OJ Simpson said he was angry at his ex-wife while attending her wake in what may be the most stupefying preview to emerge yet from the upcoming Fox special OJ: Simpson: The Lost Confession.
‘It was tough, I just remember seeing her there and I still had so many feelings of – if you’re angry with a person upon their death, if you’re angry with someone about whatever is going on in your life, when they die, it’s not like that anger disappears,’ Simpson told Judith Reagan back in 2006 when he taped the special.
He did not stop there either, going on to explain that he felt most of that anger over the fact that he would no longer be able to yell at Nicole, who had died just three days prior to the service in a gruesome double murder.
When later asked by his published Judith Regan what he said when leaned over and kissed Nicole, Simpson responded: ‘I don’t know that I said anything to be honest with you.’
The special, in which Simpson ‘hypothesized’ about how Nicole was murdered will air Sunday, and include a panel discussion with Regan, a member of Ron Goldman’s family, and prosecutor Christopher Draden led by Soledad O’Brien.
The veteran anchor posted about the special on Wednesday, writing: ‘In Tampa, laying down final tracks for our special on OJ Simpson, and his 2006 intv with Judith Reagan. Most bizarre and insane interview I’ve ever been a part of.’
Rage against the machine: OJ Simpson was asked in 2006 (above)what he was thinking when he attended Nicole Brown’s wake in an interview that will finally air Sunday
The many faces of grief: His response was anger, saying: ‘if you’re angry with someone about whatever is going on in your life, when they die, it’s not like that anger disappears’ (Simpson with son Justin and daughter Sydney at Nicole’s funeral in June 1994)
Shocking statement: Simpson, 70, also suggested the murder proved he was right for an October 1993 incident in which he could be heard screaming at Nicole outside her home (Nicole and Simpson with their children in 1992 above)
Simpson specifically references a 911 call that was made in October of 1993, when the two were entertaining the idea of a possible reconciliation for the final time.
Nicole called authorities twice on October 25 after a violent episode broke out between her and Simpson, culminating with the former football player trying to break down her door to gain entry into her residence.
And because of the 911 call and I’m yelling at her about what is going on it was almost like I wanted to say: “I told you, didn’t I tell you, didn’t I say to you,” you know, whatever the hell was going on. So you still got those kind of feelings in you, and you’re still trying to deal with: I am not going to be able to say this to this person, I’m never gonna be able to change this person’s mind, I’m never gonna have an affect on this person again.
-Simpson detailing how he felt during Nicole’s wake on The Lost Confession
‘He’s ranting and raving outside,’ Nicole told the dispatcher, stating later that Simpson was going to ‘beat the s***’ out of her.
When asked if this had happened in the past, Nicole said: ‘Many times.’
Through this all, Simpson can be heard in the background screaming, and at one point shouts: ‘OJ worked his ass off for this family – for Keith?’
Twelve years after that call, Simpson used his interview to point out he was right, though about what it unclear,
‘And because of the 911 call and I’m yelling at her about what is going on it was almost like I wanted to say: “I told you, didn’t I tell you, didn’t I say to you,” you know, whatever the hell was going on,’ said Simpson of his thoughts while attending the wake for the mother of his children’
‘So you still got those kind of feelings in you, and you’re still trying to deal with: I am not going to be able to say this to this person, I’m never gonna be able to change this person’s mind, I’m never gonna have an affect on this person again.’
The Keith he was referring to was restaurateur Keith Zlomsowitch, who Nicole dated after leaving Simpson.
The restaurateur met her in Aspen and soon they began to spend time together.
‘Her and her friends came by [the restaurant] Mezzaluna one night and then, all the sudden, I see the Bentley come screeching up to the front of the door,’ said Zlomsowitch of his first meeting with Simpson in the Oscar-winning documentary OJ: Made In America.
He was so doped up, I don’t even think he remembers he was at a funeral.
-Nicole’s mom Juditha in her 1996 testimony during the civil trial
‘OJ walks in, comes straight over to our table, slams his hands down, looks me straight in the eye and says: “I’m OJ Simpson and she’s still my wife.”‘
Nicole would later tell Zlomsowitch that Simpson actually followed them home and watched the two make love one night.
This behavior is why the Brown family was suspicious of Simpson from the start, something he acknowledged in the special while detailing his exchange with Nicole’s mother at the wake.
‘I just remember Judy brown pulling me over and looking me in the eye and saying: “OJ did you have anything to do with this,”‘ said Simpson.
‘And I know I told her no.’
Juditha would later give a very detailed account about Simpson’s behavior at the wake and funeral while testifying in the civil case her family and the Goldmans filed following his acquittal on murder charges,
‘He was so doped up, I don’t even think he remembers he was at a funeral,’ said Juditha.
Day in question: Simpson did not remember what he said to Nicole at the wake but was able to recall that he told her mom Juditha he did not kill her daughter (Juditha at her daughter’s grave with Nicole’s sisters Denise and Tanya in 1995 on the one year anniversary of her death)
Grisly scene: The entrance to Nicole’s Bentwood home on the night of the murders (above)
More will be revealed on OJ: The Lost Confession when it airs Sunday in a match-up with former Fox juggernaut American Idol, which is making its debut on ABC in the same time slot after 15 seasons on Fox.
It is unclear how much Simpson was paid for this interview in 2006 with Regan, who was his publisher at the time and set to release his book If I Did It.
She later lost her job for her involvement in the special.
In another preview, Simpson said: ‘Forget everything you think you know about that night, because I know the facts better than anyone. This is one story the whole world got wrong.’
Simpson reportedly revealed that after the killer and Charlie arrived at Nicole’s home they saw candles in the window as a man approached the home.
Nicole then came to the door and the killer blacked out, later coming to to disocver he is covered in blood.
Mugged: Simpson in his 1994 booking photo
The initial release of the show was halted back in 2006 due to money owed by Simpson in a civil suit and public outcry.
The former football star was ordered to pay the Goldmans $33.5million by a civil court jury shortly after he was acquitted of double murder, but in the two decades since that verdict was handed down the family have received no money from Simpson.
His disregard for the judgment came back to haunt him however after his plans to publish his book about the murders was revealed back in 2006, with the special set to air in conjunction with the book’s debut.
The rights to the book were instead awarded to the Goldmans by a Florida bankruptcy court a year later, and they went on to sell the book under the title If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer.
The Goldmans also shrunk do the ‘It’ in the title, making in nearly invisible so that the title appeared to read I Did It: Confessions of the Killer.
Simpson then found himself behind bars for nearly a decade shortly after that decision when he was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping back in 2008 in Clark Count.
That verdict that was handed down exactly 13 years to the day that he was acquitted in her murder trial.
The Goldmans will now be getting a little more money as well, with any cut Simpson would have gotten from the current airing of the special going to the family.
That is likely why they agreed to the release of the special, with the family having initially opposed the airing of the ‘confession’ on Fox.