Simpson Slammed, Regan Reviled
Nov. 16, 2006 — -- Reaction to O.J. Simpson's forthcoming book and two-part television interview about the murders of his ex-wife and Ronald Goldman, titled "If I Did It," was swift. And it was furious.
Fred Goldman, Ronald's father, called it "morally disgusting." His daughter Kim called it "gross."
Denise Brown, Brown Simpson's sister, termed Simpson's latest actions "inexplicable," and former Los Angeles police Detective Tom Lange, who tried to talk Simpson into surrendering during the now-infamous white Bronco freeway slow-speed chase, said the former football great's ego was "working overtime."
"He's very narcissistic, and he's always got to have that face out there somewhere in the public," Lange told ABC News' Law & Justice Unit. "Something always comes up. It's laughable."
The publishing industry was equally scornful of publisher Judith Regan, whose imprint, Regan, will publish Simpson's book.
"This is not about being heard. This is about trying to cash in, in a pathetic way, on some notoriety," Sara Nelson, Publishers Weekly editor in chief, told The Associated Press. "That a person keeps wanting to bring this up seems almost nutty to me."
Patricia Schroeder, president of the American Association of Publishers, described the news to the AP 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," Schroeder said.
A Harper Collins news release for the book quotes Simpson as saying "I'm going to tell you a story you've never heard before, because no one knows this story the way I know it.
"It takes place on the night of June 12, 1994, and it concerns the murder of my ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her young friend, Ronald Goldman. I want you to forget everything you think you know about that night, because I know the facts better than anyone."
The release goes on to say that the book will provide "for the first time ever, a bone-chilling account of the night of the murders, in which Simpson pictures himself at the center of the action."
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