O.J. Simpson's crocodile tears

Jun 27, 2007, 11:20 GMT

O.J. Simpson REUTERS/POOL/Wilfredo Lee

O.J. Simpson "practiced crying" before a TV interview, a friend has claimed.

Simpson, who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman, reportedly rehearsed shedding tears for a never-aired interview about his controversial book 'If I Did It'.

Norm Pardo, who is currently working on a TV documentary about Simpson, told the New York Post newspaper: "He practiced crying. O.J. still thinks of himself of an actor."

Pardo also claims Simpson didn't write one word of the controversial book and was happy for it to be released as long as he was paid.

Pardo said: "O.J. told me ReganBooks publisher Judith Regan approached him and said, 'Do you mind if we write a book and put your name on it?' and he replied, 'I don't care. You can write anything you want, as long as you pay me.'

"O.J. would laugh, 'Can you believe they'd pay me to say I wrote something I didn't actually write?'

"A ghostwriter largely based the book on court transcripts from Simpson's trial."

'If I Did It' featured a hypothetical description of the 1995 murders. The tome was set to be released by ReganBooks in November 2006, but public criticism led to the cancellation of the book's publication, as well as a televised interview with Simpson.

Simpson's lawyer Yale Galanter insists the former American football star and ghostwriter Pablo Fenjves sat down over "many hours and days" to work on the book.

(C) BANG Media International