coming to this local area from Iraq. You can only feel sorry for one family so long. There’s been a lot of deaths, a lot of unsolved murders, a lot of tragedy in America in the last 12 years. Goldmans and them, they gotta stop being professional victims. There’s other people in this world that are suffering from other things. My family’s suffered. Nicole was the love of my life. I’ve suffered.

"I didn’t kill them – no matter what anybody else wants to say, I didn’t do it. Every book that was written about that – every blood book that was written by every lawyer and every family member and everybody close to that trial, is hypothetical. It’s hypothetical and its blood money – I said it in that Fox interview, before everybody complained. I agree with Goldman. I was hoping the book would never sell. I said it in the interview."    

On people calling him a sociopath: "I was having a conversation with my lawyer…I said to him, when did this egomania and this sociopath (stuff start) – is it like catching the flu? Is it like catching herpes or something? I went 47 years of my life – I was called anything but that. Everybody who ever played ball with me said, 'No, he spread the wealth. He’s generous. He always gives credit to anybody else.' As you know...my reputation was impeccable. As a team player, everybody I worked for…now all I hear the Goldmans and everybody say is, 'He’s an egomaniac and he’s a sociopath.'"

On why people are still angry about the murders and his 1995 acquittal: "It goes down to one thing: race. We all know that everybody wants to look the other way. You know darn well if Nicole and Ron were black, we wouldn’t be dealing with this situation. Michael Richard's comments will be forgotten a lot sooner than the Mel Gibson comments. They will never forgive him – the Jewish people will never forgive (Gibson) – and this country will hold him accountable a lot longer than they’re going to hold Michael Richards accountable.”

(click on photos to enlarge)

 

Comments

I think the real question here is being grossly overlooked. It is a question of justice. Has justice really been served? The system had it's crack at OJ and that failed to pan out. So what came next? Nothing? Where is the investigation at this point? Are we so caught up in the past we can't focus on catching a killer? Whether it be OJ, a gun for hire or a random act of violence, justice deserves an it's due.

[ReidBlog]

To the certain among you: I'll guarantee none of you watched more than the nightly news briefs on the trial. You find it "obvious" that Simpson was guilty because the media told you so. You come to your passions about the case via Geraldo Rivera and other media types whose reports on the case during 1994-1995 amounted to the kind you'd expect from the torch bearers outside the Frankenstein estate. You want to see violence done to Simpson (and to us at the radio station, because yes, we got death threats,) because you are as base and violent and narcissitic as you claim he is. It's pathetic. Grow up. Like the annymous poster at 4:33, I too watched every day of the trial -- not the exerpts, and sorry folks, Barry Scheck alone provided more than enough reasonable doubt. Taht's the way our system works. The defendant is entitled to the benefit of that doubt. And by the way, just to illustrate how much misplaced passion has been attached to this case, we got death threats from the supposedly morally superior out there who, like the first commenter, haven't got the candle wattage to come up with a more productive use for their outrage. (BTW our lines are open every weekday morning for anyone who'd care to threaten us or our families, and who have the guts to do so on the air. The number is 877-825-1080. We'll even pay for the call.)

And to Eric, thanks for hanging in on the phone. It was an interesting interview, and as I blogged today, people need to come to their own conclusions about the O.J. case without all of the collective moralizing. In the end, the system works. And unless you're prepared to condemn racist ex-cop Mark Fuhrman, or the equally acquitted Robert Blake, and pursue them to the ends of the earth the way so many in media and elsewhere have pursued O.J. Simpson, then you really ought to consider taking a deep breath and moving on.

JReid (WTPS)

wow:

"Goldmans and them, they gotta stop being professional victims."

Sorry vaosolo, but that's the defenition of a sociopath. It's someone who lacks a consceince... Tell people like Ted Bundy or BTK or the Green river killer that people can't lead normal lives after killing someone. Bundy used to babysit the children of a gubonatorial candidate, all the while knowing that there were a few heads at home in his fridge.

I remember being unable to work during the summer of the OJ trial, so I watched it very closely. Espcially the closing arguments. I would definitely have voted to acquit. And I'm no moron.

[vaosolo]

Real murderers won't be able to live normally like him. Their conscience are constantly bothered by the terrible act they had commited. Killing a human being is not like killing an animal. People, even killers, do have emotion and conscience, and there no need of a particular event to shake an internal turmoil for it to resurface. No human being would be able to keep indefinitely a remorseful emotion from manifesting.

Simpson is a cold bloode3d murderer....

He's the one who did it and he knows the only reason for getting off was the dumb jury....He could have done it on national TV during prime time and that jury and town would have freed him.

ditto

I want to castrate him with a rusty butter knife as much today as I did during the trial. He, and the morons on the jury, should be executed.