Judith Regan, the editor of the notorious hypothetical O.J. Simpson confessional If I Did It, and host of the accompanying television interview that finally aired in March after being on hold for more than a decade, discussed Simpson in a recent radio appearance. It did not end well, as Regan seemed to hang up on the host right after he asked a question.
Regan discussed O.J. on The Domenick Nati show on iHeart Radio on Thursday, and said that she first decided to go forward with the projects after O.J. expressed interest in confessing to the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. While the book and interview were framed in the context of a hypothetical description of how the murders would have taken place if Simpson had committed them, Regan said the way he told the story gave the strong impression that he’s guilty of the crimes.
“I don’t know how anyone could think anything other than this man brutally murdered two people and it’s a horrible tragedy,” she said.
After the interview aired, Simpson’s current attorney claimed that Simpson did not write the part of the book that described the night of the killings, and that Regan herself wrote it with a ghostwriter. Regan strongly denied this.
“O.J. approved every single word of the book,” she said, claiming that Simpson worked on it with a ghostwriter he hired, and then ultimately gave his okay.
Simpson’s claims to the contrary, she said, are “the meanderings of an insane psychopath.”
Host Domenick Nati asked if Simpson got any money for the interview, and Regan slightly dodged the issue, simply stating that she didn’t have a contract with him and that he didn’t get money for the book. In the end, the book’s rights went to the Goldman family, who have received proceeds from its sales.
Past reports have said that Simpson did collect payment for his participation in the projects. A 2007 Vanity Fair column mentioned a proposed plan to pay Simpson through a third party in an effort to avoid having to give the money to the Goldman and Brown families. The families eventually found out and fought back.
At the end of the interview, Nati returned to this subject, bringing up reports that Regan’s publishing company paid Simpson. As soon as Nati finished asking the question, Regan can be heard hanging up.
Nati told Law&Crime that a representative for Regan called his producer and said Regan got disconnected and couldn’t continue the interview that same day. The producer asked if Regan could pick up where they left off on Monday, but did not receive a response.
“I would like to finish my interview with Judith,” Nati told Law&Crime. “I thought she was being very cooperative until the disconnection, and I know my listeners and many viewers of her interview are interested to know about the money that was exchanged.”
Nati cited a Fox News report from 2006 that says the book was sold for $3.5 million, but the report did not indicate who that money went to.
Law&Crime reached out to Regan’s representative for comment, but they did not respond.
[Image via Fox screengrab]