Goldmans, Brown on ‘Oprah’—But Not Together

By Lynn Garrett -- Publishers Weekly, 9/13/2007 8:48:00 AM

The program that looked like it wouldn’t happen aired after all this morning—though not as originally planned. Fred and Kim Goldman and Denise Brown appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to talk about the Goldman’s decision to publish If I Did It, but only after a phone call from Oprah persuaded Brown to take part. Her condition? That she not have to sit down in the same room with the Goldmans. Oprah taped a separate segment with Brown in an empty studio before the regular taping before an audience, during which the Goldmans were joined by Chris Darden and Marcia Clark, the two prosecutors in the Simpson murder trial.

Oprah introduced the show by saying of O.J.’s infamous work, "It’s a book I will not be reading, but you get to choose." In her opening interview with the Goldmans, Oprah asked, "Do you still hope no one will buy the book?" Fred Goldman said they had originally opposed its publication because "we didn’t want O.J. to profit, and we felt it would be a manual for murder. But it’s not a manual for murder—it’s a confession."

Oprah asked why publishing the book now was not "despicable," as he had called it before. Said Kim Goldman, "Profit for O.J. was what was despicable, and his attempt to defraud us." The bottom line for the Goldmans, they said, was that they feared the rights would revert to O.J. and he would continue to profit, as well as to evade the civil judgment. Added Kim Goldman, "This is the first asset we’ve been able to attach. If we do nothing he will have gotten away with murder 100%."

Oprah spoke of her "moral and ethical dilemma" in deciding to go ahead with the program after Denise Brown backed out. "I’m not pretending we don’t sell books here, and I didn’t want to promote this book. But I felt I had to honor my commitment." She also believed it was important for Brown to have her say.

An animated and angry Brown said she had backed out of her original commitment to appear "because I felt it would give more impact to the book." Calling the Goldmans "hypocrites," she said, "why would you want to do this? It’s ugly, it’s awful. This is blood money."

The show ended with Oprah asking the audience whether they would buy the book. Some said they would, to support the Goldmans, even if they burned it rather than reading it. Others agreed with Denise Brown. The debate was still going strong as Oprah went off the air.