Brown Accuses News Corp of Trying to Buy Family's Silence

[Guest guest]

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/life/entertainment/news-article.aspx?

storyid=69629

NEW YORK (AP) -- The O.J. Simpson book saga took another twist

Tuesday when his former sister-in-law, Brown, accused the

media company behind the project of trying to buy her family's

silence for " millions of dollars. "

Simpson's book, " If I did it, " was a sequel few had dared conceive,

with Simpson -- acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend

but later found liable in civil court -- describing how he

would have killed them.

A spokesman for News Corp., owner of Fox Broadcasting and publisher

Harper, confirmed that the company had conversations with

representatives of Brown Simpson's and Ron Goldman's families

over the past week and that the families were offered all profits

from the planned Simpson book and television show, but he denied

that it was hush money.

" There were no strings attached, " News Corp. spokesman

Butcher said.

Brown told NBC's " Today " show Tuesday that her family's

response was " Absolutely not. "

" They wanted to offer us millions of dollars. Millions of dollars

for, like, 'Oh, I'm sorry' money. But they were still going to air

the show, " Brown said. " We just thought, 'oh my god.' What they're

trying to do is trying to keep us quiet, trying to make this like

hush money, trying to go around the civil verdict, giving us this

money to keep our mouths shut. "

Any fascination with Simpson's shocking return to public life was

overcome by revulsion and disbelief from the public.

Even News Corp's Rupert Murdoch, a media king with a famous taste

for scandal, couldn't stand it anymore. On Monday, he canceled the

whole thing, less than a week after it was announced.

" I and senior management agree with the American public that this

was an ill-considered project, " Murdoch said. " We are sorry for any

pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and

Brown Simpson. "

" If I Did It " had been scheduled to air as a two-part interview Nov.

27 and Nov. 29 on Fox, with the book to follow on Nov. 30.

Harper spokeswoman Crum said some copies had already

been shipped to stores but would be recalled, and all copies would

be destroyed.

Simpson's attorney, Yale Galanter, told The Associated Press: " We

had known for three or four days that this was a possibility. "

" There are only three possible reactions: anger, happiness or

indifference. He's totally indifferent about the fact that it's been

canceled, " Galanter said.

He said he didn't know if Simpson was paid upfront.

Simpson was acquitted of murder in 1995 but was later found liable

for the deaths in a wrongful-death suit filed by the Goldman family.

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.

Ron Goldman's sister, Kim Goldman, said on CBS' " The Early Show "

Tuesday that the family would take legal action to collect any money

Simpson received from the deal. Brown went farther, saying

that money was being hidden for Simpson so he didn't have to pay the

civil judgment. " The courts one day will find out who that person

is, " Brown said.

Simpson told the AP in a phone interview late Monday he could not

comment on the situation " until I know legally where I stand. "

" I would like nothing better than to straighten out some things that

have been mischaracterized, " he said. " But I think I'm legally

muzzled at this point. "

Sensation has long been in News Corp's game, but the Simpson book

drew almost universal anger -- from those who knew Goldman and

Brown, from booksellers and advertisers, even from Fox News Channel

personality Bill O'Reilly. O'Reilly urged a boycott of any company

that advertised on the special.

A dozen Fox network affiliates said they would not air the two-part

special, and numerous stores had either declined to sell the book or

had promised to donate any profits to charity.

" I really don't think there would have been very many advertisers

who would have been willing to participate in this show, " said Brad

Adgate of the ad buying firm Horizon Media.

With little advertising, Fox would miss the chance to profit from

the show. If there were no advertisers, the show wouldn't even be

rated by Nielsen Media Research -- so the number of people

watching would have done nothing to help Fox's season average, he

said.

The cancellation was a stunning rebuke to ReganBooks -- a high-

profile imprint of Harper -- and Judith Regan, who had

labeled the book and interview Simpson's " confession. " She insisted

that she had done it not for money, but as a victim of domestic

violence anxious to face down a man she believed got away,

literally, with murder.

ReganBooks is known for gossipy best-sellers such as

Canseco's " Juiced " and Jenna on's " How to Make Love Like a Porn

Star. " Regan, one of publishing's most driven and forceful

personalities, did not immediately respond to requests for an

interview.

The TV special was to air on two of the final three nights of the

November sweeps, when ratings are watched closely to set local

advertising rates. It has been a particularly tough fall for Fox,

which has seen none of its new shows catch on and is waiting for the

January appearances of " American Idol " and " 24. "

The closest precedent for such an about-face came when CBS yanked a

miniseries about Reagan from its schedule in 2003 when

complaints were raised about its accuracy. It was seen on CBS'

sister premium-cable channel, Showtime, instead.

One Fox affiliate station manager said he wasn't going to air the

special because he was concerned that, whether or not Simpson was

guilty, he'd still be profiting from murders.

" I have my own moral compass and this was easy, " said Bill Lamb,

general manager of WDRB in Louisville.

During an appearance on CNN's " Larry King Live, " Fred Goldman, Ron's

father, expressed appreciation to anyone who opposed the book.

" We want to say thank you, thank you for everyone in this country

who raised their voice and stood up for the right thing, " Goldman

said.

Numerous books have been withdrawn over the years because of

possible plagiarism, most recently Kaavya Viswanathan's " How Opal

Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life, " but removal simply for

objectionable content is exceptionally rare. In the early 1990s,

Simon & Schuster canceled Bret Easton Ellis' " American Pyscho, " a

graphic account of a serial killer. The novel was released by Random

House Inc., and later made into a feature film, an improbable fate

for Simpson's book.

Sales for " If I Did It, " had been strong, but not sensational. It

cracked the top 20 of Amazon.com last weekend, but by Monday

afternoon, at the time its cancellation was announced, the book had

fallen to No. 51.

Created: 11/21/2006 12:38:10 PM

Updated: 11/21/2006 12:40:32 PM

Edited by Detman, Nightside EP

© 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.