More than 11 years after Judith Regan was fired by HarperCollins over an O.J. Simpson book and Fox special she was overseeing, her Simpson interview has finally been given an airdate.
Fox has dusted off that special, and repackaged it as “O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?” — now hosted by Soledad O’Brien. The two-hour special will air Sunday, March 11 at 8 p.m. The special will air as counterprogramming against ABC’s “American Idol.”
Per the network, the telecast will “air with limited interruptions and will feature public service announcements on domestic violence awareness throughout the program.” O’Brien will also moderate a talk with a panel of analysts giving context to the interview.
Cover of OJ Simpson book ‘If I Did It’
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Regan spoke in 2006 to Simpson, who gave “a shocking hypothetical account” of the night that his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman were murdered. That interview was the basis of “If I Did It,” a book that Regan and HarperCollins were scheduled to release that year.
Simpson was reportedly paid $3.5 million at the time by Regan to participate in the book, and it was set to be a Fox special. But after public outrage over the fact that Simpson was paid for the sitdown, Fox canceled the special. Regan was then fired from HarperCollins (owned by News Corp.), and then sued for defamation. The book was later released by Goldman’s family, but the special sat on the network shelves.
According to insiders, Fox was given approval by the Goldman and Simpson families to air the special. Apparently the tapes were recently rediscovered sitting in a box on the Fox lot, and the decision was made to air the special.
Terence Wrong is the executive producer of “O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?” Watch a preview clip below.
