New York – After a firestorm of criticism, News. Corp. said today that it has canceled the O.J. Simpson book and television special “If I Did It.”
“I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project,” said Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman.
“We are sorry for any pain that his has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.”
A dozen Fox affiliates had already said they would not air the two-part sweeps month special, planned for next week before publication of the book. It was being published by ReganBooks, a HarperCollins imprint owned, like the Fox network, by News Corp.
In the projects, Simpson speaks in hypothetical terms about how he would have committed the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Goldman.
The industry trade publication Broadcasting & Cable editorialized against the show Monday, saying “Fox should cancel this evil sweeps stunt.” One of the nation’s largest superstore chains, Borders Group Inc., said last week it would donate any profits on the book to charity.
